Understanding WCAG 2.0

Intent of Guideline 1.1

The purpose of this guideline is to ensure that all non-text content is also available in text. "Text" refers to electronic text, not an image of text. Electronic text has the unique advantage that it is presentation neutral. That is, it can be rendered visually, auditorily, tactilely, or by any combination. As a result, information rendered in electronic text can be presented in whatever form best meets the needs of the user. It can also be easily enlarged, spoken aloud so that it is easier for people with reading disabilities to understand, or rendered in whatever tactile form best meets the needs of a user.

Advisory Techniques for Guideline 1.1 (not success criteria specific)

• Providing sign language videos for audio-only files (future link)

Examples of Success Criterion 1.1.1

1. A data chart

   A bar chart compares how many widgets were sold in June, July, and August. The short label says, "Figure one - Sales in June, July and August." The longer description identifies the type of chart, provides a high-level summary of the data, trends and implications comparable to those available from the chart. Where possible and practical, the actual data is provided in a table.

2. An audio recording of a speech

   The link to an audio clip says, "Chairman's speech to the assembly." A link to a text transcript is provided immediately after the link to the audio clip.

3. An animation that illustrates how a car engine works

   An animation shows how a car engine works. There is no audio and the animation is part of a tutorial that describes how an engine works. Since the text of the tutorial already provides a full explanation, the image is an alternative for text and the text alternative includes only a brief description of the animation and refers to the tutorial text for more information.

4. A traffic Web camera

   A Web site allows users to select from a variety of Web cameras positioned throughout a major city. After a camera is selected, the image updates every two minutes. A short text alternative identifies the Web camera as "traffic Web camera." The site also provides a table of travel times for each of the routes covered by the Web cameras. The table is also updated every two minutes.

5. A photograph of an historic event in a news story

   A photograph of two world leaders shaking hands accompanies a news story about an international summit meeting. The text alternative says, "President X of Country X shakes hands with Prime Minister Y of country Y."

6. A photograph of a historic event in content discussing diplomatic relationships

   The same image is used in a different context intended to explain nuances in diplomatic encounters. The image of the president shaking hands with the prime minister appears on a Web site discussing intricate diplomatic relationships. The first text alternative reads, "President X of country X shakes hands with Prime Minister Y of country Y on January 2, 2009." An additional text alternative describes the room where the leaders are standing as well as the expressions on the leaders' faces, and identifies the other people in the room. The additional description might be included on the same page as the photograph or in a separate file associated with the image through a link or other standard programmatic mechanism.

7. An audio recording of a press conference

   A Web page includes a link to an audio recording of a press conference. The link text identifies the audio recording. The page also links to a text transcript of the press conference. The transcript includes a verbatim record of everything the speakers say. It identifies who is speaking as well as noting other significant sounds that are part of the recording, such as applause, laughter, questions from the audience, and so on.

8. An e-learning application

   An e-learning application uses sound effects to indicate whether or not the answers are correct. The chime sound indicates that the answer is correct and the beep sound indicates that the answer is incorrect. A text description is also included so that people who can't hear or understand the sound understand whether the answer is correct or incorrect.

9. A linked thumbnail image

   A thumbnail image of the front page of a newspaper links to the home page of the "Smallville Times". The text alternative says "Smallville Times".

10. The same image used on different sites

    Different alternatives for an image of the world: An image of the world that is used on a travel site as a link to the International Travel section has the text alternative "International Travel". The same image is used as a link on a university Web site with the text alternative "International Campuses".

11. An image map

    An image of a building floor plan is interactive, allowing the user to select a particular room and navigate to a page containing information about that room. The short text alternative describes the image and its interactive purpose: "Building floor plan. Select a room for more information."

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.1.1 - Non-text Content

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Intent of Guideline 1.2

The purpose of this guideline is to provide access to synchronized media. Synchronized media is defined in the glossary as:

synchronized media

audio or video synchronized with another format for presenting information and/or with time-based interactive components, unless the media is a media alternative for text that is clearly labeled as such

Note that an audio file accompanied by interaction is covered here, as is a video-only file that involves interaction. These are covered because interaction must take place at a particular time. Having a text transcript that said, "for more information, click now," would not be very helpful since the reader would have no idea when the audio said, "now." As a result, synchronized captions would be needed.

Sometimes, there is so much dialogue that audio description cannot fit into existing pauses in the dialogue. The option at Level A to provide a full text alternative for synchronized media including any interaction instead of audio description for synchronized media would allow access to all of the information in the synchronized media. This option also allows access to the visual information in non-visual form when audio description is not provided for some other reason.

For synchronized media that includes interaction, interactive elements (for example links) could be embedded in the full text alternative for synchronized media.

This guideline also includes (at Level AAA) sign language interpretation for synchronized media as well as an approach called extended audio description. In extended audio description, the video is frozen periodically to allow more audio description to take place than is possible in the existing pauses in the dialogue. This is a case where higher-level Success Criteria build upon the requirements of lower-level Success Criterion with the intention of having cumulative, progressively stronger, requirements.

Advisory Techniques for Guideline 1.2 (not success criteria specific)

Examples of Success Criterion 1.2.1

• An audio recording of a speech

  The link to an audio clip says, "Chairman's speech to the assembly." A link to a text transcript is provided immediately after the link to the audio clip.

• An audio recording of a press conference

  A Web page includes a link to an audio recording of a press conference that identifies the audio recording. The page also links to a text transcript of the press conference. The transcript includes a verbatim record of everything the speakers say. It identifies who is speaking as well as noting other significant sounds that are part of the recording, such as applause, laughter, questions from the audience, and so on.

• An animation that illustrates how a car engine works

  An animation shows how a car engine works. There is no audio and the animation is part of a tutorial that describes how an engine works. Since the text of the tutorial already provides a full explanation, the media is an alternative for text and the text alternative includes only a brief description of the animation and refers to the tutorial text for more information.

• A video-only file with an audio track

  A silent movie includes an audio track which includes a description of the action in the video.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.2.1 - Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded)

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 1.2.2

• A captioned tutorial

  A video clip shows how to tie a knot. The captions read,

  "(music)

  Using rope to tie knots was an important skill

  for the likes of sailors, soldiers and woodsmen.."

  From Sample Transcript Formatting by Whit Anderson.

• A complex legal document contains synchronized media clips for different paragraphs that show a person speaking the contents of the paragraph. Each clip is associated with its corresponding paragraph. No captions are provided for the synchronized media.

• An instruction manual containing a description of a part and its necessary orientation is accompanied by a synchronized media clip showing the part in its correct orientation. No captions are provided for the synchronized media clip.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.2.2 - Captions (Prerecorded)

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 1.2.3

• A movie with audio description.

