May 27 2020

Understanding WCAG 2.1 ADA Levels

We've moved into a new phase of website accessibility and conformance. No longer are organizations weighing the benefits making their websites compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Instead, it's become a best practice to ensure websites work for all potential users. And by ensuring that sites work for the 61 million Americans with a disability, organizations have made their sites easier to use for everybody, have improved their SEO and have lowered their risk of legal repercussions.

American sites across all industries and all levels of government have reached the consensus that Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Level AA is not only the best practice, but also the law. But why Level AA? If AA is good, wouldn't AAA be better? And is Level A "good enough for now"? Let's compare the different website conformance levels so that you understand why AA is the standard and why your next redesign should require design and development against these standards.

Level AAA Conformance

Level AAA is better for those with disabilities than Levels AA and A. For instance, for those with poor vision, AAA sites are easier to see. For those with poor or no hearing, AAA guarantees that American Sign Language is available for all videos in addition to synchronized closed captions. But sites that adhere to Level AAA standards are generally unattractive for those with no disability, and the ADA doesn't aim to jeopardize the experience of one user group for the benefit of another user group. Further, it's often difficult for site owners to maintain a AAA site. For instance, the site owner would be responsible for knowing how the screen reader pronounces all words on the site and then providing explanation for all words mispronounced. This would be difficult for most site owners if there were only one screen reader, but with NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, and Narrator heavily used, this is impossible for most.

Level AA Conformance

Level AA is the sweet spot. It ensures enough measures are in place so that as many can use the site as possible regardless of their ability. And it does so without jeopardizing how a site looks or works for the majority of users nor does it put a heavy burden on the site owner. If one has a visual perception disability, the colors will have enough contrast for most to see. If one is blind, the screen reader can read all content. For one who navigates with a keyboard, everything can be reached. Level AA sites work well and don't provide an unsurmountable burden for site owners. In other words, it enables the most people to use a site, which is ultimately the goal of website ADA conformance.

Level A Conformance

Unlike Level AAA and AA, Level A conformance may be considered a good start towards making a more comformant website but there are several notable criteria missing that allow sites meeting this standard to be considered truly conformant. For example, a Level A site has no color contrast requirements so many of the 7.6 million Americans with a visual disability have no way to see the site, or at least will struggle unnecessarily to do so. For those who rely on a keyboard to navigate instead of a mouse, there is also no requirement to show focus, so keyboard navigation is difficult. These examples are all-or-nothing endeavors. There is no foundation that could be set now that will help provide AA standards later.

But there are standards in Level A that are helpful. Level A requires captions on videos, thereby helping the millions who do not hear well or at all. Level A also limits flashing content so that those prone to seizures are not likely to be triggered by a site.

While creating or maintaining a site against Level A standards would be helpful, it simply does not go far enough because it does not meet the current WCAG 2.1 standards put forth by the ADA. Further, it would not protect the site owner from a well-meaning lawsuit.

Comparing Level A, AA and AAA Features

Below is a broader comparison of specific website features and how they are addressed, or not, with the level of conformance included in the WCAG.

