W3CWeb Accessibility initiative

WAI: Strategies, guidelines, resources to make the Web accessible to people with disabilities

Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Highlights

WAI home page Highlights are edited by Shawn Lawton Henry, WAI's Education and Outreach Working Group, and other WAI Team and Working Groups.

Archive January 2007 - Present

WCAG 2.0 is Finalized: W3C Web Standard Defines Accessibility for Next Generation Web

On 11 December 2008 W3C announced a new standard that will help Web designers and developers create sites that better meet the needs of users with disabilities and older users. Drawing on extensive experience and community feedback, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 improves upon W3C's groundbreaking initial standard for accessible Web content, applies to more advanced technologies, and is more precisely testable. Please see additional information in:

(2008-12-11)

For Review: ATAG 2.0 Updated Working Draft

An updated Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) 2.0 Working Draft was published 24 November 2008. ATAG defines how authoring tools should help Web developers produce Web content that is accessible and conforms to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). ATAG also defines how to make authoring tools accessible so that people with disabilities can use them. WAI encourages you to review ATAG 2.0 and submit any comments. See:

Please send comments by 6 January 2009. (2008-11-24)

WCAG 2.0 succeeds in test sites, moves to last stage

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 was published as a W3C Proposed Recommendation on 3 November 2008. This means that the technical material of WCAG 2.0 is complete and it has been implemented in real sites. The next stage is the final publication, which is expected in December 2008. Please see additional information in:

(2008-11-03)

WCAG 2.0 Implementations: Most done, a few to go

Since publishing Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 as a Candidate Recommendation, the WCAG Working Group has been collecting and evaluating implementations (that is, examples of how real Web sites meet WCAG 2.0). We have implementions for almost all success critieria, and need a few more. For an updated list of implementations needed, see the Update in the WCAG 2 FAQ.

The WCAG Working Group is meeting 1-3 October 2008 to address remaining issues. We are still hoping to complete WCAG 2.0 in 2008, and will provide another status update by November. See How WAI Develops Accessibility Guidelines through the W3C Process for the steps needed to complete WCAG 2.0.   (2008-09-30)

For Review: EARL Companion Documents

The Evaluation and Repair Tools Working Group today published Representing Content in RDF as a First Public Working Draft, and an updated Working Draft of HTTP Vocabulary in RDF. These documents are companions to Evaluation and Report Language (EARL), a format to exchange, combine, and analyze results from different evaluation tools. See:

Please send comments by 29 September 2008. (2008-09-08)

For Review: Updated WAI-ARIA Specification

WAI has published an updated Working Draft of WAI-ARIA, the Accessible Rich Internet Applications technical specification. We especially request review of how WAI-ARIA is implemented in host languages, such as HTML, XHTML, and SVG. See:

Please send comments by 3 September 2008. (2008-08-06)

Shared Web Experiences: Mobile and Accessibility Barriers

WAI has just published an updated draft of Shared Web Experiences: Barriers Common to Mobile Device Users and People with Disabilities. This document is particularly useful for demonstrating the overlap between accessible and mobile-friendly Web content, for developing a business case for accessibility, and for more efficiently developing your Web site for both accessibility and mobile devices. See:

Please send comments by 20 August 2008, if possible. (2008-07-29)

For Review: WCAG 2 at a Glance

Web Accessibility: WCAG 2.0 at a Glance provides a summary of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. We welcome your comments on this draft, preferably by 15 July 2008. (2008-07-07)

For Review: Updated Accessibility-Mobile Web Overlap Document

Web sites can be designed more efficiently to be accessible for people with disabilities and also for people using mobile devices when developers understand the significant overlap between the two design goals and guidelines. W3C recently published updated material describing this overlap. See:

We welcome your comments on the documents, preferably by 15 August 2008. (2008-07-07)