  Describer: A title, "Teaching Evolution Case Studies. Bonnie Chen." A teacher shows photographs of birds with long, thin beaks.

  Bonnie Chen: "These photos were all taken at the Everglades."

  Describer: The teacher hands each student two flat, thin wooden sticks.

  Bonnie Chen: "Today you will pretend to be a species of wading bird that has a beak like this."

  Describer: The teacher holds two of the sticks to her mouth making the shape of a beak.

  Transcript of audio based on the first few minutes of "Teaching Evolution Case Studies, Bonnie Chen" (copyright WGBH and Clear Blue Sky Productions, Inc.)

• A full text alternative for synchronized media including any interaction for a training video

  A company purchases a Training video for use by its employees and puts it on the companies intranet. The video involves explaining use of a new technology and has a person talking and showing things at the same time. Since there is no place to insert audio description of the visual demonstrations during gaps in dialogue, the company provides a full text alternative for synchronized media that all employees, including those who cannot see the demonstrations, can use to better understand what is being presented.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.2.3 - Audio Description or Full Text Alternative

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 1.2.4

• A Web cast

  A news organization provides a live, captioned Web cast.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.2.4 - Captions (Live)

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 1.2.5

• A movie with audio description.

  Describer: A title, "Teaching Evolution Case Studies. Bonnie Chen." A teacher shows photographs of birds with long, thin beaks.

  Bonnie Chen: "These photos were all taken at the Everglades."

  Describer: The teacher hands each student two flat, thin wooden sticks.

  Bonnie Chen: "Today you will pretend to be a species of wading bird that has a beak like this."

  Describer: The teacher holds two of the sticks to her mouth making the shape of a beak.

  Transcript of audio based on the first few minutes of "Teaching Evolution Case Studies, Bonnie Chen" (copyright WGBH and Clear Blue Sky Productions, Inc.)

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.2.5 - Audio Description

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 1.2.6

• Example 1. A corporation is making an important announcement to all of its employees. The meeting will be held in the main headquarters and streamed to the Web. A sign language interpreter is provided at the meeting location. The live video includes a full view of the sign language interpreter as well as the person presenting.

• Example 2. The same announcement described in example 1 is also Webcast to remote employees. Since there is only one display available for this, the sign language interpreter is shown in the corner of the display.

• Example 3. A university is providing an on-line version of a particular lecture by creating a synchronized media presentation of the professor delivering the lecture. The presentation includes video of the professor speaking and demonstrating a science experiment. A sign language interpretation of the lecture is created and presented on the Web with the synchronized media version.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.2.6 - Sign Language

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 1.2.7

• Example 1. Video of a lecture. A physics professor is giving a lecture. He makes freehand sketches on the whiteboard, speaking rapidly as he draws. As soon as he has finished discussing one problem, he erases the drawing and makes another sketch while continuing to speak and gesture with his other hand. The video is paused between problems, and extended audio description of the professor's drawings and gestures is provided; the video is then resumed.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.2.7 - Audio Description (Extended)

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 1.2.8

• Example 1. full text alternative for synchronized media for a training video

  A community center purchases a Training video for use by its clients and puts it on the center's intranet. The video involves explaining use of a new technology and has a person talking and showing things at the same time. The community center provides a full text alternative for synchronized media that all clients, including those who can neither see the demonstrations nor hear the explanations in the synchronized media, can use to better understand what is being presented.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.2.8 - Full Text Alternative

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 1.2.9

• A public relations firm uses Web based caption services to cover live events; the output from the service is incorporated in a sub frame of the Web page which includes the streaming audio control.

• A live radio play of a fringe theatre group is being broadcast to the Web. As the actors stick largely to a set script, and the budget for the program is small, the producers provide a link (with the playwright's permission) to the script of the play.

• A streaming audio server uses a media format which can also accommodate text and graphics, such as Flash or Silverlight. A stenographer is used to create live captions at an event, and these are mixed on the fly to produce live captions in the media stream which can be viewed by the media player.

• A CEO is to give a press release by telephone to the media in response to a breaking news story, the audio is being recorded and streamed over the internet, but due to time constraints a Web captioning service cannot be set up in time. As the press release is a set statement which the CEO will be reading out, the company simultaneously provides the transcript of the release.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.2.9 - Live Audio-only

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Intent of Guideline 1.3

The purpose of this guideline is to ensure that all information is available in a form that can be perceived by all users, for example, spoken aloud, or presented in a simpler visual layout . If all of the information is available in a form that can be determined by software, then it can be presented to users in different ways (visually, audibly, tactilely etc.). If information is embedded in a particular presentation in such a way that the structure and information cannot be programmatically determined by the assistive technology, then it cannot be rendered in other formats as needed by the user.

The Success Criteria under this guideline all seek to ensure that different types of information that are often encoded in presentation are also available so that they can be presented in other modalities.

• structure: the way the parts of a Web page are organized in relation to each other; and the way a collection of Web pages is organized

• presentation: rendering of the content in a form that can be perceived by users

Examples of Success Criterion 1.3.1

• A form with required fields

  A form contains several required fields. The labels for the required fields are displayed in red. In addition, at the end of each label is an asterisk character, *. The instructions for completing the form indicate that "all required fields are displayed in red and marked with an asterisk *", followed by an example.

• A form that uses color and text to indicate required fields

  A form contains both required and optional fields. Instructions at the top of the form explain that required fields are labeled with red text and also with an icon whose text alternative says, "Required." Both the red text and the icon are programmatically associated with the appropriate form fields so that assistive technology users can determine the required fields.

• A bus schedule table where the headers for each cell can be programmatically determined

  A bus schedule consists of a table with the bus stops listed vertically in the first column and the different buses listed horizontally across the first row. Each cell contains the time when the bus will be at that bus stop. The bus stop and bus cells are identified as headers for their corresponding row or column so that assistive technology can programmatically determine which bus and which bus stop are associated with the time in each cell.

• A form where the labels for the checkboxes can be programmatically determined

  In a form, the labels for each checkbox can be programmatically determined by assistive technology.

• A text document

  A simple text document is formatted with double blank lines before titles, asterisks to indicate list items and other standard formatting conventions so that its structure can be programmatically determined.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.3.1 - Info and Relationships

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 1.3.2

• Example 1: In a multi-column document, the linear presentation of the content flows from the top of a column to the bottom of the column, then to the top of the next column.

