WCAGohjeita

WCAGohjeita is the Finnish term for the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), a set of recommendations designed to make web content accessible to people with disabilities. The guidelines are published by the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) and serve as an international reference for creating inclusive websites and web applications.

The core structure of WCAG is based on four principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robut (Robust). These principles are complemented by a collection of success criteria that define concrete requirements. Conformance is commonly described at three levels: A, AA, and AAA, with AA representing a widely used target for public-sector and many private-sector projects. The criteria are technology-agnostic and testable, enabling evaluation through automated tools and human review.

WCAG guidelines address a broad range of topics, including text alternatives for non-text content, captions and audio descriptions for multimedia, keyboard accessibility, adequate color contrast, predictable navigation, and clear error handling. They apply to various forms of web content, from static pages to dynamic web applications, and are used by developers, designers, and content creators to build accessible experiences.

Adoption and impact: WCAG serves as a foundational standard in many jurisdictions, influencing national laws and procurement policies. In Finland and the European Union, public sector websites are commonly required to meet WCAG 2.1 AA as part of accessibility legislation and related guidelines such as EN 301 549 or national acts.

Ongoing development: While WCAG 2.x remains widely implemented, a WCAG 3.0 framework has been under development to provide a more flexible and comprehensive approach. Evaluation of conformance typically combines automated testing with expert human assessment to address diverse content and contexts.