The essence of WCAG: a guide to digital accessibility

From 28 June 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) will come into force. It is crucial for companies to understand and apply the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These guidelines are not only important for legal compliance but also for creating an inclusive digital environment.

Discover further how to comply with the WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines and ensure that your website is accessible to all users.

What is WCAG?

WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. These guidelines, developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), provide a framework to make online content more accessible. They are divided into three levels of conformance: A, AA, and AAA, with A being the basic level and AAA the most advanced.

Compliance with WCAG includes crucial aspects such as avoiding colour as the only means of conveying information, not using images of text, and ensuring clarity in titles, links, and headers. These points are fundamental to creating accessible digital environments.

Who does it apply to?

The EAA guidelines apply to various sectors from 28 June 2025, including e-commerce, banking, video streaming services, and transportation services. It is important for these sectors to begin preparing for these upcoming changes now.

Exceptions

However, there are some exceptions. "Micro Enterprises," with fewer than 10 employees and a turnover of less than 2 million euros, are exempt. The obligation also does not apply to content published before June 2025, such as pre-recorded media and certain file formats.

What are the WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines?

The WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines are guidelines established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to ensure that websites are accessible for people with various disabilities. These guidelines set requirements for, among other things, navigation, colour contrast, and the use of alternative text for images.

Following these guidelines ensures that everyone, regardless of their disability, can understand and use the content and functionality of a website. This enhances the accessibility of the web and allows more people to benefit from the information and services available online.

Key points of WCAG 2.1 A & AA

Essential elements of WCAG 2.1 A & AA include, among others:

• Transcripts for audio and video.

• Subtitles for videos.

• Avoiding colour as the sole means of information transfer.

• Refraining from the use of images of text.

• Proper markup for notifications for screen readers.

• Enabling keyboard navigation.

• Control options for moving content.

• Skip to content links.

• Clear titles, links, headers, and alternative text.

Why is it important to comply with these guidelines?

It is important to comply with the WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines because this ensures that your website is accessible to all users. By adhering to these guidelines, you make your website usable for people with various disabilities, such as visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive impairments.

Additionally, compliance with the WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines is legally required in many countries, including the Netherlands. Failing to meet these guidelines can lead to legal issues and fines.

By investing in accessibility, you enhance the user experience of your website and reach a larger audience. Furthermore, you contribute to an inclusive society where everyone has equal access to information and services on the web.

Steps to comply with the WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines

Step 1: Make your website easy to navigate

One important guideline to comply with is making a website easy to navigate. Ensure that users can quickly and easily find the information they need. This can be achieved by using a clear and consistent navigation structure, where the main parts of your website are easily accessible.

Additionally, it is important to provide alternative navigation methods, such as a sitemap, search function, or an overview of links. This allows users with different limitations, such as visual impairments or motor disabilities, to easily navigate your website as well.

Step 2: Ensure sufficient colour contrast

Good colour contrast is essential for an accessible website. Ensure that the text is easily readable for people with visual impairments, such as colour blindness or low vision. Use sufficient contrast between the text colour and the background colour.

You can use online tools to check whether the colour contrast on your website meets the WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines. Adjust the colours as necessary to ensure that the text is readable for everyone.

Step 3: Use alternative text for images

Using alternative text for images is important for users with visual impairments. This alternative text, also known as alt text, is read aloud by screen readers and provides a description of the content or function of an image.

Ensure that every image on your website has clear and descriptive alt text. This allows users with visual impairments to understand the content of the images, even if they cannot see the images themselves.

Practical examples

Check out our case study of the Uniform Wage Value Methodology. A government institution that we have already prepared for WCAG 2.1 regulations at an early stage.

Open questions

With WCAG 2.1 as the current standard and WCAG 2.2 on the way, there are questions about the exact interpretation of the guidelines. Additionally, there remain uncertainties about who exactly falls under the legislation and what the implementation precisely requires.

Compliance with the WCAG guidelines is essential for creating an inclusive digital world. Webwonders offers services for periodic scans of websites to ensure compliance with these guidelines. Contact us for a free consultation.