Success Criteria of WCAG 2.1 Summarized

Posted by Joppe Kroon on July 15, 2019

The WCAG 2.1 update published in 2018 was a backwards compatible, additions only version. It adds 12 new A and AA (and 2 AAA) level success criteria focused on mobile accessibility, people with low vision, and people with cognitive and learning disabilities.

Reading through all the documentation can be intimidating, whereas a checklist can be too brief. Inspired by the session on WCAG 2.1 at NCDT of 2019, this post summarizes each success criterion; hopefully creating a middle ground between the full specifications and a checklist.

At the end of each section you’ll find a link to the “Understanding” document of the success criterion. Here you’ll find all exemptions, recommended techniques, and more.

If you are in fact looking for a checklist, WebAIM has created a checklist of all 2.x success criteria. Alternatively, the How to Meet WCAG (Quick Reference) is always a good place to start.

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