WCAG posts

Live regions have a reputation for being "flaky" and inconsistent. While this can be attributed in part to shortcomings in current implementations, the problem can also be caused by developers misunderstanding how live regions are intended to work.

When tabindex="0" is applied to an HTML element, the content marked up using that element will become keyboard focusable, and is therefore a good starting point for supporting keyboard accessibility. However, applying this attribute haphazardly or unnecessarily can reduce the experience for people who use a keyboard or an equivalent input device to navigate web content.

Our foundations series provides an overview of core accessibility considerations.

They are a good starting point for visual designers, content designers, interaction designers, and developers when designing and building accessible products and services.

Supporting keyboard-only interaction is one of the most important principles of web accessibility. However, the scope of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) in relation to keyboard accessibility is often misunderstood.

The UK Public Sector (Websites and Mobile Apps) Accessibility Regulations (PSAR) came into effect in 2018, following the approval of a 2016 Directive from the European Union (EU). In 2022, an amendment to the PSAR was released to address changes brought about by the UK's departure from the EU in 2020.

This post gives a high-level overview of what's new and what has changed in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, which have been promoted to stable W3C Recommendation today.

Sticky content helps prioritise important content so it's always visible, but it can create issues for sighted people who use a keyboard, or a keyboard-like device, as focused controls become hidden behind the sticky content.

This post discusses how you can keep controls behind sticky content visible and usable when they receive focus.

In this post, we cover updates we've made to our own site in order to better satisfy the requirements of the Web Content accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AAA.

An element's name, or accessible name, is how it's identified. An accessible description provides additional information, about the element, that complements the accessible name.

In this post we explore assigning accessible names and descriptions using HTML and WAI-ARIA.

A pointer gesture is an action a person performs using their finger, mouse, or an assistive technology like a head pointer or eye gaze system to operate a functional control. Some pointer gestures can be difficult or even impossible for certain people to perform, so an accessible alternative may be required.

This post introduces the different forms of pointer gestures and covers how and when to provide alternatives for people who can't perform them.