Making accessibility standards easy to understand, one success criterion at a time.

Friendly reminder: This is a beginner-friendly guide, not a replacement for the official WCAG. See our full disclaimer.

WCAG version: 2.0

Collection of success criterion published in WCAG version 2.0 in 2008.

WCAG 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 Level AAA

1.4.8 Visual Presentation

For blocks of text, justification must be avoided, line-height must be at least 1.5, width must not exceed 80 characters, and users must be able to set text and background colors.

Sensory, Zoom and Legibility
Cognitive, Visual
Design
WCAG 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 Level AAA
WCAG 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 Level AA

1.4.11 Non-text Contrast

Usable components like form fields and buttons, and graphics like pie charts and line graphs must have a contrast ratio of 3 to 1.

Sensory
Cognitive, Visual
Design
WCAG 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 Level AA

1.4.12 Text Spacing

Users can increase letter, word, line, and paragraph spacing without cutting off content or breaking functionality.

Zoom and Legibility
Cognitive, Visual
Code, Design
WCAG 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 Level AA

1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus

Tooltips and similar content should stay visible, be easy to dismiss (usually with the Esc key), and let users select and interact with the text.

Gestures, Keyboard, Zoom and Legibility
Cognitive, Visual
Code, Design
WCAG 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 Level A

2.1.1 Keyboard

Can you get around using the keyboard alone.

Keyboard
Cognitive, Physical/Motor, Visual
Code
WCAG 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 Level A

2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap

There must not be a situation where you enter a modal with the keyboard and can’t get back to where you were.

Keyboard
Cognitive, Physical/Motor, Visual
Code
WCAG 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 Level AAA

2.1.3 Keyboard (No Exception)

You can navigate and interact with a page using the keyboard alone.

Keyboard
Cognitive, Physical/Motor, Visual
Content, Design
WCAG 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 Level A

2.2.1 Timing Adjustable

Time limits must be avoided unless they’re able to be extended.

Forms, Sensory
Cognitive, Visual
Code
WCAG 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 Level A

2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide

Automatically moving/animating content that lasts more than 5 seconds must be able to be stopped or hidden.

Sensory
Cognitive, Visual
Code, Content, Design