Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 are a series of web accessibility guidelines designed to make web content more accessible for people with disabilities. Here are some tips to make your website WCAG-compliant using JavaScript:
1. Avoid causing a seizure: Don’t design content in a way that is known to cause seizures, like blinking animations or flashy transitions. Remove all potentially problem-geared UI aspects or tune them down so they do not flash more than three times in any one second period.
1. Provide clear navigation: Try to keep navigation consistent throughout the website. This includes the overall layout of your site as well as the orientation of specific items. Make sure all functionality is accessible by keyboard and that the user can bypass blocks of content that are repeated on multiple pages.
1. Use alt-text for images: Whenever you display an image, also incorporate a brief description of that image using the alt attribute. This helps visually impaired users understand the content of the image.
1. Allow for text resizing: Make sure your web pages are viewable and usable even when the text size is doubled. This can be tested by zooming in on your site or by increasing the text size in your browser settings.
1. Make sure form inputs have labels: All inputs in forms should have a label that describe the control’s function. This makes them easier to use and understand.
1. Use ARIA roles: ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) 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 HTML5, JavaScript, Ajax, and other related technologies.
1. Be aware of color contrast: The color contrast ratio between the text and background should be at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
1. Test your site: There are a number of tools available that can help you check your site for WCAG-compliance. Automated tools such as “aXe: The Accessibility Engine” or “Lighthouse” can be used.
1. Provide text transcripts for audio and video content: If you have any multimedia on your site, offer a way for users to consume that content in text form. This could include providing a transcript for audio or video files, or including captions on videos.
Remember, JavaScript can both benefit and hinder accessibility. It’s important to frequently test your website with assistive technologies as you develop it to ensure you’re maintaining WCAG compliance as per the level you aim for (A, AA, or AAA).
