From dad8310faafb12cdcde1008199cfa1bab264a7c5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Patrick H. Lauke" Date: Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:28:13 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 01/10] Expand "Understanding Levels of Conformance" Based on the lengthy discussions in https://github.com/w3c/wcag/issues/3889 - which kept stressing the idea that no, Level A/AA/AAA does not try to imply any kind of hierarchy of importance/severity - this PR rewrites and expands this section, to hopefully provide some more clarification. * removes the use of the word "essential" - this currently very clearly *does* imply that some SCs are "more essential" (thus more important/severe) than others * moves the bullet about workarounds right after the first one, as it's related conceptually * adds a bullet about subjectivity (yes, it's a dirty word that WCAG doesn't want to acknowledge most of the time...but it's true) * gives an example after the bullet about what these bullet points actually mean - this is primarily what was missing in the "WCAG doesn't explain itself about why levels were chosen the way they were" * adds a call-back to WCAG 1.0 - where "priority" was used - and explains how this concept is NOT used in WCAG 2. further hammers home the idea that all SCs are important, and that deciding how to prioritise or even what level to aim for are decisions for developers/policy makers in the end Closes https://github.com/w3c/wcag/issues/3889 --- understanding/conformance.html | 26 +++++++++++++++++++------- 1 file changed, 19 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-) diff --git a/understanding/conformance.html b/understanding/conformance.html index b84546f2ac..5d8675b219 100644 --- a/understanding/conformance.html +++ b/understanding/conformance.html @@ -410,15 +410,16 @@

Understanding Levels of Conformance

with a high level of confidence. -

The success criteria were assigned to one of the three levels of conformance by the - working group after taking into consideration a wide range of interacting issues. +

The success criteria were assigned to one of the three levels of conformance + – Level A, Level AA, Level AAA – + by the working group, after taking into consideration a wide range of interacting issues. Some of the common factors evaluated when setting the level included:

+

As an example, criteria that address problems that can't be remediated by assistive technology or worked around through other means, can be satisfied for + all types of content, don't require specialized skills to author accessibly, and whose implementation would not require fundamental changes to functionality + or visual design, would likely be categorized under Level A; conversely, criteria that can't be satisfied for all websites/types of content, + that may require a certain amount of subjectivity to determine a pass/fail, and would require extensive changes to functionality or visual design, would likely fall under Level AAA.

+

+

While WCAG 1.0 categorized checkpoints into priority levels, which were then mapped + to Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA conformance levels, + WCAG 2 does not suggest any particular level of priority or severity. Every criterion is important to one or more user groups. + How to prioritize criteria during development or remediation is a question for development teams, which will factor in further aspects such as their resources, + development cycles, or their own assessment of how severe or widespread a particular problem is in their content. The choice of which specific level to aim + for conformance with – just Level A, both Level A and AA, full Level A/AA/AAA – is fundamentally a policy decision.

Understanding Accessibility Support

From 39e85188fc25d82bad450879b693730fb3b596ca Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Patrick H. Lauke" Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2026 09:19:59 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 02/10] Typos Co-authored-by: Patrick H. Lauke --- understanding/conformance.html | 4 ++-- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/understanding/conformance.html b/understanding/conformance.html index 5d8675b219..826e55a259 100644 --- a/understanding/conformance.html +++ b/understanding/conformance.html @@ -416,8 +416,8 @@

Understanding Levels of Conformance

Some of the common factors evaluated when setting the level included:

    -
  • whether content that fails to meet the requirements of the success criterion is can be - remediate/made accessible through the use of assistive technology +
  • whether content that fails to meet the requirements of the success criterion can be + remediated/made accessible through the use of assistive technology
  • whether there are workarounds or alternatives if the success criterion is not met
  • whether it is possible to satisfy the success criterion for From a3265e412dad38287140953310adcd2aa211792c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Patrick H. Lauke" Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:42:40 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 03/10] subjectivity > interpretation Co-authored-by: Patrick H. Lauke --- understanding/conformance.html | 4 ++-- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/understanding/conformance.html b/understanding/conformance.html index 826e55a259..542276b792 100644 --- a/understanding/conformance.html +++ b/understanding/conformance.html @@ -432,12 +432,12 @@

    Understanding Levels of Conformance

    of the web page (limits on function, presentation, freedom of expression, design or aesthetic that the success criterion might place on authors)
    • -
  • whether the criterion requires a certain amount of subjectivity when evaluating or assessing
    • +
  • whether the criterion requires a certain amount of interpretation when evaluating or assessing

As an example, criteria that address problems that can't be remediated by assistive technology or worked around through other means, can be satisfied for all types of content, don't require specialized skills to author accessibly, and whose implementation would not require fundamental changes to functionality or visual design, would likely be categorized under Level A; conversely, criteria that can't be satisfied for all websites/types of content, - that may require a certain amount of subjectivity to determine a pass/fail, and would require extensive changes to functionality or visual design, would likely fall under Level AAA.