Public Drafts: Updated WAI-ARIA Documents

Updated Editors' Drafts of the WAI-ARIA documents are now publicly available so that anyone can follow how issues are being addressed in the draft WAI-ARIA specification. These documents are works-in-progress, not official "Public Working Drafts". Please see more information in the Updated WAI-ARIA Editors' Drafts Now Publicly Available e-mail. (2008-05-28)

WAI-AGE: Addressing Accessibility Needs Due to Ageing

The WAI-AGE Project (Ageing Education and Harmonisation) focuses on education and outreach regarding the requirements of people with Web accessibility needs related to ageing. One of the WAI-AGE project deliverables is Web Accessibility for Older Users: A Literature Review, which was published on 14 March as a First Public Working Draft. WAI encourages you to review this draft and submit any comments by 4 June 2008, if possible.

See Call for Review and Participation: WAI-AGE Literature Review and Task Force for an introduction to the project and an invitation to contribute to the literature review and other WAI-AGE work. (2008-05-14)

WCAG 2.0 On the Move: Ready to Test-Drive

We are excited to announce that Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) was published as a W3C Candidate Recommendation on 30 April 2008. The Candidate Recommendation stage means that there is broad consensus on the technical content, and W3C invites you to implement WCAG 2.0. Please see additional information in:

If you are interested in sharing implementation experience, please let us know by 23 May 2008. (2008-04-30)

John Slatin: Honored Accessibility Colleague and Friend

WAI mourns the passing of John Slatin, who was Co-Chair of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Working Group in 2005 and 2006. Through his persistence, patience, and keen insight, John contributed greatly to the field of accessibility, especially to the development of WCAG 2.0. He will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his colleagues at W3C/WAI and in the broader accessibility community. For more information, see the e-mail thread: Sad news regarding John Slatin, highly-regarded Web accessibility expert and advocate. (2008-03-25)

For Review: UAAG 2.0 First Public Working Draft

The First Public Working Draft of User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) 2.0 was published 12 March 2008. UAAG explains how to make browsers and media players accessible to people with disabilities, and how to make them work better with assistive technologies. UAAG 2.0 will address more advanced Web technologies than UAAG 1.0. WAI encourages you to review UAAG 2.0 and submit any comments. See:

Please send comments by 14 April 2008. (2008-03-13)

For Review: Updated ATAG 2.0 Working Drafts

Updated Working Drafts of Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 and Implementation Techniques for ATAG 2.0 were published 10 March 2008. WAI encourages you to review these documents and submit any comments. See:

Please send comments by 14 April 2008. (2008-03-10)

March 2008 Update on WCAG 2.0

The WCAG Working Group has addressed most of the comments received on the second Last Call Working Draft of WCAG 2.0, and is currently finalizing replies to commenters and preparing for the "Candidate Recommendation" stage in the W3C Process. See: "March 2008 Update: Moving WCAG 2.0 to the next stage" in the WCAG 2 FAQ. (2008-03-05)

WAI Interviews: Shadi and Shawn Talk Web Accessibility

Recent interviews with Shadi Abou-Zahra and Shawn Lawton Henry are available online:

(2008-03-05)

For Review: New WAI-ARIA Resources

WAI-ARIA, the Accessible Rich Internet Applications Suite, defines a way to make Web content and Web applications more accessible to people with disabilities. It especially helps with dynamic content and advanced user interface controls developed with Ajax, HTML, JavaScript, and related technologies.

New WAI-ARIA documents were published 4 February 2008. The WAI-ARIA Primer provides background on accessibility issues related to JavaScript, and introduces the technical approach used in WAI-ARIA. WAI-ARIA Best Practices describes how Web content developers can develop accessible rich Web applications using WAI-ARIA. See:

We welcome your comments, preferably by 20 February, otherwise by 3 March 2008. (2008-02-04)

Accessible and Mobile: Two Birds with One Stone

There is significant overlap between designing Web sites to be accessible to people with disabilities and designing Web sites to be usable on a mobile device. When developers understand this overlap, they can more efficiently meet both goals. On 22 January, W3C published material describing this overlap. See:

