WCAG Accessibility Standards

What is WCAG?

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is a set of guidelines published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that provides a framework for making web content more accessible to people with disabilities. These guidelines are organized into three levels of conformance: A (minimum), AA (standard), and AAA (enhanced).

WCAG compliance is not just about legal requirements—it's about creating inclusive digital experiences that work for everyone, including users with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive impairments.

WCAG Conformance Levels

How CodeFrog Tests for WCAG Compliance

CodeFrog uses axe-core, the industry-leading automated accessibility testing engine, to help identify accessibility issues. However, it's important to understand that WCAG A, AA, and AAA conformance cannot be achieved with automation alone—automated testing is a valuable tool in your accessibility toolkit, but human judgment and manual testing with assistive technologies are required for full conformance at any level.

What Gets Tested

When you run an accessibility scan in CodeFrog, automated testing can detect some violations that relate to WCAG criteria across all three levels. However, many criteria at all levels (including A and AA) require human nuance and judgment that automated tools cannot provide:

• WCAG 2.0 Level A: Automated tools can detect some Level A violations, but criteria like verifying that alt text is actually descriptive of an image's content or purpose require human judgment
• WCAG 2.0 Level AA: Some Level AA violations can be detected automatically, but many require manual testing and human evaluation
• WCAG 2.1 Level AA: Updated standards including mobile accessibility—again, many criteria require human judgment
• WCAG 2.1 Level AAA: Enhanced accessibility requirements—most AAA criteria require manual testing with assistive technologies

Testing Capabilities

CodeFrog's accessibility testing checks for:

• Color Contrast: Verifies text meets WCAG AA (4.5:1) and AAA (7:1) contrast requirements
• Keyboard Navigation: Ensures all interactive elements are keyboard accessible
• ARIA Attributes: Validates proper use of ARIA roles, labels, and states
• Semantic HTML: Checks for proper heading hierarchy and landmark regions
• Image Alt Text: Verifies all images have alternative text attributes, but cannot verify that the alt text is actually descriptive of the image's content or purpose (this requires human judgment)
• Form Labels: Ensures all form inputs have associated labels
• Focus Management: Checks for visible focus indicators and proper focus order
• Screen Reader Compatibility: Tests for issues that would affect screen reader users

Understanding Your Results

After running an accessibility scan, CodeFrog provides:

• WCAG Rating: Shows the highest WCAG level (A or AA) based on automated testing results. However, this rating does not indicate full WCAG conformance—automated testing cannot achieve full conformance at any level (A, AA, or AAA). Many criteria at all levels require human judgment and manual testing with assistive technologies. The rating only displays A or AA (never AAA) because automated testing cannot verify AAA conformance, but even an "A" or "AA" rating from automated testing does not guarantee full conformance at that level.
• Health Score: Overall A-F grade based on findings severity
• Detailed Findings: Specific violations with WCAG level tags, descriptions, and remediation guidance
• Export Options: Export results in Markdown, JSON, or CSV formats

The WCAG rating indicates the highest level based on automated testing results, but this does not indicate full WCAG conformance. Automated testing can detect some violations related to all three WCAG levels (A, AA, and AAA), but the rating only displays A or AA (never AAA) because automated testing cannot verify AAA conformance. More importantly, full WCAG A, AA, or AAA conformance cannot be achieved with automated testing alone—many criteria at all levels require human judgment and manual testing with assistive technologies. For example, automated tools can check if alt text exists, but cannot verify that it's actually descriptive of the image's content or purpose (WCAG 1.1.1). Even an "A" or "AA" rating from automated testing does not guarantee full conformance at that level.

Getting Started with WCAG Testing

To test your website for WCAG compliance in CodeFrog:

1. Open CodeFrog and navigate to the Web Testing feature
2. Select the Accessibility tab
3. Enter a URL or select a local HTML file to test
4. Click Run Scan to start the accessibility analysis
5. Review your WCAG rating and detailed findings

You can also run comprehensive accessibility testing as part of the Mega Report, which combines accessibility, security, SEO, and code analysis in a single unified report.

Learn more about CodeFrog's accessibility testing features →

Best Practices

• Target Level AA: For most projects, Level AA is the recommended target as it meets legal requirements and provides good accessibility
• Test Early and Often: Run accessibility scans during development, not just before launch
• Combine Automated and Manual Testing: Automated tools like CodeFrog are important, but as part of a toolkit, not the entire process. WCAG A, AA, and AAA conformance cannot be achieved with automation alone. Many criteria at all levels require human nuance and judgment—for example, automated tools can check if alt text exists, but cannot verify that it's actually descriptive of the image's content or purpose. Manual testing with assistive technologies is required for full conformance at any level (A, AA, or AAA).
  • Automated tests find less than 60% of accessibility issues on average
  • Manual testing is required for complete compliance at any level
  • See the Deque automated accessibility coverage report for more information
• Fix Critical Issues First: Address Level A and AA violations before focusing on AAA
• Test with Real Users: When possible, involve users with disabilities in your testing process
• Understand Limitations: Remember that automated testing alone cannot fully verify WCAG compliance. Always supplement automated testing with manual testing using assistive technologies.

Learn More

• Detailed WCAG Levels Guide (Help Documentation)
• Accessibility Testing Guide
• WCAG 2.1 Quick Reference (W3C)
• CodeFrog Features