On 5th June, 2018 Web Accessibilty Initiative of World Wide Web Consortium has announced that Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 has become official recommendation as standard. There has been tremendous efforts by Accessibility Guidelines Working Group which includes task forces for Cognitive, Low Vision and Mobile users. This is an evolution of W3C’s accessibility guidance, including expansion of mobile, low vision, and cognitive and learning provisions. It maintains W3C’s accessibility guidance, while maintaining W3C’s standard of implementable, technology neutral, objectively testable and universally applicable accessibility guidance.
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For users of mobile devices, WCAG 2.1 provides updated guidance including support for user interactions using touch, handling more complex gestures, and for avoiding unintended activation of an interface. For users with low vision, WCAG 2.1 extends contrast requirements to graphics, and introduces new requirements for text and layout customization to support better visual perception of web content and controls. For users with cognitive, language, and learning disabilities, WCAG 2.1 improvements include a requirement to provide information about the specific purpose of input controls, as well as additional requirements to support timeouts due to inactivity. This can help many users better understand web content and how to successfully interact with it.
As with WCAG 2.0, following these guidelines will continue to make content more accessible to a wider range of people with disabilities, including blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, limited movement, speech disabilities, photosensitivity, and learning disabilities and cognitive limitations. Following these guidelines can also make websites more usable for all users.
Read the complete blog post by Andrew and Micheal on W3C Blog
Here are list of New Success Criterions in WCAG 2.1
Create content that can be presented in different ways (for example simpler layout) without losing information or structure.
Content does not restrict its view and operation to a single display orientation, such as portrait or landscape, unless a specific display orientation is essential.
Comic with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair:
Understanding Orientation
The purpose of each input field collecting information about the user can be programmatically determined when:
Supermarket assistant with dyslexia and dyscalculia:
Understanding Identify Input Purpose
In content implemented using markup languages, the purpose of User Interface Components, icons, and regionscan be programmatically determined.
Gamer with language processing disability:
Understanding Identify Purpose
Make it easier for users to see and hear content including separating foreground from background.
Content can be presented without loss of information or functionality, and without requiring scrolling in two dimensions for:
Except for parts of the content which require two-dimensional layout for usage or meaning.
Parent with low vision – 20/400:
Understanding Reflow
The visual presentation of the following have a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 against adjacent color(s):
Retiree with low contrast sensitivity:
Understanding Non-text Contrast
In content implemented using markup languages that support the following text style properties, no loss of content or functionality occurs by setting all of the following and by changing no other style property:
Exception: Human languages and scripts that do not make use of one or more of these text style properties in written text can conform using only the properties that exist for that combination of language and script.
Student with dyslexia:
and Retiree with low vision:
Understanding Text Spacing
Where receiving and then removing pointer hover or keyboard focus triggers additional content to become visible and then hidden, the following are true:
Exception: The visual presentation of the additional content is controlled by the user agent and is not modified by the author.
Teacher with low vision who uses screen magnification software:
Understanding Content on Hover or Focus
Make all functionality available from a keyboard.
If a keyboard shortcut is implemented in content using only letter (including upper- and lower-case letters), punctuation, number, or symbol characters, then at least one of the following is true:
Reporter with repetitive stress injury who uses voice recognition software:
Understanding Character Key Shortcuts
Provide users enough time to read and use content.
Users are warned of the duration of any user inactivity that could cause data loss, unless the data is preserved for more than 20 hours when the user does not take any actions.
School playground aide with cognitive disabilities:
Understanding Timeouts
Do not design content in a way that is known to cause seizures or physical reactions.
Motion animation triggered by interaction can be disabled, unless the animation is essential to the functionality or the information being conveyed.
Artist with vestibular disorder:
Understanding Animation from Interactions
Make it easier for users to operate functionality through various inputs beyond keyboard.
All functionality that uses multipoint or path-based gestures for operation can be operated with a single pointerwithout a path-based gesture, unless a multipoint or path-based gesture is essential.
Comic with cerebral palsy who has limited movement in fingers:
Understanding Pointer Gestures
For functionality that can be operated using a single pointer, at least one of the following is true:
Politician with motor disabilities and low vision:
Understanding Pointer Cancellation
For user interface components with labels that include text or images of text, the name contains the text that is presented visually.
Reporter with repetitive stress injury who uses voice recognition software:
Understanding Label in Name
Functionality that can be operated by device motion or user motion can also be operated by user interface components and responding to the motion can be disabled to prevent accidental actuation, except when:
Comic with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair:
Understanding Motion Actuation
The size of the target for pointer inputs is at least 44 by 44 CSS pixels except when:
Retiree with hand tremor (and big fingers):
Understanding Target Size
Web content does not restrict use of input modalities available on a platform except where the restriction is essential, required to ensure the security of the content, or required to respect user settings.
Reporter with repetitive stress injury who uses voice recognition software:
Understanding Concurrent Input Mechanisms
Maximize compatibility with current and future user agents, including assistive technologies.
In content implemented using markup languages, status messages can be programmatically determined through role or properties such that they can be presented to the user by assistive technologies without receiving focus.
Accountant who is blind and uses a screen reader:
Understanding Status Messages
Above details are reproduced from What’s new in WCAG 2.1 on WAI Website.
ServeOM Inclusion will be happy to assist community in understanding WCAG 2.1, testing products against WCAG 2.1. Do contact us to have a conversation.
Gratitude to everyone involved in building these standards.