We welcome your comments, preferably by 4 March 2008. (2008-01-22)

For Review: WCAG 2.0 Last Call Working Draft

A Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) second Last Call Working Draft and updated supporting documents were published 11 December 2007. This Last Call is provided for public review of the document with all resolutions from previous comments incorporated. See:

Please send comments by 1 February 2008. (2007-12-11)

For Review: UAAG 2.0 Requirements

User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) provides guidance on designing Web browsers, media players, assistive technologies, and other 'user agents' to increase accessibility of the Web to people with disabilities. Plans for new work on a second generation of UAAG was published in the UAAG 2.0 Requirements Working Draft on 31 October 2007. WAI encourages you to review this document, submit any comments, and consider participating in the UAAG Working Group. See:

Please send comments by 14 December 2007. (2007-10-31)

Pass It On: WCAG 2.0 Presentation Materials

"About WCAG 2.0 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines" is a presentation that covers the benefits of WCAG 2.0, shortcuts for using WCAG 2.0, how it differs from WCAG 1.0, and related topics. The presentation "slides" and extensive notes are designed for presenters to use for their own presentations. It's also available for anyone who wants to learn about WCAG 2.0. See Instructions for the "About WCAG 2.0" Presentation. (2007-10-31)

October 2007 Update on WCAG 2.0

The WCAG Working Group is completing resolution of comments on the latest WCAG 2.0 Public Working Draft documents. In November 2007 they plan to send responses on each comment, asking for reply from the reviewer. The Working Group plans to publish a second WCAG 2.0 Last Call Working Draft in December 2007, before moving on to the next stages. See:

(2007-10-31)

For Review: Updated WAI-ARIA Working Drafts

W3C WAI's work on accessibility of Ajax, DHTML, and other application technologies includes the Accessible Rich Internet Applications Suite (WAI-ARIA). Updated Working Drafts of WAI-ARIA documents were published 19 October 2007. See:

Please send comments by 16 November 2007. (2007-10-19)

Now Showing at the YUI Theater: WCAG 2.0 Presentation

Learn how the WCAG 2.0 Working Draft differs from WCAG 1.0, get shortcuts for using WCAG 2.0, and hear answers to common questions on W3C WAI's work in Shawn Henry's presentation to the Yahoo! User Interface Developer Network. Shawn also addresses the role of browsers and authoring tools in Web accessibility, and combining standards and usability techniques to optimize accessibility. See video with audio and slides, and text transcript. (2007-08-16)

July 2007 Update on WCAG 2.0

The WCAG Working Group received many constructive comments on the May 2007 WCAG 2.0 Working Drafts. They separated the comments into about 450 issues, ranging from minor edits to technical issues. In the first two weeks of July, the Working Group had eight half-day worksessions where they addressed about 150 of those issues and started work on another 100. See the "Update July 2007" section of the WCAG 2 FAQ for more... (2007-07-27)

A Video Interview with Shawn Henry, From California to Japan

As part of the Mitsue-Links "Meet the Professionals" video series, Shawn Henry of W3C WAI talks with Kazuhito Kidachi about shared responsibilities between web site developers, browsers, and assistive technologies; the importance of different types of authoring tools supporting accessibility; how WCAG 2.0 and WAI-ARIA address the more difficult aspects of Web accessibility; WAI's outreach resources; and what led Shawn to accessibility years ago. See video with English audio and Japanese subtitles, and text transcripts. (2007-07-11)

For Review: Updated WAI-ARIA Working Drafts

W3C WAI's work on accessibility of Ajax, DHTML, and other application technologies includes the Accessibility for Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) Suite. Updated Working Drafts of the WAI-ARIA Suite documents were published 1 June 2007. WAI encourages you to review these documents and submit any comments. See:

Please send comments by 6 July 2007. (2007-06-01)

