What is WCAG?

In practice

Roughly a third of the criteria can be checked automatically — missing alternative text, unlabelled fields, insufficient colour contrast, broken heading order. The rest need a person: whether the keyboard order makes sense, whether an error message explains how to fix the problem, whether the captions on a video are accurate. A supplier claiming full conformance from an automated scan alone has not done the work.

Where it fits in a build

Required in practice for public-sector and institutional buyers, increasingly expected in enterprise procurement, and a straightforward quality improvement everywhere else. Built in from the start it costs very little; retrofitted it is a project.

Common mistakes

• Installing an accessibility overlay widget and considering the matter closed. It is not conformance and it is widely opposed by disabled users.
• Testing the homepage only, when the forms and the checkout are where people are blocked.
• Removing focus outlines for visual reasons, which makes keyboard navigation impossible.

Related terms

• Core Web Vitals
• SEO
• RFP

Working on something that involves this?

ASTACKRA designs and builds AI systems, automation and custom software for businesses that need technology shaped around their own workflow. If this term turned up in a proposal and you want a straight answer about whether it applies to your situation, ask us — no obligation, and we will tell you if the answer is no.