A presentation at Inclusive Design 24 by Hidde de Vries
How we want to make WCAG better Hidde de Vries #ID24 24⦁09⦁2026
(here in personal capacity)
WCAG Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
EN 301 549 T “Accessibility requirements for IC products and services”
hf.etsi.org/eu-accessibility-standard-adoption-map
Ag
WCAG 2 → 3
w3.org/TR/wcag3
Note: WCAG 3 is not almost here, it is still in active development and not ready for use. Feedback on the direction is welcomed!
Let’s start w th i WCAG 2
4 i i Pr nc ples ( )
Pr nc ples ( ) Understandable Operable Robust 4 i v i Percei
Pr nc ples ( ) 4 i i i i Gu del nes (13)
Pr nc ples ( ) Gu del nes (13) i 4 i i i i i Success Cr ter a (55)
Example Pr 1.1.1 Non-text Content Gu i i i i Success Cr ter a (55)
OK, r ght… i What’s the issue with 2?
WCAG 2 s… v y i Not equall representati e of all different disabilities
WCAG 2 s… w v w i Difficult to gear to ards ne technological inno ation
WCAG 2 s… w v w i Difficult to gear to ards ne technological inno ation
WCAG 2 s… x v i Non-tri ial to e pand
WCAG 2 doesn’t really… w v Address authoring tools, bro sers and assisti e technologies
WCAG 2 lacks… v y v A er effecti e user manual
y (and there ha e been man great attempts at addressing parts of the problem) v T his is nobody’s fault, given context and constraints
What’s next How will WCAG 3 improve things?
What’s next How will WCAG 3 improve things? Note: it is a draft, not final, not set in stone
What’s next How will WCAG 3 improve things? , e s u o t y d a “Not re r u o y r o f y d a but re comments” y r e m o g t n o M y le d a r B l — Rachae ) p u o r G g in k r o W G A ir (co-cha
i i i i i Cover ng more d sab l t es
i i i i i i i i i d sab l t es Cover ng more d sab l t es user needs
WCAG is about ensuring all people can use web content.
Web content should work… …without sight … without or with limited speech …with limited sight …with limited reach …without colour perception …with limited cognition …without hearing …with limited language ability …with limited hearing
D g tal Access b l ty Framework Support needed Indi i i i i v i accessiblecommunity.org/daf/framework Characteristics of content
i Innovat on
WCAG 3 is more technology agnostic, which makes it more compatible with emerging tech
Agnost c w i Not eb-specific
Agnost c w i i Not eb-specific “web page” “v ew”
W v k v v i i Content on des tops, laptops, tablets, mobile de ices, earable de ices, eb of hings de ices. i w T Access b l ty of
i Integrat on
b r o w s e r ? ? T A s ? e d S CM Less focus on where the i accessibility comes from
Now (WCAG 2) Instructions: do this
Future (WCAG 3) Outcome: this should be the case
Updated content structure
Content is organised differently, no Principles or Success Criteria
Placeholder Exploratory Developing Refining Mature
Now (WCAG 2) Principles > Guidelines > Success Criteria
Future (WCAG 3) v Guidelines > Pro isions
Future (WCAG 3) v Guidelines > Pro isions Core Requirements Supplemental Requirements Assertions
Future (WCAG 3) Guidelines Outcome statements centered around documented user needs
Future (WCAG 3) Guidelines Outcome statements centered around documented user needs
T Future (WCAG 3) Requirements
Requirements Type of requ rement (“Core” or “Supplemental”) i T Future (WCAG 3)
Requirements Type of requ rement (“Core” or “Supplemental”) i T Future (WCAG 3) content status
Requirements content status Type of requ rement (“Core” or “Supplemental”) i related ssues i T Future (WCAG 3)
Requirements appl es/ except when i T Future (WCAG 3)
More provisions (not necessarily more work to do for teams)
Future (WCAG 3) Assertions Formal claim of fact. Attributed to a person or organisation. Can support a Guideline, cover things that are harder to test.
Future (WCAG 3) Assertions - what are you asserting? - date of assertion - timeframe
Conformance
i Not to be confused w th…
Not to be confused w th… i Compliance
Conformance answers what it means to “meet WCAG”
Conformance is whether something satisfies the requirements listed in the guidelines
Rule Ruler
Rule Ruler Designed by a government Designed by team WCAG
Rule Ruler Designed by a government Designed by team WCAG
The WCAG 2 model Level A Level AA Level AAA
The WCAG 2 model The WCAG 3 model Level A single level Level AA Level AAA (for now)
The WCAG 3 model (in progress) i requ red for conformance Core requirements
The WCAG 3 model (in progress) requ red for conformance Core requirements Supplemental requirements not requ red for conformance Assertions i i Recommended practices
Levels still exist, but they moved from conformance to reporting
Access b l ty supported i i i T For content to be actually accessible, it must meet the requirements in a way that is supported by UAs and A s of real users.
Access b l ty supported i i i What real users use can differ by language, region, workplace, device.
Access b l ty supported Different “Accessibility support sets” can exist. i i i WCAG 3 will have a default one, others could be defined by people, organizations, regulators.
Wrapping up
WCAG may get better!
WCAG may get more future proof
WCAG may get a better structure, for easier updates and usability
WCAG may cover a wider range of user needs
WCAG may cover a wider range of recommendations
Slides/links on hidde.blog/slides Thank you! Fonts: Bild and Bungee by David Jonathan Ross
The following resources were mentioned during the presentation or are useful additional information.
De laatst gepubliceerde “Working Draft” voor WCAG 3. Let op: deze versie is nog lang niet definitief, het is een work in progress.
