ADA compliance is an absolute essential for banks and credit unions and a major priority for businesses across all industries. So, when W3C announces that changes to their conformance Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are on the horizon, all organizations should take notice.
Website developers, content creators and accessibility experts have been on the edge of their seat awaiting the release of WCAG 3.0 since the working draft was first published back on January 21, 2021. However, the timing of the official release is still up in the air. The Accessibility Guidelines Working Group, focused on developing the new system, is planning to make a timeline available by September 2025 but WCAG 3.0 isn’t expected to be a completed W3C standard for a few more years.
In the meantime, understanding why these changes are happening and learning what to expect will help your business be ready to hit the ground running when the new guidelines are finally released.
Why Do We Need WCAG 3.0?
W3C rolled out their first set of accessibility guidelines back in May 1999 (WCAG 1.0) to address usability issues on websites and mobile applications for people with blindness, low vision, deafness and hearing loss, cognitive challenges and other disabilities. Version updates including 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2 have made strides to enhance usability standards over the years but more is required to keep up with the times. Emerging technologies, a narrow pass/fail scoring system and the sometimes-cryptic language that make the existing guidelines difficult to understand all points to the need for an overhaul of the current framework.
WCAG 3.0 promises to allow for more frequent updates to gradually improve accessibility standards as technologies evolve. It also aims to deliver a nuanced approach to scoring that goes deeper than the present pass/fail model, motivating businesses and organizations to reach for higher levels of conformance and make the standards easier to grasp for people with differing degrees of technical knowledge.
The Biggest Changes with WCAG 3.0
There are many adjustments in the works but here are a few of the most notable changes coming with WCAG 3.0:
Success Criteria is Out and Outcomes are In
WCAG 2.2 uses what’s called success criteria to gauge how well a web page meets the guidelines and assigns an pass or fail rating. However, WCAG 3.0 uses what’s called outcomes that breaks it down into a more precise rating scale with scores from 0 (very poor) to 4 (excellent). This fresh granular approach enables websites with some minor issues to still achieve a level of conformance, rather than simply failing altogether.
New Scoring System: Bronze, Silver and Gold
WCAG 2.2 uses an A, AA and AAA level scoring system to measure performance with A representing nominal conformance, AA being the level most businesses strive for (as it’s required by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act), and AAA depicting the top level of compliance.
WCAG 3.0 introduces a new bronze, silver and gold scoring model that raises the bar by requiring “holistic testing” to meet conformance at the upper levels. Here’s how it breaks down:
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Bronze - Bronze is the most basic level of conformance. This set of requirements will be somewhat comparable to WCAG 2.2 level AA. To qualify, the content does not need to fully meet requirements in every guideline but the total score and scores within each of the functional categories must reach an established threshold. Also, if there are any critical errors, that is enough to deny conformance despite other scores.
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Silver - A silver rating recognizes an organization’s special effort to make their content accessible. To secure a silver rating, all of the bronze level criteria must be met plus a new type of evaluation called holistic testing is mandatory. These holistic tests will use assistive technology, user-centered design methods and user and expert usability testing to dig into the overall experience for people.
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Gold - Attaining a gold rating illustrates an organization’s high level of dedication as an exemplary model of user accessibility. To win this level, the silver level criteria must be met, and further holistic testing must be performed to verify conformance.
The exact details of what criteria will need to be met and how the testing will be performed are yet to be announced but the documentation offered so far indicates that there could be different types of testing at each level.
Why Accessibility is Important for Your Business or Organization
Advocates of accessibility understand that when online content can be easily consumed by all types of users, everybody wins. Improving digital access for people with physical and sensory disabilities not only benefits those facing these daily challenges but widens the audience a business can reach with their product or service. That means, every organization should embrace advancements to the W3C standards.
Whether you’re hoping to develop an ADA compliant website or could use a hand maintaining ADA compliance standards on an existing site, the CPACC certified team at ZAG is here to assist. Contact us today.