Crafting WCAG 3 for more accessible user experiences

In this post, I cover some of the stakes and challenges in developing W3C Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 3. I use "websites" as an example, yet this information generally applies to apps, software, documents, and other digital content and technologies.

You could say that ideally WCAG would cover all the accessibility needs of people with disabilities, accessibility would be easy to implement in all situations, and comprehensive standards would be implemented in all websites. Alas, our world is not ideal.

If WCAG required that all possible accessibility needs and wants are fully met, it would not be a practical standard that could be implemented by all websites.

If WCAG did not sufficiently address accessibility needs, it would not meet its primary goal. Thus WCAG needs to balance user needs with implementation practicalities. This is an incredible challenge.

The W3C Accessibility Guidelines Working Group is addressing this by covering as many user needs as possible in WCAG 3 and providing guidance on prioritizing implementation. We know that some websites will not go beyond the minimum requirements. We also know that some websites will go beyond the requirements and want to be recognized for providing more accessible websites.

We continue work on ways to encourage all websites to be as accessible as possible.

People with disabilities need the web to be accessible. It's imperative for equitable access to the digital world.

Most websites have accessibility barriers. To help address this, many countries and regions have laws, regulations, or policies that require websites to be accessible. Most are based on WCAG 2.

Policymakers want a stable standard that can be used to create practical regulations.