• Example 2: CSS is used to position a navigation bar, the main story on a page, and a side story. The visual presentation of the sections does not match the programmatically determined order, but the meaning of the page does not depend on the order of the sections.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.3.2 - Meaningful Sequence

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 1.3.3

• Example 1: A schedule of competitive events uses color and shape to distinguish the time of each event

  A table presents a list of times across the top row and a list of events in the first vertical column. The cell corresponding to the time of a particular event has a specific background color and diamond shaped glyph so it can be identified by color and shape.

• Example 2: An on-line multi-page survey

  An on-line multi-page survey uses a link implemented as a green arrow icon placed in the lower right hand corner of the content to move from one survey page to the next. The arrow is clearly labeled with "Next" and the instructions state, "To move to the next section of the survey, select the green arrow icon labeled 'Next' in the lower right below the last survey question." This example uses both positioning, color and labeling to help identify the icon.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.3.3 - Sensory Characteristics

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Intent of Guideline 1.4

While some guidelines are focused on making information available in a form that can be presented in alternate formats, this guideline is concerned with making the default presentation as easy to perceive as possible to people with disabilities. The primary focus is on making it easier for users to separate foreground information from the background. For visual presentations this involves making sure that information presented on top of a background contrasts sufficiently with the background. For audio presentations this involves making sure that foreground sounds are sufficiently louder than the background sounds. Individuals with visual and hearing disabilities have much greater difficulty separating foreground and background information.

Advisory Techniques for Guideline 1.4 (not success criteria specific)

• Using readable fonts (future link)

• Making sure any text in images of text is at least 14 points and has good contrast (future link)

• Providing a highly visible highlighting mechanism for links or controls when they receive keyboard focus (future link)

Examples of Success Criterion 1.4.1

• A form that uses color and text to indicate required fields

  A form contains both required and optional fields. Instructions at the top of the form explain that required fields are labeled with red text and also with an icon whose text alternative says, "Required." Both the red text and the icon are programmatically associated with the appropriate form fields so that assistive technology users can determine the required fields.

• An examination.

  Students view an SVG image of a chemical compound and identify the chemical elements present based on the colors used in the diagram. The text alternatives associated with each element name the color of the element and indicate the element's position in the diagram. Students who cannot perceive color have the same information about the compound as their classmates. (This technique also satisfies Guideline 1.1 Level A.)

• Disabled Form elements.

  Form elements which are disabled via markup or scripting, are greyed out and made inactive by the user agent. When in the disabled state these elements do not receive focus. Assistive technologies can programmatically determine the state of disabled elements and will provide this information to the user as the elements are encountered on the page. The change in color and loss of focus provides redundant, visual information about the state of the control.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.4.1 - Use of Color

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 1.4.2

• An audio file begins playing automatically when a page is opened. However, the audio can be stopped by the user by selecting a "silent" link at the top of the page.

• A Flash splash page with sound that plays and then stops in less than 3 seconds.

• A Flash splash page with sound that plays automatically includes a control at the top that allows users to turn the sound off.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.4.2 - Audio Control

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 1.4.3

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.4.3 - Contrast (Minimum)

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 1.4.4

• A user with vision impairments increases the text size on a Web page in a browser from 1 em to 1.2 ems. While the user could not read the text at the smaller size, she can read the larger text. All the information on the page is still displayed when the larger font is used for the text.

• A Web page contains a control for changing the scale of the page. Selecting different settings changes the layout of the page to use the best design for that scale.

• A user uses a zoom function in his user agent to change the scale of the content. All the content scales uniformly, and the user agent provides scroll bars, if necessary.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.4.4 - Resize text

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 1.4.5

• Styled Headings

  Rather than using bitmap images to present headings in a specific font and size, an author uses CSS to achieve the same result.

• Dynamically Generated Images

  A Web page uses server-side scripting to present text as an an image. The page includes controls that allow the user to adjust the font size and foreground and background colors of the generated image.

• A quote

  A Web page contains a quote. The quote itself is presented as italicized text, indented from the left margin. The name of the person to whom the quote is attributed is below the quote with 1.5x the line space and further indented from the left margin. CSS is used to position the text; set the spacing between lines; as well as display the text's font family, size, color and decoration.

• Navigation items

  A Web page contains a menu of navigation links that have both an icon and text to describe their target. CSS is used to display the text's font family, size and foreground and background colors; as well as the spacing between the navigation links.

• A logo containing text

  A Web site contains the organisation's logo in the top left corner of each Web page. The logo contains logotype (text as part, or all, of the logo). The visual presentation of the text is essential to the identity of the logo and is included as a gif image which does not allow the text characteristics to be changed. The image has a text alternative.

• Representation of a font family

  A Web page contains information about a particular font family. Substituting the font family with another font would defeat the purpose of the representation. The representation is included as a jpeg image which does not allow the text characteristics to be changed. The image has a text alternative.

• A representation of a letter

  A Web page contains a representation of an original letter. The depiction of the letter in its original format is essential to information being conveyed about the time period in which it was written. The letter is included as a gif image which does not allow the text characteristics to be changed. The image has a text alternative.

• Symbolic text characters

  A form allows users to enter blocks of text. The form provides a number of buttons, including functions to style the text and check spelling. Some of the buttons use text characters that do not form a sequence that expresses something in human language. For example "B" to increase font weight, "I" to italicize the text and "ABC" to check the spelling. The symbolic text characters are included as gif images which do not allow the text characteristics to be changed. The buttons have text alternatives.

• Customizable font settings in images of text

  A Web site allows users to specify font settings and all images of text on the site are then provided based on those settings.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.4.5 - Images of Text

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 1.4.6

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.4.6 - Contrast (Enhanced)

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 1.4.7

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.4.7 - Low or No Background Audio

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 1.4.8

None currently documented

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.4.8 - Visual Presentation

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 1.4.9

• A quote

  A Web page contains a quote. The quote itself is presented as italicized text, indented from the left margin. The name of the person to whom the quote is attributed is below the quote with 1.5x the line space and further indented from the left margin. CSS is used to position the text; set the spacing between lines; as well as display the text's font family, size, color and decoration.

• Navigation items

  A Web page contains a menu of navigation links that have both an icon and text to describe their target. CSS is used to display the text's font family, size and foreground and background colors; as well as the spacing between the navigation links.

• A logo containing text

  A Web site contains the organisation's logo in the top left corner of each Web page. The logo contains logotype (text as part, or all, of the logo). The visual presentation of the text is essential to the identity of the logo and is included as a gif image which does not allow the text characteristics to be changed. The image has a text alternative.

• Representation of a font family

  A Web page contains information about a particular font family. Substituting the font family with another font would defeat the purpose of the representation. The representation is included as a jpeg image which does not allow the text characteristics to be changed. The image has a text alternative.