Feature	Level A	Level AA	Level AAA
Provide text alternatives for any non-text content	✔	✔	✔
Provide alternatives for video-only and audio-only content	✔	✔	✔
Add captions to all prerecorded videos with sound	✔	✔	✔
Provide additional medial or describe movements that provide extra information in prerecorded video that not are audibly explained in the video	✔	✔	✔
Include captions for live videos	✔	✔
Describe movements that provide extra information in prerecorded video that not are audibly explained in the video	✔	✔
Provide sign language translations for videos			✔
Record alternative video with extended audio description			✔
Provide a transcript for video and audio content			✔
Include closed captions with live audio			✔
Ensure all content has intuitive page structure and formatting	✔	✔	✔
Use meaningful sequence of content	✔	✔	✔
Provide instructions via more than one sense	✔	✔	✔
Do not restrict content to be viewed in only one orientation	✔	✔
In forms, assign input purposes to appropriate fields	✔	✔
Implement appropriate input purposes on all form fields, icons, and regions			✔
Do not rely only on color to convey information	✔	✔	✔
Provide end-user control of audio	✔	✔	✔
Use minimum color contrasts	✔	✔
Resize text up to 200%	✔	✔
Limit the use of text within images	✔	✔
Ensure contrast is at least 7:1 relative to the background			✔
Limit background noise on video and audio content			✔
Allow users to customize their view			✔
Restrict images of text			✔
Allow content to be enlarged to 400% without forcing the user to scroll horizontally	✔	✔
Ensure active controls have sufficient color contrast	✔	✔
Allow end users to override text spacing with no loss of content or functionality	✔	✔
Ensure popup content remains visible until the user chooses to dismiss it	✔	✔
Confirm that all parts of a site are keyboard-accessible	✔	✔	✔
Allow keyboard user to navigate away from all parts of a site	✔	✔	✔
All parts of a site must be keyboard-accessible with no exceptions			✔
Confirm keyboard shortcuts can be manipulated by the user	✔	✔	✔
Allow time limits to be adjustable for the user	✔	✔	✔
Provide a mechanism so that moving, blinking, scrolling, or auto updating can be user paused, stopped, or hidden	✔	✔	✔
Confirm that no time limits are enforced			✔
Ensure no interruptions of content consumption			✔
Confirm that if re-authentication is necessary, data previously entered is saved			✔
Warn users if inactivity will result in data loss			✔
Ensure that no content flashes more than three times in a second	✔	✔	✔
Ensure that no content flashes more than three times in a second with no exceptions			✔
Allow animations from interactions to be disabled			✔
Provide Skip to Content links	✔	✔	✔
Ensure page titles are descriptive of the page content	✔	✔	✔
Confirm that the focus order is logical	✔	✔	✔
Clarify the purpose of every link	✔	✔	✔
Provide multiple ways for users to find pages	✔	✔
Ensure headings organize content and that all elements are labeled	✔	✔
Confirm that the keyboard focus is clear	✔	✔
Ensure user always knows location on the site			✔
Ensure every link’s purpose is clear even when using the link out of context			✔
Ensure every new topic has a heading			✔
Confirm that site can be operated via single clicks or touches	✔	✔	✔
Activate controls with 'mouseup' and 'touchend', not with 'mousedown' and 'touchstart'	✔	✔	✔
Include visible text in the programmatic label	✔	✔	✔
Confirm that if gestures are part of the interface, also include additional means of use	✔	✔	✔
Provide that all touch targets are at least 44x44 pixels			✔
Confirm types of input modalities are not restricted			✔
Ensure every page has a defined language	✔	✔	✔
Confirm that language changes on a page are communicated		✔	✔
Avoid or explain all jargon			✔
Explain all abbreviations			✔
Write for reading level of 9 years of school			✔
Explain words that a screen reader will have trouble pronouncing			✔
Confirm that content does not change on focus	✔	✔	✔
Confirm that content does not change on input	✔	✔	✔
Ensure that menu usage is consistent across site	✔	✔
Ensure that icons and buttons are obviously icons and buttons	✔	✔
Confirm that elements on the site do not change unless the end-user asks			✔
Clearly describe form input errors	✔	✔	✔
Provide clear form input instructions with labels	✔	✔	✔
Clearly describe form input errors and how to fix them	✔	✔
On forms, validate input and allow input to be changed	✔	✔
Provide instruction for completing tasks, especially forms			✔
On forms, validate input and allow input to be changed without exception			✔
Confirm that HTML is validated against standards	✔	✔	✔
Confirm that all content generated by scripts is accessible	✔	✔	✔
Ensure that content changes generate an alert for the screen reader user	✔	✔

If you have questions about website ADA conformance or are looking to talk services with us, our team at ZAG is happy to help you.

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posted by

Dan Seagull

Sr. QA & Certified Accessibility Analyst

ZAG Interactive is a full-service digital agency in Glastonbury, CT, offering website design, development, marketing and digital strategy to clients nationwide. See current job openings.