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  <h1>Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview</h1>

<div id="contents">
<h2>Page Contents</h2>
<ul>
  <li><a href="#is" shape="rect">Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
    (WCAG)</a></li>
  <li><a href="#for" shape="rect">Who WCAG is for</a></li>
  <li><a href="#whatis2" shape="rect">What is in WCAG 2.0</a></li>
  <li><a href="#version" shape="rect">WCAG Versions: 1.0 and
  2.0</a></li>
  <li><a href="#wg" shape="rect">Who develops WCAG</a></li>
</ul>
</div>

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  <p><span class="belownone"><strong>Quick links:</strong> <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/" shape="rect">How to Meet WCAG
2.0 (Quick Reference)</a>, <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/" shape="rect">WCAG 2.0 Technical Specification</a></span>, <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/glance/" shape="rect">WCAG 2.0 at a
Glance</a></p>
<h2><a name="is" id="is" shape="rect">Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)</a></h2>

<p>The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) documents explain how to
make Web content more accessible to people with disabilities. Web "content"
generally refers to the information in a Web page or Web application,
including text, images, forms, sounds, and such.</p>

<p>WCAG is part of a series of accessibility guidelines, including the
Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) and the User Agent
Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG). <a href="/WAI/intro/components" shape="rect">Essential Components of Web Accessibility</a> explains the relationship between the different
guidelines.</p>
  <h2><a name="for" id="for" shape="rect">Who WCAG is for</a></h2>

<p class="no-space-after">WCAG is primarily intended for:</p>
<ul class="list-space">
  <li>Web content developers (page authors, site designers, etc.)</li>
  <li>Web authoring tool developers</li>
  <li>Web accessibility evaluation tool developers</li>
  <li>Others who want or need a technical standard  for Web accessibility</li>
  </ul>

<p>WCAG and related resources are also intended to meet the needs of many
different audiences, including people who are new to Web accessibility, policy makers, managers, and others.</p>

  <h2><a name="whatis2" id="whatis2" shape="rect">What is in WCAG 2.0</a></h2>

<p><strong><a href="/TR/WCAG20" shape="rect">WCAG 2.0</a> </strong>has 12 guidelines that are organized under
<a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/intro.html#introduction-fourprincs-head" shape="rect">4
principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust</a>. For each
guideline, there are testable <em>success criteria</em>, which are at <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/conformance.html#uc-levels-head" shape="rect">three
levels: A, AA, and AAA</a>.</p>

<p>For a short summary of the WCAG 2.0 guidelines, see <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/glance/" shape="rect"><strong>WCAG 2.0 at a
Glance</strong></a>.</p>

<p><span class="belownone">Most people will use the supporting materials when
developing Web content and Web tools, instead of the actual technical
standards document.</span> The WCAG 2.0 supporting technical materials
include:</p>
<ul class="listwithp">
  <li><a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/" shape="rect"><strong>How to Meet WCAG 2.0</strong>: A customizable quick reference to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 requirements (success criteria) and techniques</a> is the <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/" shape="rect">WCAG 2.0 checklist</a></li>
  <li><a href="/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/" shape="rect"><strong>Understanding
    WCAG 2.0</strong></a> has additional guidance on learning and
    implementing WCAG 2.0 for people who want to understand the guidelines
    and success criteria more thoroughly.</li>
  <li><a href="/TR/WCAG20-TECHS/" shape="rect"><strong>Techniques for WCAG
    2.0</strong></a> gives you specific details on how to develop accessible
    Web content, such as HTML code examples.</li>
</ul>