• A representation of a letter

  A Web page contains a representation of an original letter. The depiction of the letter in its original format is essential to information being conveyed about the time period in which it was written. The letter is included as a gif image which does not allow the text characteristics to be changed. The image has a text alternative.

• Symbolic text characters

  A form allows users to enter blocks of text. The form provides a number of buttons, including functions to style the text and check spelling. Some of the buttons use text characters that do not form a sequence that expresses something in human language. For example "B" to increase font weight, "I" to italicize the text and "ABC" to check the spelling. The symbolic text characters are included as gif images which do not allow the text characteristics to be changed. The buttons have text alternatives.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.4.9 - Images of Text (No Exception)

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Intent of Guideline 2.1

If all functionality can be achieved using the keyboard, it can be accomplished by keyboard users, by speech input (which creates keyboard input), by mouse (using on-screen keyboards), and by a wide variety of assistive technologies that create simulated keystrokes as their output. No other input form has this flexibility or is universally supported and operable by people with different disabilities, as long as the keyboard input is not time-dependent.

Note that providing universal keyboard input does not mean that other types of input should not be supported. Optimized speech input, optimized mouse/pointer input, etc., are also good. The key is to provide keyboard input and control as well.

Some devices do not have native keyboards—for example, a PDA or cell phone. If these devices have a Web browsing capability, however, they will have some means of generating text or "keystrokes." This guideline uses the term "keyboard interface" to acknowledge that Web content should be controlled from keystrokes that may come from a keyboard, keyboard emulator, or other hardware or software that generates keyboard or text input.

Advisory Techniques for Guideline 2.1 (not success criteria specific)

Examples of Success Criterion 2.1.1

• Example 1: A drawing Program.

  A drawing program allows users to create, size, position and rotate objects from the keyboard.

• Example 2: A drag and Drop Feature.

  An application that uses drag and drop also supports "cut" and "paste" or form controls to move objects.

• Example 3: Moving between and connecting discrete points.

  A connect-the-dots program allows the user to move between dots on a screen and use the spacebar to connect the current dot to the previous one.

• Example 4: Exception - Painting Program.

  A watercolor painting program passes as an exception because the brush strokes vary depending on the speed and duration of the movements.

• Example 5: Exception - Model helicopter flight training simulator.

  A model helicopter flight training simulator passes as an exception because the nature of the simulator is to teach real-time behavior of a model helicopter.

• Example 6: A PDA with an optional keyboard

  A PDA device that is usually operated via a stylus has an optional keyboard that can be attached. The keyboard allows full Web browsing in standard fashion. The Web content is operable because it was designed to work with keyboard-only access.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.1.1 - Keyboard

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 2.1.2

• A calendar widget

  A calendar widget allows users to add, remove or update items in their calendar using the keyboard. The controls in the widget are part of the tab order within the Web page, allowing users to tab through the controls in the widget as well as to any links or controls that follow.

• A puzzle applet

  Once a user tabs into an applet, further tabs and other keystrokes are handled by the applet. Instructions describing the keystroke used to exit the applet are provided prior to the applet as well as within the applet itself.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.1.2 - No Keyboard Trap

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.1.3 - Keyboard (No Exception)

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Intent of Guideline 2.2

Many users who have disabilities need more time to complete tasks than the majority of users: they may take longer to physically respond, they may take longer to read things, they may have low vision and take longer to find things or to read them, or they may be accessing content through an assistive technology that requires more time. This guideline focuses on ensuring that users are able to complete the tasks required by the content with their own individual response times. The primary approaches deal with eliminating time constraints or providing users enough additional time to allow them to complete their tasks. Exceptions are provided for those cases where this is not possible.

Advisory Techniques for Guideline 2.2 (not success criteria specific)

Examples of Success Criterion 2.2.1

• A Web site uses a client side time limit to help protect consumers who may step away from their computer. After a period of inactivity the Web page asks if the user needs more time. If it doesn't get a response – it times out.

• A Web page has a field that automatically updates with the latest headlines in a rotating fashion. There is an interactive control that allows the user to extend the length of time between each update to as much as ten times the default. The control can be operated with either a mouse or a keyboard.

• A Web page includes an animation which includes text that appears and disappears throughout. In some cases, the text is scrolling across the screen and in others, it is only displayed for a short time before it fades into the background. The page includes a pause button so that users who have trouble reading the text before it disappears can read it.

• In an auction, there is a time limit on the amount of time a user has to submit a bid. Since the time limit applies to all users who want to bid on a particular item, it would be unfair to extend the time limit for any one particular user. Therefore, a time limit is required for this type of activity and no extension, adjustment, or deactivation of the time limit is required by this Success Criteria.

• An on-line ticket-purchasing site gives the user two minutes to confirm a purchase before the seats are returned to the general pool. Because tickets on such sites can sell out quickly, holding a ticket longer than that may invalidate the nature of the site, so this is a case in which the timing is essential and cannot be extended without invalidating the activity. However, the site does move as much of the process out of the time-critical period as possible, for instance allowing users to provide necessary information like name, payment method, etc., before entering the time-critical stage.

• A ticket-purchasing site allows the user two minutes to confirm purchase of selected seats, but warns the user when their time is almost out and allows the user to extend this time limit some number of times with a simple action such as clicking a "Extend time limit" button.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.2.1 - Timing Adjustable

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 2.2.2

• An essential animation can be paused without effecting the activity

  A Web site helps users understand 'how things work' through animations that demonstrate processes. Animations have "pause" and "restart" buttons.

• A stock ticker

  A stock ticker has "pause" and "restart" buttons. Pausing the ticker causes it to pause on the currently displayed stock. Restarting causes the ticker to resume from the stopped point but with a notice that the display is delayed. Since the intent of the stock ticker is usually to provide realtime information, there might also be a button that would advance the ticker to the most recently traded stock.

• A game is designed so that users take turns rather than competing in real-time

  One party can pause the game without invalidating the competitive aspect of it.

• A Web advertisement

  An advertisement blinks to get viewers attention but stops after 5 seconds

• A form prompt

  A form blinks an arrow near the submit button if a user finishes filling out the form but does not activate the submit button. The blinking stops after 5 seconds.

• An animation

  An animation runs in the upper portion of the page but has a "freeze animation" button near the bottom of the animation.

• A "loading" animation

  A preloader animation is shown on a page which requires a certain percentage of a large file to be downloaded before playback can begin. The animation is the only content on the page and instructs the user to please wait while the video loads. Because the moving content is not presented in parallel with other content, no mechanism to pause, stop or hide it needs to be provided, even though the animation may run for more than 5 seconds for users with slower connections.

