WCAG — what it is and
what it means for your website.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are the international standard for accessible web content. Here is what you need to know.
What Is WCAG?
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) through the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). They define how to make web content accessible to people with disabilities — including blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, cognitive and learning disabilities, motor disabilities, and more.
WCAG is the technical standard referenced by accessibility laws worldwide, including the ADA in the US, the European Accessibility Act in the EU, and Section 508 for US federal agencies.
Current versions:
The original widely-adopted version. Still legally referenced in many jurisdictions.
Added 17 criteria covering mobile accessibility, low vision, and cognitive disabilities. The most commonly required version today.
Added 9 more criteria, primarily improving access for people with cognitive and motor disabilities. Best practice target.
The Four POUR Principles
WCAG is built on four core principles. Accessible content must be:
Perceivable
Users must be able to perceive all information. This means alternatives for non-text content (alt text for images), captions for audio, sufficient color contrast, and content that can be resized without loss of function.
Operable
All functionality must be operable by keyboard, not just mouse. Users need enough time to read content, and nothing should cause seizures or physical reactions.
Understandable
Content and operation of the UI must be understandable. Language is identified, navigation is consistent, and errors are clearly explained with suggestions for correction.
Robust
Content must be robust enough to work with current and future assistive technologies. This means valid, well-structured HTML and proper use of ARIA where needed.
Conformance Levels
WCAG criteria are organized into three conformance levels:
Level A
The minimum level. Failures at Level A create major barriers. Required for basic accessibility.
Level AA
The standard that most accessibility laws and guidelines reference, including ADA, EAA, and Section 508. INCLUXA targets WCAG 2.2 AA for our platform and widget.
Level AAA
The highest level. Not required for full conformance, but reflects best practice. Some criteria only apply to specific content types.
Important: "WCAG conformance" means meeting all Level A and Level AA criteria. Meeting only some criteria is partial conformance — not full conformance. The INCLUXA scanner reports which machine-detectable rules pass and fail; the remaining criteria need manual review.
How INCLUXA Helps with WCAG
WCAG Scanner
Tests machine-detectable WCAG 2.2 AA rules on your website (WCAG 2.1 AA is a subset). Issues are grouped by principle, guideline, and criterion with remediation guidance. Manual review is still required for the criteria automated tools cannot check. Available on Starter and Pro.
Accessibility Widget
Helps end users on your website work around barriers through 35 customizable tools. This does not fix your site's code, but it reduces friction for users while you address underlying issues.
AI Remediation
For issues identified by the scanner, our AI remediation tool suggests specific code changes — alt text, ARIA labels, semantic markup improvements, and more. Available on Pro and above with the AI credit-pool add-on; review every suggestion before applying it.
Compliance Reports
VPAT-format reports that document your current conformance status. Useful for procurement due diligence, legal filings, and internal stakeholder communication.
Automated tools can detect approximately 30–40% of WCAG issues. The remainder require human review and testing with assistive technologies. INCLUXA's tools are most effective as part of a broader accessibility program.