+ that may require a certain amount of (sometimes subjective) interpretation to determine a pass/fail, and would require extensive changes to functionality or visual design, would likely fall under Level AAA.

While WCAG 1.0 categorized checkpoints into priority levels, which were then mapped to Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA conformance levels, From 3cd856dce1446db48a547daafd7a90e42aee2999 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Patrick H. Lauke" Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:46:08 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 04/10] Apply suggestion from @patrickhlauke --- understanding/conformance.html | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/understanding/conformance.html b/understanding/conformance.html index 542276b792..76b65b3f75 100644 --- a/understanding/conformance.html +++ b/understanding/conformance.html @@ -417,7 +417,7 @@

Understanding Levels of Conformance

  • whether content that fails to meet the requirements of the success criterion can be - remediated/made accessible through the use of assistive technology + automatically corrected/made accessible through the use of assistive technology
  • whether there are workarounds or alternatives if the success criterion is not met
  • whether it is possible to satisfy the success criterion for From c473ab3750e222558559df667518ebcb8ea47a38 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Patrick H. Lauke" Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:55:57 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 05/10] change up the "freedom of expression" point porting some of the gist of https://github.com/w3c/wcag/pull/5309 directly here --- understanding/conformance.html | 6 ++---- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-) diff --git a/understanding/conformance.html b/understanding/conformance.html index 76b65b3f75..557f6d667d 100644 --- a/understanding/conformance.html +++ b/understanding/conformance.html @@ -428,10 +428,8 @@

    Understanding Levels of Conformance

    reasonably be achieved by the content creators (that is, the knowledge and skill to meet the success criterion could be acquired in a week's training or less)
    • -
  • whether the success criterion would impose limits on the "look & feel" and/or function - of the web page (limits on function, presentation, freedom of expression, design - or aesthetic that the success criterion might place on authors) -
    • +
  • whether the success criterion imposes limits on functionality (the specific interactive functions presented to users) or aesthetics + (such as visual design and language style choices, the "look & feel" of content)
  • whether the criterion requires a certain amount of interpretation when evaluating or assessing

As an example, criteria that address problems that can't be remediated by assistive technology or worked around through other means, can be satisfied for From 6cfd757e698902ad0076d6b67ef925f1dacffa26 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Patrick H. Lauke" Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2026 21:25:43 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 06/10] Apply batched suggestions from code review Co-authored-by: Patrick H. Lauke --- understanding/conformance.html | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/understanding/conformance.html b/understanding/conformance.html index 557f6d667d..04636543cc 100644 --- a/understanding/conformance.html +++ b/understanding/conformance.html @@ -439,7 +439,7 @@

Understanding Levels of Conformance

While WCAG 1.0 categorized checkpoints into priority levels, which were then mapped to Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA conformance levels, - WCAG 2 does not suggest any particular level of priority or severity. Every criterion is important to one or more user groups. + WCAG 2 (which reworked how criteria were assigned to levels) does not suggest any particular level of priority or severity. Every criterion is important to one or more user groups. How to prioritize criteria during development or remediation is a question for development teams, which will factor in further aspects such as their resources, development cycles, or their own assessment of how severe or widespread a particular problem is in their content. The choice of which specific level to aim for conformance with – just Level A, both Level A and AA, full Level A/AA/AAA – is fundamentally a policy decision.

From 3f5feb1c47d10419ebdfb6394e69fef4c32fbbcc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Patrick H. Lauke" Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2026 21:46:48 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 07/10] Apply suggestion from @patrickhlauke --- understanding/conformance.html | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/understanding/conformance.html b/understanding/conformance.html index 61878ef1ea..4e6090d389 100644 --- a/understanding/conformance.html +++ b/understanding/conformance.html @@ -438,7 +438,7 @@

Understanding Levels of Conformance

that may require a certain amount of (sometimes subjective) interpretation to determine a pass/fail, and would require extensive changes to functionality or visual design, would likely fall under Level AAA.

