Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

While this is not a law in itself, WCAG is enforced in law through the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

The guidelines detail criteria for making digital content accessible to people with disabilities.

They're organised into 4 principles, often referred to as POUR:

Perceivable

Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive.

Operable

User interface components and navigation must work for a range of users.

Understandable

Information and the user interface must be understandable.

Robust

Content must be interpreted reliably by browsers and assistive technologies.

Each principle has a number of guidelines which we need to meet.

There are three levels of conformance: A, AA, and AAA. Level A is the minimum level of conformance, and level AAA is the highest. Within DfE, we are required to meet Level AA conformance.

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