WCAG 3.0: Understanding the latest accessibility guidelines

At Pixelfridge, people always come first. It’s central to our values, and the reason that web accessibility is dear to our hearts. We strive to make digital experiences that everyone can use, no matter their ability level or background.

What’s the WCAG?

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) have set the global standard for accessible websites and apps for over 20 years. These guidelines help us to design accessible websites and to create experiences that work for people with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive disabilities.

In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 made it a legal requirement for website owners to consider accessibility. This means that everyone should be adhering to the WCAG, at least to a certain level.

WCAG 2.2 has been until recently, the latest version of these guidelines. It’s essentially a big checklist of factors that a website can either pass or fail. Based on which criteria have been met, the site can be awarded an A, AA or AAA level of compliance.

At Pixelfridge we generally shoot for at least AA-level compliance, as it represents the ideal balance between accessibility standards, and the feasibility for organisations to actually implement and maintain them.

The problems with WCAG 2.2

Whilst WCAG 2 helped set important standards in the industry, the guidelines are often taken as little more than a technical checklist. For many organisations, compliance has become more focused around passing tests than creating genuinely inclusive experiences. These tests are often automated too.

With so little human thought going into a site’s accessibility strategy, sites can often miss the mark despite being technically ‘compliant’.

To put things into context, there are 86 success criteria in WCAG 2.2. The compliance level is based on a certain, specific criteria passing or failing. This means that even a small oversight to an otherwise perfect website—like a missing label—can result in it being non-compliant. Likewise, technical issues flagged in isolation sometimes don’t actually impact real users.

This isn’t to detract from the guidelines themselves. They’re hugely important, and it’s crucial we uphold these standards. But without subjectivity and nuance, it’s easy to overlook genuine issues in the pursuit of checking boxes.

The rigid approach taken towards accessibility compliance can feel robotic. That feels ironic, considering the overall goal of making digital experiences work better for real people.

What’s changing in WCAG 3.0?

WCAG 3.0, released in draft form earlier this year, is set to change the way we approach accessibility compliance in a positive way.

Instead of just listing lots of element-level ‘pass or fail’ tests, WCAG 3.0 encourages more nuanced, context-based evaluations. The updated guidance forces web teams to think about the user experience, and not just the technical implementation. It also puts less rigidity into compliance, allowing creators to adapt their approach based on the scenario and the context.

Moreover, greater emphasis is placed on organisations having policies, guides and staff training in place. The guidelines describe this as testing organisations on both an ‘atomic’ and ‘holistic’ level.

By introducing a more nuanced and evidence-focused approach to accessibility compliance, it moves us beyond box-ticking, and instead encourages a more thoughtful approach to accessibility ensured by internal process, and the continued upskilling of digital content creators.

What do the changes to WCAG mean for me?

As a website owner, it’s your responsibility to make sure your site is accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability or disability. The new WCAG 3.0 criteria comes with some practical changes that website teams need to be aware of.

Thinking beyond web content

The new guidelines focus not just on the granular element-level testing of the current version. They also cover holistic user experience and organisational factors. This makes accessibility a strategic consideration, and not just an afterthought.

Supporting wider touch-points

WCAG 3.0 extends far beyond the code-based elements of a website. Criteria for broader interactive features such as video, audio and animation will become more in-depth. This will require more thoughtfulness around the production of this content, rather than just depending on subtitles and transcripts as an afterthought.

Broadening the scope of accessibility

The guidelines cover a broader range of factors – including much greater consideration to users with cognitive and learning disabilities. This presents additional considerations when it comes to planning and designing website content. The guidelines have also been expanded to cover emerging technologies such as AI and VR.

A focus on outcomes

Meeting guidelines will require more nuanced evaluation than a simple ‘yes or no’ answer. Whilst element-level tests will still be included in the process, success may also be measured by more subjective factors like ease-of-use and the implementation of certain organisational policies.

Changes to compliance awards

Instead of ‘A, AA and AAA’, there will be ‘Bronze, Silver and Gold’ conformance levels. We don’t have much detail about how these will be awarded yet – but it seems likely they will be based on a more aggregate ‘score’ of overall accessibility, instead of meeting certain specific criteria.

Next steps for website owners

WCAG 3.0 is still in draft form and hasn’t been officially released yet. The guidelines will likely evolve over the coming years.

One thing is clear, though. Once released, WCAG 3.0 will bring major changes to accessibility standards and compliance. That’s why it’s important to start preparing now.

Here’s what we recommend to get ready for the updated accessibility guidelines:

1. Ensure that you are WCAG 2.2 compliant

Most of the same principals and tests will still be in place. The changes will represent an increase in scope, rather than walking back any of the existing recommendations. If you’re already compliant there’ll be less work to do when version 3.0 does come into effect.

2. Start training your content creators

If they don’t already, it’s crucial that your entire web content team understand the principals surrounding web accessibility and inclusivity.

3. Have content style guides in place

A content style guide should put into place rules and recommendations regarding things like wording, use of language and preparation rules for visual assets. Having this in place will help sure content standards are consistently upheld.

4. Have an accessibility statement

Having a clear, publicly available position statement on accessibility is already a legal requirement for public sector websites. It’s an important way to align your team on the expectations they need to uphold, and it makes you accountable to ensure a minimum level of compliance. The government has published some useful resources to help you write your own organisation’s accessibility statement.

5. Seek an expert evaluation

Get an accessibility expert to take a look at your site, and consider how well it is catering for users with disabilities from both a technical and a holistic perspective.