

This WCAG 2.1 checklist will ensure that your website meets the latest accessibility standards and guidelines, helping you achieve ADA compliance.
People with disabilities can easily use web tools and access websites. However, many advanced tools and sites can create accessibility barriers, making them harder to navigate.
Fortunately, removing these barriers is easier than it once was and WCAG is helping with this.
WCAG is a set of comprehensive compliance guidelines designed to create a more accessible online space for all. To make these guidelines even easier to understand, we’ve created a simplified checklist that you can use throughout the ADA compliance process.
WCAG (WCAG) 2.0 is a series of guidelines that show website owners how to create web content that’s accessible to people with disabilities. This includes a broad range of disabilities such as speech, auditory, visual, learning, neurological, and more.
These guidelines also ensure online content is accessible to older users with diminishing abilities, improving general usability and understanding.
As you start this journey, you might be wondering about the differences between this WCAG checklist and the actual guidelines.
A WCAG checklist interprets and simplifies the guidelines and success criteria. Meanwhile, the full set of WCAG guidelines is more detailed and not technically specific.
It’s beneficial to have a WCAG checklist while working through the guidelines as it can help you keep track of your progress in attaining web accessibility.
One of the most important things a business can do is make sure its website, marketing materials, and brand aren’t inaccessible to people with disabilities. An accessibility checklist helps marketers and designers meet the necessary web content accessibility requirements.
In addition, guidelines for beginners, intermediate, and advanced levels exist. Let us discuss the compliance checklist in more detail.
Level A is for beginners and is only linked to the essential requirements. If these are not followed, assistive technology cannot view or operate a web page.
Alternative text needs to be applied to non-text content serving an identical purpose.
How to apply:
Video-only or audio-only content should have alternatives.
How to apply:
Pre-recorded captions need to be added to videos with audio
How to apply:
Supply text transcripts or audio descriptions for videos with sounds.
How to apply:
Content structure and relationships should be obvious.
How to apply:
Content should be presented in a logical order.
How to apply:
Instructions should not fully rely on sensory characteristics.
How to apply:
Do not let presentation rely on color alone.
How to apply:
Ensure audio does not play automatically.
How to apply:
Functionalities must be keyboard-accessible without specific timings.
How to apply:
Avoiding keyboard traps helps users easily navigate all content with a keyboard.
How to apply:
All users must be able to remap or turn off one-key character shortcuts.
How to apply:
Users should be allowed to turn off controls and extend or adjust time limits.
How to apply:
Allows users to stop, hide, and pause auto-updating and moving content.
How to apply:
All content flashes must be less than 3 times per second.
How to apply:
This allows users to skip repeated content blocks.
How to apply:
Users must engage with clear and understandable page titles.
How to apply:
Components are arranged in a logical sequence.
How to apply:
Every link should have a clear purpose.
How to apply:
Keyboard focus should be visible when accessed.
How to apply:
Users should be able to navigate using page break locators.
A user can operate path-based and multipoint gestures using a single pointer.
How to apply:
Pointer cancellations should not be completed with a single pointer click.
How to apply:
Components should have a text label, and the component name should contain visible text.
How to apply:
Motions should operate motion actuation functions, and interface and motion responses should have the ability to be turned off.
How to apply:
Every web page must be assigned a default language.
How to apply:
Elements should stay the same after enhancing focus.
How to apply:
An element should stay the same after an input.
How to apply:
Errors should be easily identifiable.
How to apply:
Provide instructions for labeled elements.
How to apply:
Your website must be error-free.
How to apply:
All elements must be built for accessibility.
How to apply:
Include live video captions.
Add pre-recorded videos and audio descriptions.
How to apply:
Your website must be able to adjust to landscape and portrait orientations.
How to apply:
Input fields must be programmatically identifiable.
How to apply:
The contrast ratio between backgrounds and texts must be at least 4.5:1.
How to apply:
Texts should be resizable to 200% without losing content or function.
Don’t use text images.
Content should retain function and meaning without scrolling in different dimensions.
How to apply:
The contrast between adjacent colors, user interface components, and graphics should be at least 3:1.
How to apply:
Function and content should retain meaning when users change text spacing.
How to apply:
When hover or focus triggers content to appear, it should be persistent, dismissible, and hoverable.
How to apply:
Provides different ways to find website pages.
How to apply:
Labels and headings should describe the purpose or topic.
How to apply:
Focus indicators should be easily distinguishable when active.
How to apply:
Dragging movement functionalities must be achieved with a single pointer without drags.
The pointer input’s target size should be at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels.
Webpage sections should have a default language assigned to them.
How to apply:
Menus and standard controls should be consistently positioned.
How to apply:
Components must be identifiable with the same function.
How to apply:
Suggest solutions when users cause errors.
How to apply:
Decrease input error risks for sensitive data.
How to apply:
Sign language translations should be provided for pre-recorded videos.
Extended audio descriptions should be available for pre-recorded videos.
Text alternatives are provided for pre-recorded videos.
How to apply:
There should be alternatives for live audio.
How to apply:
All components’ purposes must be programmatically determinable.
How to apply:
Contrast ratios between background and texts should be at least 7:1.
Audio-only content should be clear without any or minimal background noise.
How to apply:
This offers users a range of presentation options for text blocks.
Text images must not be used.
All functionalities must be accessible by keyboard without exceptions.
There should be no time limits on your website.
Users can suppress or postpone unnecessary interruptions.
How to apply:
All users should be able to save data when re-authenticating.
Users are warned about timeouts that may cause data loss.
How to apply:
There should be no content that flashes more than 3 times per second.
Users have the option to disable motion animation.
This ensures users know where they are on the website.
How to apply:
All link purposes must be clear from the text.
Content must be organized according to section headings.
A focus indicator should be distinguishable when active.
How to apply:
The pointer’s target size should be 44 x 44 CSS pixels.
There should be no restrictions on input modes.
Unusual words or phrases should be defined.
Abbreviations must be defined.
How to apply:
Users with 9 years of schooling should see your content as readable.
Words with ambiguous meanings and pronunciations should have a definition.
How to apply:
The elements should not change without requests.
There should be detailed instructions when help is needed.
The risk for all input errors must be kept to a minimum.
Following WCAG 2.0 guidelines may be overwhelming at first, but this checklist can make the process a little easier.
The best way to start your ADA compliance journey is by auditing your website to detect accessibility issues. You can do this on Accessibility Checker.
Found this blog insightful? Please check out our other relevant guides here:
Your feedback has been sent. Thank you :)