<p>For more details on how these document are related and how they
  are linked, see <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag20" shape="rect"><strong>The
  WCAG 2.0 Documents</strong></a>.</p>
<p>The best place to start working with WCAG 2.0 <a href="/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/" shape="rect">How to Meet WCAG 2.0 (Quick
Reference)</a>.</p>
<h3><a name="related" id="related" shape="rect"></a>Additional Support Material</h3>
<p> Educational material  related to WCAG 2.0 is listed in the <a href="#subhomenav" shape="rect">navigation area of this page</a>.</p>
<p>WAI is planning additional material to help Web developers who
are not accessibility experts develop accessible Web content that conforms to
WCAG 2.0. We may develop "Application Notes" (working title) to provide guidance
for specific topics, such as images, links, or tables. For example, an
Application Note on forms would start with simple examples and include the
WCAG 2.0 success criteria, techniques, and strategies for developing
accessible forms.</p>
<p>WAI plans to update Understanding WCAG 2.0 documents and Techniques for WCAG 2.0 periodically. We welcome <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/comments/" shape="rect">comments</a> and <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/WCAG20/TECHS-SUBMIT/" shape="rect">submission of new techniques</a>.</p>
<h3>Technical document format</h3>
<p>WCAG follows the <acronym title="World Wide Web Consortium">W3C</acronym> format for technical
  specifications, which includes several sections at the beginning: links to
  different versions, editors, copyright, abstract, and status with the link to
  errata and the email address for comments. Most WAI specifications have a
  link at the top to the Table of Contents.</p>

<h2><a name="version" id="version" shape="rect">WCAG Versions: 1.0 and 2.0</a></h2>

<p>Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 was published in May 1999. WCAG 2.0 was published on 11 December  2008. WCAG 2.0 applies broadly to more advanced technologies; is easier to use and understand; and is more precisely testable with automated testing and human evaluation.</p>

  <p><strong>W3C WAI recommends using WCAG 2.0</strong>, instead of WCAG 1.0.</p>
  <p class="listafter">Most Web sites that conform to WCAG 1.0 will not require significant
  changes in order to conform to WCAG 2.0, and some may not need any changes. To help you move to WCAG 2.0, WAI is developing:</p>
  <ul class="listwithp">
  <li><a href="../WCAG20/from10/diff.php" shape="rect">How WCAG 2.0 Differs from WCAG 1.0</a></li>
    <li> <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/from10/comparison/" shape="rect">Comparison of WCAG 1.0 Checkpoints to WCAG 2.0</a></li>
<li><a href="../WCAG20/from10/websites.html" shape="rect">How to Update Your Web Site from WCAG 1.0 to WCAG 2.0</a></li>
    <li>Guidance on transitioning Web Accessibility Policies to WCAG 2.0</li>
  </ul>


<h2><a name="wg" id="wg" shape="rect">Who develops WCAG</a></h2>

<p>WCAG technical documents are developed by the Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines Working Group (<a href="/WAI/GL/" shape="rect">WCAG WG</a>), which is part of
the World Wide Web Consortium (<a href="http://www.w3.org" shape="rect">W3C</a>) Web
Accessibility Initiative (<a href="/WAI/" shape="rect">WAI</a>). For more information
about the working group, see the <a href="/WAI/GL/" shape="rect">WCAG WG page</a>.</p>

  <p><a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/w3c-process" shape="rect">How WAI Develops
Accessibility Guidelines through the W3C Process: Milestones and
Opportunities to Contribute</a> describes formal periods for public review.
Opportunities for review and comment of WAI documents in progress are announced on the <a href="/WAI/" shape="rect">WAI home page</a> and <a href="/WAI/IG/#mailinglist" shape="rect">WAI Interest Group mailing list</a>. There is a <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/comments/" shape="rect">form for comments</a> on  existing WCAG 2.0 documents, and a form for <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/WCAG20/TECHS-SUBMIT/" shape="rect">submission of new techniques</a>.
<!-- [@@ later: link to
simple overview of process!] ... @@ link to #team when new version posted-->
  </p>

<p>Opportunities for contributing to WCAG and other WAI work are introduced
in <a href="/WAI/participation" shape="rect">Participating in WAI</a>.</p>

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  <h2>Document Information</h2>
  <p><strong>Status: </strong>Updated 10 June 2011 <a href="/WAI/EO/changelogs/cl-wcag" shape="rect">[changelog</a>]<br clear="none" />
    Editor: Shawn Lawton Henry. Developed with the Education and Outreach Working Group (<a href="/WAI/EO/" shape="rect">EOWG</a>) and the Web Content Accessibility Working Group (<a href="/WAI/GL/" shape="rect">WCAG WG</a>).</p>
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