For Review: Updated WCAG 2.0 Documents

Updated Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) Working Draft documents were published 17 May 2007. These documents incorporate resolutions to comments from the 2006 Last Call Working Draft. WAI encourages you to review the WCAG 2.0 Working Draft and submit any new comments. Please see the additional information in:

Please send comments by 29 June 2007. (2007-05-17)

WaSP Interview: Judy Brewer on WCAG 2

Judy Brewer discusses WCAG 2.0 status and upcoming drafts with Web Standards Project (WaSP) Accessibility Task Force member Jared Smith. See Interview with Judy Brewer. (2007-05-07)

Updates: WCAG 2.0 and WAI Resources Handouts

WCAG 2.0 primary points, current status, and Web accessibility resources from W3C WAI are topics covered in new handouts that you can use for conferences and presentations. The handouts direct readers to the updated WCAG 2 FAQ, How WAI Develops Accessibility Guidelines through the W3C Process, and other documents. See

(2007-04-04)

For Review: EARL 1.0 Schema Last Call Working Draft

Evaluation and Report Language (EARL) is a format to exchange, combine, and analyze results from different evaluation tools and checkers. EARL 1.0 Schema Last Call Working Draft and HTTP Vocabulary in RDF Working Draft were published 23 March 2007. See:

Please send comments by 20 April 2007. (2007-03-23)

Archive January 2006 - December 2006

For Review: Updated WAI-ARIA Working Drafts

W3C WAI's work on accessibility of AJAX, DHTML, and other application technologies includes the Accessibility for Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) Suite. Updated Working Drafts of the WAI-ARIA Suite documents were published 20 December 2006. WAI encourages you to review these documents and submit any comments. See:

Please send comments by 19 January 2006. (2006-12-20)

First Authorized Translation: WCAG 1.0 in Catalan

The W3C Authorized Catalan Translation of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 1.0 is now available. See:

This WCAG 1.0 Catalan translation is W3C's first Authorized Translation. (2006-12-20)

For Review: ATAG 2.0 Working Draft

An updated Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) 2.0 Working Draft was published 7 December 2006. WAI encourages you to review this document and submit any comments. See:

Please send comments by 11 January 2007. (2006-12-07)

Got Questions? View the New WCAG 2 F.A.Q.

WAI gathered a few frequently asked questions (FAQ) about Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 and provided answers in a WCAG 2 FAQ. There we address: When will WCAG 2.0 be done? What is the current status? When should I start using WCAG 2.0? (2006-11-01)

For Review: Updated EARL 1.0 Schema Working Draft

Evaluation and Report Language (EARL) is a format to exchange, combine, and analyze results from different Web accessibility evaluation tools. EARL 1.0 Schema Working Draft was published 27 September 2006. See:

Please send comments by 25 October 2006. (2006-09-27)

Accessibility for Rich Internet Applications: WAI-ARIA Suite Debuts

W3C WAI's work on accessibility of AJAX, DHTML, and other rich Internet application technologies is published as First Public Working Drafts. WAI encourages review and comments. See:

For information on how Working Drafts are developed, see: How WAI Develops Accessibility Guidelines through the W3C Process. (2006-09-26)

WAI to Advise on 508 Standards Update

W3C WAI has been appointed to the Advisory Committee for the revision of U.S. Section 255 guidelines and Section 508 standards, which include Web accessibility. WAI looks forward to continuing to coordinate with organizations around the world to develop harmonized standards for Web accessibility. Additional information is available in the U.S. Access Board article: Board Names Advisory Committee for 508 Standards Update. (2006-07-20)

Podcast: Interview on WCAG 2

Shawn Henry discusses WCAG 2.0 with UK UPA president Giles Colborne: transcript and audio files. (2006-07-06)

Custom View of WCAG Two: Quick Reference.

