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<h1>Requirements for WCAG 2.0</h1>

<h2>W3C Working Group Note 25 April 2006</h2>
<dl>
  <dt>This version:</dt>
    <dd><a
      href="http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/NOTE-wcag2-req-20060425/">http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/NOTE-wcag2-req-20060425/</a></dd>
  <dt>Latest version:</dt>
    <dd><a
      href="http://www.w3.org/TR/wcag2-req/">http://www.w3.org/TR/wcag2-req/</a></dd>
  <dt>Previous version:</dt>
    <dd><a
      href="http://www.w3.org/TR/2002/WD-wcag2-req-20020426/">http://www.w3.org/TR/2002/WD-wcag2-req-20020426/</a></dd>
  <dt>Editors:</dt>
    <dd>Gregg Vanderheiden, Trace Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison<br
      />
      John Slatin, Accessibility Institute<br />
      Wendy Chisholm, W3C</dd>
</dl>

<p class="copyright"><a
href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/ipr-notice#Copyright">Copyright</a>
© 2006 <a href="http://www.w3.org/"><acronym
title="World Wide Web Consortium">W3C</acronym></a><sup>®</sup> (<a
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title="Massachusetts Institute of Technology">MIT</acronym></a>, <a
href="http://www.ercim.org/"><acronym
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<hr />
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<h2><a name="abstract" id="abstract">Abstract</a></h2>

<p>This document outlines the requirements that the Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines Working Group (WCAG WG) has set for development of Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. These requirements are based on feedback from
the use of WCAG 1.0 and will be used to determine if the WCAG WG has met its
goals as WCAG 2.0 advances through the <a
href="http://www.w3.org/2005/10/Process-20051014/tr.html#Reports">W3C
Recommendation Track Process</a>.</p>

<h2><a name="status" id="status">Status of this document</a></h2>

<p><em>This section describes the status of this document at the time of its
publication. Other documents may supersede this document. A list of current
W3C publications and the latest revision of this technical report can be
found in the <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/">W3C technical reports index</a>
at http://www.w3.org/TR/.</em></p>

<p>Requirements for WCAG 2.0 is being updated at this time to reflect the
current assumptions that have driven the development of WCAG 2.0. (<a
href="http://www.w3.org/TR/2002/WD-wcag2-req-20020426">Previous version
published April 2002</a>).</p>

<p>Please send comments to <a
href="mailto:public-comments-wcag20@w3.org">public-comments-wcag20@w3.org</a>.
The <a
href="http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-comments-wcag20/">archives
for this list</a> are publicly available. Archives of the <a
href="http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-gl/">WCAG WG mailing list
discussions</a> are also publicly available.</p>

<p>Publication as a Working Group Note does not imply endorsement by the W3C
Membership. This is a draft document and may be updated, replaced or
obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to cite this
document as other than work in progress.</p>

<p>This document was produced by a group operating under the <a
href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Patent-Policy-20040205/">5 February 2004
W3C Patent Policy</a>. This document is informative only. W3C maintains a <a
rel="disclosure"
href="http://www.w3.org/2004/01/pp-impl/35422/status#disclosures">public list
of any patent disclosures</a> made in connection with the deliverables of the
group; that page also includes instructions for disclosing a patent. An
individual who has actual knowledge of a patent which the individual believes
contains <a
href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Patent-Policy-20040205/#def-essential">Essential
Claim(s)</a> must disclose the information in accordance with <a
href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Patent-Policy-20040205/#sec-Disclosure">section
6 of the W3C Patent Policy</a>.</p>

<p>This document has been produced by the <a href="/WAI/GL/">Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines Working Group</a> (WCAG WG), part of the W3C <a
href="/WAI/">Web Accessibility Initiative</a> (WAI). The goals of the WCAG WG
are discussed in the <a href="http://www.w3.org/2004/04/wcag-charter">WCAG
Working Group charter</a>. The WCAG WG is part of the <a
href="/WAI/Technical/Activity">WAI Technical Activity</a>.</p>

<h2><a name="intro" id="intro">Introduction</a></h2>

<p><a href="/TR/WCAG10/">Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0</a> (WCAG
1.0) explains how to make Web content accessible to people with disabilities.
It was written for Web content developers (page authors and site designers)
and developers of authoring tools. The primary goal of WCAG 1.0 is to promote
accessibility. Following the guidelines in WCAG 1.0 will also make Web
content more available to all users.</p>