• A full-page advertisement

  A site requires that all users view a 15 second advertisement before they can access free content available from their site. Because viewing the advertisement is a requirement for all users and because it is not presented in parallel with other content, no mechanism to pause, stop or hide it needs to be provided.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.2.2 - Pause, Stop, Hide

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 2.2.3

• A test is designed so that time to complete the test does not effect the scoring

  Rather than calibrating an on-line test using a time limit, the test is calibrated based on scores when users have no time limits.

• A game is designed so that users take turns rather than competing in real-time

  One party can pause the game without invalidating the competitive aspect of it.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.2.3 - No Timing

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 2.2.4

• Example 1. Setting user preferences

  The preferences page of a Web portal includes an option to postpone all updates and alerts until the end of the current session, except for alerts concerning emergencies.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.2.4 - Interruptions

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 2.2.5

• A shopping site checkout

  A user with extremely limited use of the hands is logged into a shopping site. It takes so long to enter credit card information into the application that a time limit occurs while the user is performing the checkout process. When the user returns to the checkout process and submits the form, the site returns a login screen to re-authenticate. After the user logs in, the check out process is restored with the same information and at the same stage. The user did not lose any data because the server had temporarily accepted and stored the submission even though the session had timed out and restored the user to the same state after re-authentication was completed.

• Authentication in an email program

  An email program has an authentication time-out after 30 minutes. The program prompts the user several minutes before the time-out occurs and provides a link to open a new window in order to re-authenticate. The original window with the in-progress email remains intact and, after re-authentication, the user may send that data.

• A questionnaire with a time limit

  A long questionnaire provided within a single Web page has information at the beginning that indicates that the session will time out after 15 minutes. The user is also informed that the questionnaire can be saved at any point and completed at a later time. Within the Web page there are several buttons provided to save the partially completed form. In addition, with JavaScript in the list of accessibility-supported content technologies that are relied on, the user can elect to be alerted via a pop-up if the session is close to timing out.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.2.5 - Re-authenticating

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Intent of Guideline 2.3

Some people with seizure disorders can have a seizure triggered by flashing visual content. Most people are unaware that they have this disorder until it strikes. In 1997, a cartoon on television in Japan sent over 700 children to the hospital, including about 500 who had seizures [EPFND]. Warnings do not work well because they are often missed, especially by children who may in fact not be able to read them.

The objective of this guideline is to ensure that content that is marked as conforming to WCAG 2.0 avoids the types of flash that are most likely to cause seizure when viewed even for a second or two.

Advisory Techniques for Guideline 2.3 (not success criteria specific)

• Ensuring that content does not violate spatial pattern thresholds (future link)

Examples of Success Criterion 2.3.1

• A Web site has video of muzzle flash of machine gun fire, but limits the size of the flashing image to a small portion of the screen below the flash threshold size.

• A movie with a scene involving very bright lightning flashes is edited so that the lightning only flashes three times in any one second period.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.3.1 - Three Flashes or Below Threshold

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 2.3.2

• A movie with a scene involving very bright lightning flashes is edited so that the lightning only flashes three times in any one second period.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.3.2 - Three Flashes

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Intent of Guideline 2.4

The intent of this guideline is to help users find the content they need and allow them to keep track of their location. These tasks are often more difficult for people with disabilities. For finding, navigation, and orientation, it is important that the user can find out what the current location is. For navigation, information about the possible destinations needs to be available. Screen readers convert content to synthetic speech which, because it is audio, must be presented in linear order. Some Success Criteria in this guideline explain what provisions need to be taken to ensure that screen reader users can successfully navigate the content. Others allow users to more easily recognize navigation bars and page headers and to bypass this repeated content. Unusual user interface features or behaviors may confuse people with cognitive disabilities.

As described in The Motive Web Design Glossary, navigation has two main functions:

• to tell the user where they are

• to enable the user to go somewhere else

This guideline works closely with Guideline 1.3, which ensures that any structure in the content can be perceived, a key to navigation as well. Headings are particularly important mechanisms for helping users orient themselves within content and navigate through it. Many users of assistive technologies rely on appropriate headings to skim through information and easily locate the different sections of content. Satisfying Success Criterion 1.3.1 for headings also addresses some aspects of Guideline 2.4.

Advisory Techniques for Guideline 2.4 (not success criteria specific)

• Limiting the number of links per page (future link)

• Providing mechanisms to navigate to different sections of the content of a Web page (future link)

• Making links visually distinct (future link)

Examples of Success Criterion 2.4.1

• A news organization's home page contains a main story in the middle of the page, surrounded by many blocks and sidebars for advertising, searching, and other services. There is a link at the top of the page that jumps to the main story. Without using this link, a keyboard user needs to tab through approximately 40 links to reach the main story; the screen reader user has to listen to 200 words; and the screen magnifier user must search around for the location of the main body.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.4.1 - Bypass Blocks

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 2.4.2

• An HTML Web page

  The descriptive title of an HTML Web page is marked up with the <title> element so that it will be displayed in the title bar of the user agent.

• A document.

  The title of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 is "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0."

  • The introduction has the title "Introduction to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0."

  • The main body has the title "WCAG 2.0 Guidelines."

  • Appendix A has the title "Glossary to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0."

  • Appendix B has the title "Checklist for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0."

  • Appendix C has the title "Acknowledgements for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0."

  • Appendix D has the title "References for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0."

• A Web application.

  A banking application lets a user inspect his bank accounts, view past statements, and perform transactions. The Web application dynamically generates titles for each Web page, e.g., "Bank XYZ, accounts for John Smith" "Bank XYZ, December 2005 statement for Account 1234-5678".

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.4.2 - Page Titled

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 2.4.3

1. The way that sequential navigation order is determined in Web content is defined by the technology of the content. For example, simple HTML defines sequential navigation via the notion of tabbing order. Dynamic HTML may modify the navigation sequence using scripting along with the addition of a tabindex attribute to allow focus to additional elements. In this case, the navigation should follow relationships and sequences in the content. If no scripting or tabindex attributes are used, the navigation order is the order that components appear in the content stream. (See HTML 4.01 Specification, section 17.11, "Giving focus to an element").

2. Using arrow key navigation to traverse a tree component. The user can use the up and down arrow keys to move from tree node to tree node. Pressing the left arrow key may expand a node, then using the down arrow key, will move into the newly expanded nodes. This navigation sequence follows the expected sequence for a tree control - as additional items get expanded or collapsed, they are added or removed from the navigation sequence.

3. A Web page implements modeless dialogs via scripting. When the trigger button is activated, a dialog opens. The interactive elements in the dialog are inserted in the focus order immediately after the button. When the dialog is open, the focus order goes from the button to the elements of the dialog, then to the interactive element following the button. When the dialog is closed, the focus order goes from the button to the following element.

