Introduce yourself to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

The Web Accessibility Guidelines and associated documents published by the The World Wide Web Consortiums (W3C) are a fantastic resource, and recognised as the ‘standard’ reference documents for those building accessible sites.

However, they can be difficult for the beginner to understand, and can seem rather overwhelming in the breadth of issues they cover.

In this tip, I suggest an alternative ‘entry point’ to learning the guidelines; the ‘WAI Web Content Accessibility Curriculum‘, a website created by Chuck Letourneau and Geoff Freed.

On the above site you will find lots of examples and explanations for each checkpoint – plenty of help to get you started.

Now I know that WCAG 2 has been released, but I also know that it is just trying to do the exactly the same job as WCAG 1 – just using a different approach. Making your website accessible is the key point; use whatever set of guidelines you find most helpful in achieving that task; and don’t feel that you are missing something if those guidelines are the WCAG 1 guidelines.

Another resource worth checking out is the WCAG 1 training course I wrote a while back for the Guild of Accessible Website Designers.

Take my Web Accessibility Online Training Course - WCAG 2.1 Compliance

Learn to design and manage WCAG compliant, accessible websites with my online course

You will learn both the techniques of accessible website design and an entire ‘framework for thinking about the subject’. It will equip you with the skills to understand, identify and fix issues any accessibility issues you come across. Watch the free videos to get a taste of what is on the course.