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WAI: Strategies, guidelines, resources to make the Web accessible to people with disabilities

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      • 2.0 Working Draft
        1. »Overview WCAG 2.0
        2. Instructions for Comments
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        6. About Baselines
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3. Managing Accessibility
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[DRAFT] Overview of WCAG 2.0 Documents

Introduction

This page gives you an overview of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Working Draft documents as of June 2006, and highlights how WCAG 2.0 working drafts differ from WCAG 1.0. If you want to know what Web content means, who WCAG is for, and who develops WCAG, see the high-level WCAG Overview.

WCAG 1.0 was approved in May 1999 and is the stable and referenceable version. WCAG 2.0 documents are being developed to apply to more advanced Web technologies, be easier to use and understand, and be more precisely testable, as documented in Requirements for WCAG 2.0.

The WCAG 2.0 Draft Documents

There are different WCAG 2.0 documents for different purposes:

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) Last Call Working Draft - draft Web standard.
• Techniques for WCAG 2.0 Working Draft (supporting document) – gives you specific details on how to develop accessible Web content, such as HTML code examples.
• Understanding WCAG 2.0 Working Draft (supporting document) – has additional guidance on learning and implementing WCAG 2.0 for people who want to understand the guidelines more thoroughly.
• WCAG 2.0 Quick Reference Working Draft (supporting document) – lists the basic requirements for WCAG 2.0.
• About Baselines for WCAG 2.0 Working Draft (supporting document) – explains the baseline concept.

WCAG 2.0 Working Draft is the planned Web standard, called a "W3C Recommendation". It is a technical specification written to apply broadly to different technologies now and in the future, and be as precisely testable as possible.

Most people will use the supporting materials when developing Web content and Web tools, instead of the actual technical standards document.

Currently, the best place to start working with WCAG 2.0 is the WCAG 2.0 Quick Reference. The Quick Reference lists the WCAG 2.0 guidelines and success criteria. The success criteria are the testable statements that define how Web content meets (conforms to) WCAG 2.0. Under each success criteria are a list of sufficient techniques; that is, if you implement those techniques you meet the success criteria. It also lists common failures, things that do not meet the guidelines.

Within the Quick Reference are "[Understanding Guideline x]" and "[How to meet x.x.x]" links that take you to the relevant section of Understanding WCAG 2.0. For each success criteria, it explains the intent—the meaning and purpose of the success criteria—along with examples, additional techniques, and how it helps people with disabilities.

You can customize the WCAG 2.0 Quick Reference based on whether you are using CSS, JavaScript, or other Web technologies. You can also select to show Level 1, 2, or 3 success criteria.

Planned Additions

WAI has been focusing on developing the technical aspects of WCAG 2.0. We are also planning material to help Web developers who are not accessibility experts develop accessible Web content that conforms to WCAG 2.0, such as:

• "Application Notes" (working title) would provide guidance for a specific topic, such as images, links, or tables. For example, an Application Note on forms would start with simple examples and include the WCAG 2.0 success criteria, techniques, and strategies for developing accessible forms.
• "Quick Tips to Make Accessible Web Sites" would summarize the key concepts of accessible Web design.

Navigating WCAG 2.0 Documents

The WCAG 2.0 technical standard document is currently divided into 9 Web pages, which are listed in the WCAG 2.0 table of contents. You can also get all the WCAG 2.0 parts together on one Web page, which is useful for printing or downloading as a single HTML file.

The current draft of the Understanding WCAG 2.0 document is one large Web page, as is the Techniques for WCAG 2.0 document. When you click links to those documents, such as "[How to meet 1.1.1]" and "Using alt attributes on img elements", you go to a section in the middle of the large document (after the page downloads).

WAI may develop alternative views of the WCAG 2.0 supporting material where each bit of information is in a short Web page. For example, each “How To” section of Understanding WCAG 2.0 is its own page and each technique is its own page. It would be designed so that you can easily navigate around individual sections of the WCAG 2.0 documents.

How WCAG 2.0 Drafts Differ from WCAG 1.0

WCAG 2.0 applies more broadly to different Web technologies and is designed to apply as technologies develop in the future. @@testable@@, more specific@@

In WCAG 1.0, brief descriptions are included in the main WCAG 1.0 document under each guideline. With WCAG 2.0, extensive guidance is provided for each guideline and success criteria in Understanding WCAG 2.0. The WCAG 2.0 techniques are also more comprehensive and include tests.

WCAG 1.0 Priority Checkpoints versus WCAG 2.0 Level Success Criteria

WCAG 1.0 is organized around guidelines that have checkpoints, which are priority 1, 2, or 3. The basis for determining conformance to the WCAG 1.0 are the checkpoints.

WCAG 2.0 is organized around four design principles of Web accessibility. Each principle has guidelines, and each guideline has success criteria at level 1, 2, or 3. The basis for determining conformance to the WCAG 2.0 Working Draft are the success criteria.

Baseline in WCAG 2.0

A new concept in WCAG 2.0 is technology baseline. Baseline is the minimum technologies (HTML, CSS, etc.) that user agents must support for the content to be accessible. One way to think about baselines is: the technologies that the user's browser and assistive technology needs to support in order for your Web site to work. @@Baselines do not specific particular browsers, just technologies that a browser must support.

About Baselines for WCAG 2.0 is being edited to provide a concise explanation, precise clarifications, and examples. @@currently has lots of info. continuing-evolving@@

Transitioning from WCAG 1.0 to WCAG 2.0

Most Web sites that conform to WCAG 1.0 should not require significant changes in order to conform to WCAG 2.0, and some may not need any changes. Although WCAG 2.0 is not finalized and some details in it may change before it is approved, some organizations have chosen to start using WCAG 2.0 Drafts in their current Web development projects.

Comparison of WCAG 1.0 Checkpoints to WCAG 2.0 is a draft document that shows the relationship between WCAG 1.0 checkpoints and WCAG 2.0. WAI will provide additional resources to help you to transition from WCAG 1.0 to WCAG 2.0.

Document Information

Content last updated: 6 July 2006 (to be edited with next WCAG 2.0 Working Draft release)
Editor: Shawn Lawton Henry. Developed with the Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG) and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (WCAG WG).

[Contacting WAI] Feedback welcome to wai-eo-editors@w3.org.