4. A Web page implements modal dialogs via scripting. When the trigger button is activated, a dialog opens and focus is set to the first interactive element in the dialog. As long as the dialog is open, focus is limited to the elements of the dialog. When the dialog is dismissed, focus returns to the button or the element following the button.

5. An HTML Web page is created with the left hand navigation occurring in the HTML after the main body content, and styled with CSS to appear on the left hand side of the page. This is done to allow focus to move to the main body content first without requiring tabIndex attributes or JavaScript.

   Note: While this example passes the Success Criterion, it is not necessarily true that all CSS positioning would. More complex positioning examples may or may not preserve meaning and operability

6. The following example fails to meet the Success Criterion:

   A company's Web site includes a form that collects marketing data and allows users to subscribe to several newsletters published by the company. The section of the form for collecting marketing data includes fields such as name, street address, city, state or province, and postal code. Another section of the form includes several checkboxes so that users can indicate newsletters they want to receive. However, the tab order for the form skips between fields in different sections of the form, so that focus moves from the name field to a checkbox, then to the street address, then to another checkbox.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.4.3 - Focus Order

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 2.4.4

• A link contains text that gives a description of the information at that URL

  A page contains the sentence "There was much bloodshed during the Medieval period of history." Where "Medieval period of history" is a link.

• A link is preceded by a text description of the information at that URL

  A page contains the sentence "Learn more about the Government of Ireland's Commission on Electronic Voting at Go Vote!" where "Go Vote!" is a link.

• Both an icon and text are included in the same link

  An icon of a voting machine and the text "Government of Ireland's Commission of Electronic Voting" are combined to make a single link. The alt text for the icon is null, since the purpose of the link is already described by the text of the link next to the icon.

• A list of book titles

  A list of books is available in three formats: HTML, PDF, and mp3 (a recording of a person reading the book). To avoid hearing the title of each book three times (once for each format), the first link for each book is the title of the book, the second link says "PDF" and the third says, "mp3."

• News article summaries

  A Web page contains a collection of news articles. The main page lists the first few sentences of each article, followed by a "Read more" link. A screen reader command to read the current paragraph provides the context to interpret the purpose of the link.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.4.4 - Link Purpose (In Context)

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 2.4.5

• A search mechanism.

  A large food processing company provides a site containing recipes created using its products. The site provides a search mechanism to search for recipes using a particular ingredient. In addition, it provides a list box that lists several categories of foods. A user may type "soup" in to the search engine or may select "soup" from the list box to go to a page with a list of recipes made from the company's soup products

• Links between Web pages.

  A local hair salon has created a Web site to promote its services. The site contains only five Web pages. There are links on each Web page to sequentially move forward or backward through the Web pages. In addition, each Web page contains a list of links to reach each of the other Web pages.

• Where content is a result of a process or task - Funds transfer confirmation.

  An on-line banking site allows fund transfer between accounts via the Web. There is no other way to locate the confirmation of fund transfer until the account owner completes the transfer.

• Where content is a result of a process or task - Search engine results.

  A search engine provides the search results based on user input. There is no other way to locate the search results except to perform the search process itself.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.4.5 - Multiple Ways

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 2.4.6

• A news site.

  The home page of a news site lists the headlines for the top stories of the hour. Under each heading are the first 35 words of the story and a link to the full article. Each headline gives a clear idea of the article's subject.

• A guide on how to write well

  A guide on writing contains the following section titles: How To Write Well, Cut Out Useless Words, Identify Unnecessary Words, etc. The section headings are clear and concise and the structure of the information is reflected in the structure of the headings.

• Example 3: Consistent headings in different articles

  A Web site contains papers from a conference. Submissions to the conference are required to have the following organization: Summary, Introduction, [other sections unique to this article], Conclusion, Author Biography, Glossary, and Bibliography. The title of each Web page clearly identifies the article it contains, creating a useful balance between the uniqueness of the articles and the consistency of the section headings.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.4.6 - Headings and Labels

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 2.4.7

• When text fields receive focus, a vertical bar is displayed in the field, indicating that the user can insert text, OR all of the text is highlighted, indicating that the user can type over the text.

• When a user interface control receives focus, a visible border is displayed around it.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.4.7 - Focus Visible

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 2.4.8

• Links to help user determine their location in a site

  A research group is part of an educational department at a university. The group's home page links to the department home page and the university's home page.

• A breadcrumb trail

  A portal Web site organizes topics into categories. As the user navigates through categories and subcategories, a breadcrumb trail shows the current location in the hierarchy of categories. Each page also contains a link to the portal home page.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.4.8 - Location

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 2.4.9

• Both an icon and text are included in the same link

  An icon of a voting machine and the text "Government of Ireland's Commission of Electronic Voting" are combined to make a single link.

• A list of book titles

  A list of books is available in three formats: HTML, PDF, and mp3 (a recording of a person reading the book). The title of the book is followed by links to the different formats. The rendered text for each link is just the format type, but the text associated with each link includes the title as well as the format; for instance, "Gulliver's Travels, MP3."

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.4.9 - Link Purpose (Link Only)

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 2.4.10

• A menu contains different sections for different courses. Each section has a heading: Appetizers, Salad, Soup, Entree, Dessert.

• A Web application contains a settings page that is divided into groups of related settings. Each section contains a heading describing the class of settings.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.4.10 - Section Headings

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Intent of Guideline 3.1

The intent of this guideline is to allow text content to be read by users and by assistive technology, and to ensure that information necessary for understanding it is available.

People with disabilities experience text in many different ways. For some the experience is visual; for some it is auditory; for some it is tactile; for still others it is both visual and auditory. Some users experience great difficulty in recognizing written words yet understand extremely complex and sophisticated documents when the text is read aloud, or when key processes and ideas are illustrated visually or interpreted as sign language. For some users, it is difficult to infer the meaning of a word or phrase from context, especially when the word or phrase is used in an unusual way or has been given a specialized meaning; for these users the ability to read and understand may depend on the availability of specific definitions or the expanded forms of acronyms or abbreviations. User agents, including speech-enabled as well as graphical applications, may be unable to present text correctly unless the language and direction of the text are identified; while these may be minor problems for most users, they can be enormous barriers for users with disabilities. In cases where meaning cannot be determined without pronunciation information (for example, certain Japanese Kanji characters), pronunciation information must be available as well

Advisory Techniques for Guideline 3.1 (not success criteria specific)

• Setting expectations about content in the page from uncontrolled sources (future link)

• Providing sign language interpretation for all content (future link)

• Using the clearest and simplest language appropriate for the content (future link)

• Avoiding centrally aligned text (future link)

