Deque Systems congratulates the W3C Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (AGWG) members on the official release of the new Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1, which were released June 5th at 9:45a EST. With more employees actively working to develop WCAG 2.1 within the W3C than any other business, we’re thrilled to see the guidelines continue to evolve in response to the ever-changing technology landscape. As businesses conform to these new standards, their websites and applications will become accessible to millions of additional users around the world.
Huge opportunity in Mobile
If you’ve been following the WCAG 2.1 updates from Glenda Sims, you’ve already noticed many of the new success criteria are centered around mobile devices. In the decade since WCAG 2.0 was published, mobile device usage has overtaken desktop. By adding new success criteria in 2.1, WCAG will help ensure the accessibility of mobile apps. Achieved through industry consensus, the definitive success criteria in 2.1 should bolster your confidence in mobile accessibility testing, especially if you were previously adhering to 2.0 best practices.
Removing barriers for people with Low Vision and making progress with Cognitive Challenges
People with low vision will directly benefit from four of the new WCAG 2.1 Success Criteria. According to the World Health Organization, Low Vision impacts an estimated 217 million people worldwide.
Solving accessibility barriers for people with cognitive disabilities was a primary focus of WCAG 2.1, but only one success criteria made it in at the A/AA level. While this is a step forward, there is much more work to be done. Deque is deeply committed to help the web and world transform this cognitive challenge into an amazing accessibility opportunity.
How can Deque help you with WCAG 2.1 conformance?
Deque accessibility experts have the knowledge and skills today to help you with WCAG 2.1 conformance. Because we helped build WCAG 2.1 and were actively involved in implementation testing, we’re among a small group of accessibility professionals ready to help you now. In fact, our own Deque University was one of the first test cases to showcase the ability to bring a site up to the new WCAG 2.1 standard.
Looking for training on the new standards? Deque University covers WCAG 2.1 Success Criteria in coursework today.
Deque’s commitment to ongoing WCAG standards support
Deque services, training, and tools are continually updated with the latest in WCAG requirements. With immediate support of WCAG 2.1 across our services and training and inclusion of automated rulesets in the next release of our accessibility testing library axe-core, we hope you share our excitement for this advancement of the accessibility industry. Contact us if you’d like help with WCAG 2.1 now.