Digital accessibility · April 12, 2026

WCAG 2.1 AA in Plain English: The 12 Criteria Behind 80% of Lawsuits

WCAG — the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines — is the technical standard that underpins almost every ADA Title III digital-accessibility claim in the United States. It was written by the W3C, not the U.S. government, but DOJ guidance and most circuit-court rulings point to it as the de-facto benchmark. Here are the criteria you are most likely to be cited on.

The 12 that matter most

1 · Non-text content has text alternatives (1.1.1)

Every meaningful image needs meaningful alt text. Decorative images can use empty alt (alt=""). Icons that trigger actions need alt text describing the action, not the icon.

2 · Captions for video (1.2.2)

Pre-recorded video needs captions. Live video is a Level AA requirement for live captions too (1.2.4).

3 · Info and relationships conveyed programmatically (1.3.1)

Headings, lists, tables, and form labels must be coded with the right HTML elements. A heading that looks like a heading but is actually a <div> fails this.

4 · Color is not the only means (1.4.1)

Error states, required fields, and interactive elements cannot rely on color alone to convey meaning. A red asterisk next to "required" counts; a red label next to a plain label does not.

5 · Contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 (1.4.3)

Text and its background must have a 4.5:1 contrast ratio (3:1 for large text — 18pt regular or 14pt bold). Light grey on white is almost always a violation.

6 · Resizable text up to 200% (1.4.4)

Users must be able to zoom the page to 200% without losing content or breaking layout.

7 · Keyboard accessible (2.1.1)

Every interactive element — links, buttons, form fields, custom widgets — must be operable with a keyboard alone. Dropdowns, modals, and carousels that require a mouse fail here.

8 · Focus order matches reading order (2.4.3)

Pressing Tab should move focus through the page in the same order a sighted user reads it. CSS positioning tricks often break this without developers realizing.

9 · Visible focus indicator (2.4.7)

When an element receives keyboard focus, it must show a visible indicator — the default browser outline is fine, but removing it with outline: none without a replacement is a violation.

10 · Labels or instructions for form inputs (3.3.2)

Every input needs a programmatically associated label — placeholder text alone does not count. Screen readers announce <label> when focus enters an input; placeholders they often ignore.

11 · Error identification (3.3.1)

When a form is submitted with errors, the errors must be identified in text — not just marked with a red border.

12 · Status messages (4.1.3)

When content changes dynamically — a form submission confirmation, a "cart updated" message — screen readers need a programmatic way to be notified, typically via ARIA live regions.

What to do with this list

Run these 12 against a representative sample of your site. If all 12 pass, you have defended against the majority of boilerplate demand letters. You still have another 38 Level AA criteria to work through for full compliance — and an accessibility specialist will catch nuances a checklist misses — but this is the pragmatic 80/20.