• Avoiding text that is fully justified (to both left and right margins) in a way that causes poor spacing between words or characters (future link)

• Using left-justified text for languages that are written left to right (future link)

• Using appropriate justification for languages that are written right-to-left (future link)

• Limiting text column width (future link)

• Avoiding chunks of italic text (future link)

• Avoiding overuse of different styles on individual pages and in sites (future link)

• Making links visually distinct (future link)

• Using images, illustrations, video, audio, or symbols to clarify meaning (future link)

• Providing practical examples to clarify content (future link)

• Using a light pastel background rather than a white background behind black text (future link)

• Avoiding the use of unique interface controls unnecessarily (future link)

• Using upper and lower case according to the spelling rules of the text language (future link)

• Avoiding unusual foreign words (future link)

• Providing sign language versions of information, ideas, and processes that must be understood in order to use the content (future link)

• Making any reference to a location in a Web page into a link to that location (future link)

• Making references to a heading or title include the full text of the title (future link)

• Providing easy-to-read versions of basic information about a set of Web pages, including information about how to contact the Webmaster (future link)

• Providing a sign language version of basic information about a set of Web pages, including information about how to contact the Webmaster (future link)

Examples of Success Criterion 3.1.1

• Example 1. A Web page with content in two languages

  A Web page produced in Germany and written in HTML includes content in both German and English, but most of the content is in German. The default human language is identified as German (de) by the lang attribute on the html element.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 3.1.1 - Language of Page

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 3.1.2

1. A German phrase in an English sentence.

   In the sentence, "He maintained that the DDR (German Democratic Republic) was just a 'Treppenwitz der Weltgeschichte'," the German phrase 'Treppenwitz der Weltgeschichte' is marked as German. Depending on the markup language, English may either be marked as the language for the entire document except where specified, or marked at the paragraph level. When a screen reader encounters the German phrase, it changes pronunciation rules from English to German to pronounce the word correctly.

2. Alternative language links

   An HTML Web page includes links to versions of the page in other languages (e.g., Deutsch, Français, Nederlands, Castellano, etc.). The text of each link is the name of the language, in that language. The language of each link is indicated via a lang attribute.

3. "Podcast" used in a French sentence.

   Because "podcast" is part of the vernacular of the immediately surrounding text in the following excerpt, "À l'occasion de l'exposition "Energie éternelle. 1500 arts d'art indien", le Palais des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles a lancé son premier podcast. Vous pouvez télécharger ce podcast au format M4A et MP3," no indication of language change is required.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 3.1.2 - Language of Parts

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 3.1.3

• Text that includes a definition for a word used in an unusual way.

  Organize the list or "cascade" of dictionaries and other resources so that the definition search will find the intended definitions instead of displaying definitions from other sources in the "cascade." (The "cascade" lists the dictionaries and other reference materials in the order most likely to bring up the right definition. This controls the order to follow when searching for definitions.)

• Including definitions in the glossary.

  WCAG 2.0 uses the word "text" in a specific way. Thus, when the word "text" is used within WCAG 2.0 it is linked to the definition of "text" provided in a glossary within the same Web page.

• The specific definition of a word is provided at the bottom of the page.

  The internal link from the word to the corresponding definition is also provided within the page.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 3.1.3 - Unusual Words

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 3.1.4

• An abbreviation whose expansion is provided the first time the abbreviation appears in the content.

  The name, "World Wide Web Consortium," appears as the first heading on the organization's home page. The abbreviation, "W3C," is enclosed in parentheses in the same heading.

• A dictionary search form.

  A Web site includes a search form provided by an on-line acronym service. Users enter an acronym and the form returns a list of possible expansions from the sources that it searched.

• A medical Web site.

  A medical Web site provides information for both doctors and patients. The site includes a set of cascading dictionaries; a very specialized medical dictionary is first, followed by a second medical dictionary for the general public. The cascade also includes a list of acronyms and abbreviations that are unique to the site, and finally there is a standard dictionary as well. The standard dictionary at the end of the list provides definitions for most words in the text. The specialized medical dictionary yields definitions of unusual medical terms. Definitions for words that appear in more than one dictionary are listed in the order of the cascade. The meaning of acronyms and abbreviations is provided by the list of acronyms and abbreviations.

• Expanded forms of Abbreviations.

  The expanded form of each abbreviation is available in a programmatically determinable manner. User agents that speak the text can use the expanded form to announce the abbreviation. Other user agents might make the expanded form available as a tooltip or as contextual help for the abbreviation.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 3.1.4 - Abbreviations

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 3.1.5

1. A scientific journal including readable summaries of complex research articles

   A scientific journal includes articles written in highly technical language aimed at specialists in the field. The journal's Table of Contents page includes a plain-language summary of each article. The summaries are intended for a general audience with eight years of school. The metadata for the journal uses the Dublin Core specification to identify the education level of the articles' intended audience as "advanced," and the education level of the intended audience for the summaries as "lower secondary education."

2. Medical information for members of the public.

   A medical school operates a Web site that explains recent medical and scientific discoveries. The articles on the site are written for people without medical training. Each article uses the Dublin Core metadata specification to identify the education level of the intended audience as "lower secondary education" and includes the Flesch Reading Ease score for the article. A link on each page displays the education level and other metadata. No supplemental content is required because people who read at the lower secondary education level can read the articles.

3. An e-learning application.

   An on-line course about Spanish cultural history includes a unit on Moorish architecture. The unit includes text written for students with different reading abilities. Photographs and drawings of buildings illustrate architectural concepts and styles. Graphic organizers are used to illustrate complex relationships, and an audio version using synthetic speech is available. The metadata for each version describes the academic level of the content and includes a readability score based on formulas developed for Spanish-language text. The learning application uses this metadata and metadata about the students to provide versions of instructional content that match the needs of individual students.

4. Science information that requires a reading ability at the lower secondary education level.

   The text below (116 words total) requires a reading ability of grade 4.2 in the United States according to the Flesch-Kinkaid formula. In the US, grade 4.2 is at the primary education level.

   Science is about testing — and about looking closely. Some scientists use microscopes to take a close look. We're going to use a simple piece of paper.

   Here's what you do: Print this page and cut out the square to make a "window" one inch square. (It's easiest to fold the page in half before you cut.)

   Choose something interesting: a tree trunk, a leaf, flower, the soil surface, or a slice of soil from a shovel.

   Put your window over the thing and look at it closely. Take your time — this is not a race.

   To help you see more details, draw a picture of what's inside your square.

   Now let's think about what you've found.

   (Source: Howard Hughes Medical Institute http://www.hhmi.org/coolscience/inchsquare/index.html)

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 3.1.5 - Reading Level

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 3.1.6

• Giving the reading of a person's name.

