Perceivable
Summary
Principle 1 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) focuses on making web content perceivable to all users, regardless of their sensory abilities. This principle ensures that information and user interface components are presented in ways that can be perceived by everyone.
Why It's Important:
Ensuring content is perceivable is fundamental to web accessibility. It caters to users with a diverse range of hearing, movement, sight, and cognitive ability, ensuring that digital content is accessible and inclusive.
Examples and Scenarios:
- Alt Text for Images: Providing descriptive text for images aids users with visual impairments.
- Captions for Videos: Including captions for videos assists users who are deaf or hard of hearing.
- Readable Fonts and Colors: Ensuring text is readable for users with visual impairments or color blindness.
- Accessible Forms: Designing forms so they can be easily navigated by screen readers.
How to Comply:
Apply accessible design principles, such as providing text alternatives, captions, adaptable layouts, and distinguishable elements, ensuring content is accessible to a wide audience.
Exceptions:
- Decorative Elements: These may not need text alternatives if they are purely decorative and provide no information.
- Complex Content: Sometimes, certain complex information (like advanced scientific data) may pose challenges for adaptation but should be made as accessible as possible.