WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, developed by the W3C — the same organisation behind the standards for HTML and CSS. The guidelines describe how digital content must be built so it can be used by everyone, including people who navigate by keyboard, use a screen reader, enlarge text substantially, or have difficulty distinguishing colours.
In Norway this is not a recommendation. The Regulations on Universal Design of ICT Solutions make parts of WCAG binding for public bodies and for private organisations serving the general public.
The four principles
The whole standard rests on four principles. Every individual criterion derives from these, and they are useful to know when you need to judge a solution without the checklist in front of you.
Perceivable
Content must be perceivable by at least one sense. Images need alternative text, video needs captions, and contrast must be strong enough for the text to be readable.
Operable
Anything you can do with a mouse must also be possible with a keyboard. Users need enough time, and nothing should flash in a way that can trigger seizures.
Understandable
Language should be clear, navigation predictable, and error messages should explain what went wrong and how to fix it.
Robust
The markup must be valid and semantic so screen readers and other assistive technology can interpret it correctly — years from now too.
Which level applies to you?
WCAG splits requirements into three levels. Norwegian regulation points to level AA, which is in practice the standard everyone should plan for.
| Level | Content | Status in Norway |
|---|---|---|
| A | Baseline requirements. Without these, content is inaccessible to many. | Mandatory |
| AA | The practical standard for public and commercial content. | Mandatory |
| AAA | Stricter criteria. Rarely achievable across an entire site. | Voluntary |
The requirements that fail most often
After a couple of years of audits we see the same issues recur. None of them are hard to fix — they are just found too late.
- Insufficient contrastLight grey text on a white background is the single most common failure. The requirement is 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text.
- Missing alternative textImages that carry information need a description. Purely decorative images should have an empty alt attribute instead.
- Form fields without labelsA placeholder is not a label. It disappears as soon as the user types, and it is not read reliably by screen readers.
- Keyboard trapsModals and menus that capture focus, or cannot be closed with Escape, make a site unusable without a mouse.
- Invisible focus indicationRemoving the outline in CSS because it looked ugly is still one of the most common causes of failure.
How to get started
You do not need to rebuild the site. A structured review usually finds that a handful of components account for the majority of issues.
- Run an automated test with axe or Lighthouse to catch the obvious
- Navigate your most important pages using only the keyboard
- Test the same pages with a screen reader — NVDA and VoiceOver are free
- Prioritise issues by how many users they affect, not by how easy they are to fix
- Add automated checks to your build so new issues do not slip through
The upside is bigger than the regulation
Accessibility work produces better websites for everyone. Clear structure helps search engines as much as it helps screen readers. Good contrast helps anyone reading on a phone in sunlight. Clear error messages reduce support tickets. The standard is a floor, but it consistently points toward better craft.
- #WCAG
- #Accessibility
- #Regulation
- #Norway