Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are based in part on the work of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and their Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (WCAG 1.0).

To get straight to the point, the main purpose of the WCAG is to provide standards to devlop Web content for everyone, no matter the technology used or any physical limitations possesed by the user.

Special Note: The examples in this site are representative of Version 3.0 of the Kansas Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. The information within this site is subject to change according to new web development methods to achieve accessibility. To view the official guidelines for the State of Kansas, please visit Kansas Web Content Accessibility Guidelines: Priority Version 3.0 (January 13, 2003).

Web Content Accessibility Guideline Index

Each item on the following lists has a priority level assigned based on the item's impact on accessibility. Further, within each priority level, the items are organized in terms of their ease of implementation.

Priority 1 (Go to Priority 1 Index): Web developers must satisfy this item. All Section 508 Standards are included in Priority 1. These guidelines represent the most fundamental accessibility features.
Priority 2 (Go to Priority 2 Index): Web developers must satisfy this item. These guidelines represent more complex accessibility features. Generally, these items would be addressed after satisfying Priority 1 items.
Priority 3 (Go to Priority 3 Index): Web developers may satisfy this item. These guidelines represent accessibility features that offer the broadest level of accessibility to web pages.

Section 508

Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act requires that federal agencies' electronic and information technology be accessible to people with disabilities. The standards provide criteria specific to various types of technologies, including:

Software applications and operating systems
Web-based information or applications
Telecommunication products
Video and multimedia products
Self contained, closed products
Desktop and portable computers

More Resources

Lynx Viewer - This service allows web authors to see what their pages will look like (sort of) when viewed with Lynx, a text-mode web browser.

CSS Validator - W3C CSS Validation Service.

MarkUp Validation Service - A free service that checks documents like HTML and XHTML for conformance to W3C Recommendations and other standards.