WCAG 2.0 Quick Reference lists the basic requirements of WCAG 2.0, which are the success criteria. For each success criteria, it lists techniques that tell you how to meet the requirements. You can customize the Quick Reference for the Web technologies you are using and for Levels 1, 2, or 3. See also: Overview of WCAG 2.0 Documents. (2006-06-20)

Extended Deadline: WCAG 2.0 Last Call Review.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) Last Call Working Draft and supporting documents were published 27 April 2006. WAI encourages you to review these documents and submit any comments. See:

Please send comments by 22 June 2006. (2006-05-30)

For Review: WCAG 2.0 Last Call

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) Last Call Working Draft and supporting documents were published 27 April 2006. WAI encourages you to review these documents and submit any comments. See:

Please send comments by 31 May 2006. (2006-04-27)

Archive June 2005 - December 2005

For Review: Updated WCAG 2.0 Working Drafts

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) Working Draft documents were published 23 November 2005. See:

Please send comments by 21 December 2005. (2005-11-25)

For Review: Updated ATAG 2.0 Working Drafts

Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (ATAG 2.0) Working Draft documents were published 22 November 2005. See:

Please send comments by 21 December 2005. (2005-11-25)

Want to know how people with disabilities use your Web site? Ask.

Web accessibility guidelines, techniques, and tools provide the basis for Web accessibility. Including people with disabilities in the Web development process helps to understand the "why" behind accessibility. It leads to more effective accessibility solutions, developed more efficiently. See "Involving Users in Web Accessibility Evaluation". (2005-11-02)

Registration Open: Web Accessibility Evaluation Training

Registration is open for the Web Accessibility Evaluation Training — WAI-TIES Best Practices Exchange on 25 October 2005 in St. Augustin, Germany. (2005-09-20)

For Review: Updated EARL 1.0 Schema Working Draft

Evaluation and Report Language (EARL) is a format to exchange, combine, and analyze results from different Web accessibility evaluation tools. EARL 1.0 Schema Working Draft was published 9 September 2005. See:

Please send comments by 10 October 2005. (2005-09-15)

Web Accessibility 101: The Basics and Beyond

WAI's recently updated "Introduction to Web Accessibility" addresses key issues of making the Web accessible, including:

  • An accessible Web is essential for equal opportunities for people with disabilities
  • Web accessibility benefits others, such as older people with changing abilities due to aging
  • Web software has a vital role in Web accessibility (2005-09-12)

W3C Replies: Single Browser Bad for Accessibility

W3C responded to a US Copyright Office notice asking about making an application work only through a single Web browser. W3C comments explain that "requiring use of a particular software product for accessing Copyright Office services... could put Web users with disabilities at a significant disadvantage." (2005-09-06)

The Business Case for Web Accessibility: Three Carrots and a Stick

"Developing a Web Accessibility Business Case for Your Organization" describes the social, technical, financial, and legal and policy factors relevant to developing a customized business case for Web accessibility for a specific organization. (2005-08-23)

Finding Your WAI: Exploring the New Web Site

WAI's new Web site has been carefully designed to make it easier for you to find information on making the Web accessible to people with disabilities.

WAI Web Site Redesign Project lists on-going development to refine the markup, design, and features. (2005-07-22)

Web Accessibility: The Fellowship of the Guidelines

Many people know about WAI's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the responsibilities of Web developers in making the Web accessible to people with disabilities. But Web developers alone cannot make the Web accessible.

Web browsers, assistive technologies, and authoring tools also have a vital role in Web accessibility. Essential Components of Web Accessibility describes these roles along with the WAI guidelines.    (2005-07-22)

Blogs, Wikis, CMS... Got ATAG?

Web content is created by many different types of tools these days: Web log (blog) comment features, Wikis for editing Web pages, content management systems (CMS), e-mail archivers, word processors, and more.

All of these tool are covered by WAI's Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG), which explain:

  • how tools should help Web developers produce accessible Web content,
  • how to make tools accessible to people with disabilities.

Does your tool know ATAG?    (2005-07-22)

For Review: Updated WCAG 2.0 Working Drafts

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) Working Draft documents were published 30 June 2005. See:

Please send comments by 2 August 2005. (2005-06-30)