- What is WCAG and why does it matter?
- WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) are international standards that ensure websites are accessible to people with disabilities, including visual impairments. Following WCAG compliance is not only a legal requirement in many countries, but it also makes your content accessible to the 15% of the global population with some form of visual impairment.
- What's the difference between WCAG AA and AAA?
- WCAG AA requires a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. WCAG AAA is more stringent, requiring 7:1 for normal text and 4.5:1 for large text. AA is the legal standard in most jurisdictions, while AAA provides enhanced accessibility for users with more severe visual impairments.
- What is APCA and how is it different from WCAG?
- APCA (Accessible Perceptual Contrast Algorithm) is a modern contrast algorithm being developed for WCAG 3.0. Unlike traditional contrast ratios, APCA considers how humans actually perceive contrast and provides more accurate readability predictions. A score of 60+ indicates minimum readable contrast, while 90+ is ideal for body text.
- How do I check if my website colors are accessible?
- Use our color contrast checker to test foreground and background color combinations. Enter your text color and background color as hex values, and we'll instantly show you the contrast ratio along with WCAG AA, AAA, and APCA compliance levels. You can test your entire color palette to ensure all text combinations are accessible.
- What if my brand colors don't pass accessibility standards?
- Our tool provides alternative color suggestions that maintain your brand's visual identity while meeting accessibility requirements. You can adjust lightness or saturation to find accessible variations, or use your brand colors for non-text elements like backgrounds and graphics while choosing accessible colors for text.
- Do I need to test for color blindness?
- Yes! About 8% of men and 0.5% of women have some form of color vision deficiency. Our accessibility tools include color blindness simulations for deuteranopia, protanopia, and tritanopia. This helps you ensure your designs work for users with different types of color vision, going beyond just contrast ratios.