<p>Since the release of WCAG 1.0 as a W3C Recommendation in May 1999, the
WCAG WG has received feedback about the usability, understandability, and
applicability of the suite of documents. This feedback is driving the
development of WCAG 2.0 and is captured as the Requirements for WCAG 2.0
(this document).</p>

<p>The primary goal of WCAG 2.0 is the same as 1.0: to promote accessibility
of Web content. Additional goals discussed in this document are:</p>
<ol>
  <li>Ensure that requirements may be applied across technologies</li>
  <li>Ensure that the conformance requirements are clear</li>
  <li>Design deliverables with ease of use in mind</li>
  <li>Write to a more diverse audience</li>
  <li>Clearly identify who benefits from accessible content</li>
  <li>Ensure that the revision is "backwards and forward compatible"</li>
</ol>

<h2><a name="cross-tech" id="cross-tech">1. Ensure that</a> requirements may
be applied across technologies</h2>

<p>WCAG 1.0 was written primarily for HTML documents. Authors trying to apply
WCAG 1.0 to XML applications have had difficulty. Thus, WCAG 2.0 should be
applicable across technologies such as:</p>
<ul>
  <li>Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)</li>
  <li>Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL)</li>
  <li>Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)</li>
  <li>Extensible Markup Language (XML) applications</li>
</ul>

<p>WCAG 2.0 requirements should be expressed in generic terms so that they
may apply to more than one markup language or content format.</p>

<h2><a name="clear-reqs" id="clear-reqs">2. Ensure that the</a> conformance
requirements are clear</h2>

<p>WCAG 2.0 must clearly specify the minimal requirements necessary for
conformance. Each requirement must be verifiable. The WCAG WG will provide
resources to help readers evaluate conformance, such as success criteria,
sufficient techniques, and sample content.</p>

<p>The deliverables must:</p>
<ul>
  <li>Specify what is required for conformance.</li>
  <li>Clearly specify how content that is tailored according to client or
    user capabilities may conform (dynamic content or database driven).</li>
  <li>Resolve the relationship between user agent support and author supplied
    content (cross-platform and backwards compatibility issues).</li>
  <li>Document the assumptions that underlie the minimum requirements.</li>
</ul>

<h2><a name="easy-to-use" id="easy-to-use">3. Design deliverables with ease
of use in mind</a></h2>

<p>The WCAG WG will attempt to make the structure of the deliverables as
simple and easy to use as possible. In designing the usability of the
deliverables, the WCAG WG will consult the results of the WAI Site Redesign
Task Force usability testing and discuss the design with representatives of
the EOWG.</p>

<h2><a name="audience" id="audience">4. Write to a more diverse
audience</a></h2>

<p>WCAG 2.0 deliverables must address the needs of a variety of readers,
including people who wish to:</p>
<ul>
  <li>Create accessible, innovative Web sites.</li>
  <li>Create policies related to Web accessibility.</li>
  <li>Assess whether a Web site conforms to the guidelines.</li>
  <li>Develop authoring tools, user agents, or evaluation and repair
  tools.</li>
  <li>Teach principles of accessible Web content.</li>
</ul>

<p>The number, length, and organization of the deliverables should address
the different needs of these readers. The language used in the deliverables
should be as easy as possible to translate into other languages. As part of
ensuring that the diverse needs of readers are met, the WG will work with the
Education and Outreach Working Group.</p>

<h2><a name="who-benefits" id="who-benefits">5. Clearly identify who benefits
from accessible content</a></h2>
<ul>
  <li>WCAG 2.0 through its informative support documents will clearly
    identify who will benefit from each requirement.</li>
  <li>WCAG 2.0 will address as completely as possible the needs of users with
    <ul>
      <li>blindness,</li>
      <li>low vision,</li>
      <li>color deficit or distortions,</li>
      <li>deafness,</li>
      <li>hearing loss,</li>
      <li>cognitive limitations,</li>
      <li>reading disabilities,</li>
      <li>speech impairments,</li>
      <li>paralysis, weakness, and other problems with movement and
        coordination of limbs,</li>
      <li>photosensitivity,</li>
      <li>and combinations thereof.</li>
    </ul>
  </li>
</ul>

<h2><a name="backwards-compatible" id="backwards-compatible">6. Ensure that
the revision is "backwards and forward compatible"</a></h2>

<p>A number of other documents and software, such as specifications,
evaluation tools, authoring tools, and government and organizational
policies, reference WCAG 1.0. Therefore, WCAG 2.0 should introduce as few
changes as possible to the definition of accessible Web content. At the same
time, WCAG 2.0 should be designed to work with emerging and future
technologies as much as possible.</p>
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