  Web content in Japanese provides kana (Japanese phonetic syllabary characters) written next to Han characters (Kanji) show the pronunciation of a person's name. The kana is provided to users in parentheses right after the word. Giving the reading of the words written in Han characters (Kanji) allows both sighted users and screen readers to read/pronounce the words correctly. Note that screen readers will speak the word twice: the Han characters (Kanji) that can be pronounced in a wrong way are read first and then kana is spoken in order to provide the correct reading.

• Showing the reading of the words by ruby element.

  Web content using XHTML 1.1 provides kana (phonetic syllabary characters) written above the characters to show the reading (pronunciation) of the words by using the ruby element.

• Providing sound files of the pronunciation.

  A document includes some words whose meaning cannot be determined without knowing the correct pronunciation. Each word is linked to a sound file that gives the correct pronunciation. Users can select these links to find out how to pronounce the words.

• Including pronunciation information in the glossary.

  A Web page includes a glossary section. Some items in the glossary include pronunciation information as well as definitions. Words in the content whose meaning cannot be determined without knowing their pronunciation are linked to the appropriate entries in the glossary.

• Text that includes pronunciation information for characters shared by several languages but pronounced differently in each language

  A Japanese university Web site includes several short phrases quoted from scholarly texts in Chinese and Korean. The quotations are written using the same script as the Japanese text. Pronunciation information is provided to show the correct reading of the Chinese and Korean characters.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 3.1.6 - Pronunciation

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Intent of Guideline 3.2

The intent of this Success Criterion is to help users with disabilities by presenting content in a predictable order from Web page to Web page and by making the behavior of functional and interactive components predictable. It is difficult for some users to form an overview of the Web page: screen readers present content as a one-dimensional stream of synthetic speech that makes it difficult to understand spatial relationships. Users with cognitive limitations may become confused if components appear in different places on different pages.

For example, people who use screen magnifiers see only part of the screen at any point in time; a consistent layout makes it easier for them to find navigation bars and other components. Placing repeated components in the same relative order within a set of Web pages allows users with reading disabilities to focus on an area of the screen rather than spending additional time decoding the text of each link. Users with limited use of their hands can more easily determine how to complete their tasks using the fewest keystrokes.

Advisory Techniques for Guideline 3.2 (not success criteria specific)

• Positioning labels to maximize predictability of relationships

Examples of Success Criterion 3.2.1

• Example 1: A dropdown menu

  A dropdown menu on a page allows users to choose between jump destinations. If the person uses the keyboard to move down to a choice and activates it (with a spacebar or enter key) it will jump to a new page. However, if the person moves down to a choice and either hits the escape or the tab key to move out of the pulldown menu – it does not jump to a new screen as the focus shifts out of the dropdown menu.

• Example of a Failure: A help dialog

  When a field receives focus, a help dialog window describing the field and providing options opens. As a keyboard user tabs through the Web page, the dialog opens, moving the keyboard focus away from the control every time the user attempts to tab past the field.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 3.2.1 - On Focus

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 3.2.2

• A form is provided for creating calendar entries in a Web based calendaring and scheduling application. Along with the standard fields for subject, time and location, there is a set of radio buttons to select the type of calendar entry to create. The calendar entry type can be meeting, appointment or reminder. If the user selects the radio for meeting, additional fields are displayed on the page for entering the meeting participants. Different fields appear if the reminder button is chosen. Because only parts of the entry change and the overall structure remains the same the basic context remains for the user. Instructions at the beginning of the Web page explain the behavior of each radio button and the fields that appear when the button is selected.

• A tab panel user interface is implemented within a Web page. The tab panel consists of 5 tabs, each with a different title and content: US News, World News, Weather, Entertainment, and Humor. As the user navigates from tab to tab using the arrow keys, the contents of the Web page are updated to reflect the selected tab. For example, when the user navigates to the Humor tab, A short account of a humorous incident is made visible in the tab panel, replacing the previous contents of the panel. This is the expected behavior of a tab panel user interface. The tab key can be used to navigate within the elements of the tab panel and then to other elements on the page below the current panel.

• A form contains fields representing US phone numbers. All of the numbers have a three digit area code followed by a three digit prefix and finally a four digit number, and each part of the phone number is entered into a separate field. When the user completes the entry of one field and enter the first digit of the next field, the focus automatically moves to the next field of the phone number. This behavior of phone fields is described for the user at the beginning of the form.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 3.2.2 - On Input

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 3.2.3

• A consistently located control

  A search field is the last item on every Web page in a site. users can quickly locate the search function.

• An expanding navigation menu

  A navigation menu includes a list of seven items with links to the main sections of a site. When a user selects one of these items, a list of subnavigation items is inserted into the top-level navigation menu.

• Consistently positioned skip navigation controls

  A "skip navigation" link is included as the first link on every page in a Web site. The link allows users to quickly bypass heading information and navigational content and begin interacting with the main content of a page.

• Skip to navigation link

  A skip to navigation link is provided to navigational content at the end of a page. The link is consistently located at the top of each page so that keyboard users can easily locate it when needed.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 3.2.3 - Consistent Navigation

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.

Examples of Success Criterion 3.2.4

• Example 1: Document Icon

  A document icon is used to indicate document download throughout a site. The text alternative for the icon always begins with the word “Download," followed by a shortened form of the document title. Using different text alternatives to identify document names for different documents is a consistent use of text alternatives.

• Example 2: Check Mark

  A check mark icon functions as "approved", on one page but as "included" on another. Since they serve different functions, they have different text alternatives.

• Example 3: Consistent references to other pages

  A Web site publishes articles on-line. Each article spans multiple Web pages and each page contains a link to the first page, the next page and the previous page of the article. If the references to the next page read "page 1", "page 2", "page 2" etcetera, the labels are not the same but they are consistent. Therefore, these references are not failures of this Success Criterion.

• Example 4: Icons with similar functions

  An e-commerce application uses a printer icon that allows the user to print receipts and invoices. In one part of the application, the printer icon is labeled "Print receipt" and is used to print receipts, while in another part it is labeled "Print invoice" and is used to print invoices. The labeling is consistent ("Print x"), but the labels are different to reflect the different functions of the icons. Therefore, this example does not fail the Success Criterion.

• Example 5: Save icon

  A common "save" icon is used through out the site where page save function is provided on multiple Web pages.

• Example 6: Example of a Failure

  A submit "search" button on one Web page and a "find" button on another Web page both have a field to enter a term and list topics in the Web site related to the term submitted. In this case, the buttons have the same functionality but are not labeled consistently.

Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 3.2.4 - Consistent Identification

Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the Success Criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.