While WCAG 1.0 categorized checkpoints into priority levels, which were then mapped - to Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA conformance levels, + to WCAG 1.0's Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA conformance levels, WCAG 2 (which reworked how criteria were assigned to levels) does not suggest any particular level of priority or severity. Every criterion is important to one or more user groups. How to prioritize criteria during development or remediation is a question for development teams, which will factor in further aspects such as their resources, development cycles, or their own assessment of how severe or widespread a particular problem is in their content. The choice of which specific level to aim From 4025d510b98dc49d51373dff74d665f801fec2ab Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Patrick H. Lauke" Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2026 21:50:52 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 08/10] Tiny reformat --- understanding/conformance.html | 22 ++++++++++------------ 1 file changed, 10 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-) diff --git a/understanding/conformance.html b/understanding/conformance.html index 4e6090d389..e960b5e9ea 100644 --- a/understanding/conformance.html +++ b/understanding/conformance.html @@ -417,17 +417,14 @@

Understanding Levels of Conformance

  • whether content that fails to meet the requirements of the success criterion can be - automatically corrected/made accessible through the use of assistive technology -
    • + automatically corrected/made accessible through the use of assistive technology
  • whether there are workarounds or alternatives if the success criterion is not met
  • whether it is possible to satisfy the success criterion for all websites and types of content that the success criterion would apply to (e.g., different topics, types of content, - types of web technology) -
    • + types of web technology)
  • whether the success criterion requires skills that could reasonably be achieved by the content creators (that is, the knowledge and skill to meet the success criterion could be acquired - in a week's training or less) -
    • + in a week's training or less)
  • whether the success criterion imposes limits on functionality (the specific interactive functions presented to users) or aesthetics (such as visual design and language style choices, the "look & feel" of content)
  • whether the criterion requires a certain amount of interpretation when evaluating or assessing
    • @@ -435,14 +432,15 @@

    Understanding Levels of Conformance

    As an example, criteria that address problems that can't be remediated by assistive technology or worked around through other means, can be satisfied for all types of content, don't require specialized skills to author accessibly, and whose implementation would not require fundamental changes to functionality or visual design, would likely be categorized under Level A; conversely, criteria that can't be satisfied for all websites/types of content, - that may require a certain amount of (sometimes subjective) interpretation to determine a pass/fail, and would require extensive changes to functionality or visual design, would likely fall under Level AAA.

    + that may require a certain amount of (sometimes subjective) interpretation to determine a pass/fail, and would require extensive changes to functionality or visual design, would likely fall under Level AAA.

    While WCAG 1.0 categorized checkpoints into priority levels, which were then mapped - to WCAG 1.0's Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA conformance levels, - WCAG 2 (which reworked how criteria were assigned to levels) does not suggest any particular level of priority or severity. Every criterion is important to one or more user groups. - How to prioritize criteria during development or remediation is a question for development teams, which will factor in further aspects such as their resources, - development cycles, or their own assessment of how severe or widespread a particular problem is in their content. The choice of which specific level to aim - for conformance with – just Level A, both Level A and AA, full Level A/AA/AAA – is fundamentally a policy decision.

    + to WCAG 1.0's Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA conformance levels, + WCAG 2 (which reworked how criteria were assigned to levels) does not suggest any particular level of priority or severity. Every criterion is important to one or more user groups. + How to prioritize criteria during development or remediation is a question for development teams, which will factor in further aspects such as their resources, + development cycles, or their own assessment of how severe or widespread a particular problem is in their content. The choice of which specific level to aim + for conformance with – just Level A, both Level A and AA, full Level A/AA/AAA – is fundamentally a policy decision. +

Understanding Accessibility Support

From ff1f8464006d5d04b052d035427d92f228edf65a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Patrick H. Lauke" Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2026 21:55:38 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 09/10] Add prose about how the *severity* of failing a criterion is not intrinsic to the SC itself, but depends on what exactly is failing (as suggested by @giacomo-petri in last week's meeting) --- understanding/conformance.html | 4 ++-- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/understanding/conformance.html b/understanding/conformance.html index e960b5e9ea..a57a80d3b6 100644 --- a/understanding/conformance.html +++ b/understanding/conformance.html @@ -436,8 +436,8 @@

Understanding Levels of Conformance

While WCAG 1.0 categorized checkpoints into priority levels, which were then mapped to WCAG 1.0's Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA conformance levels, - WCAG 2 (which reworked how criteria were assigned to levels) does not suggest any particular level of priority or severity. Every criterion is important to one or more user groups. - How to prioritize criteria during development or remediation is a question for development teams, which will factor in further aspects such as their resources, + WCAG 2 (which reworked how criteria were assigned to levels) does not suggest any particular level of priority or severity. Every criterion is important to one or more user groups. In most cases, there is no intrinsic severity to failing to meet the requirements of a particular criterion – this depends on other aspects, such as the frequency of the failure, and the type of content or functionality that is failing.

+

How to prioritize criteria during development or remediation is a question for development teams, which will factor in further aspects such as their resources, development cycles, or their own assessment of how severe or widespread a particular problem is in their content. The choice of which specific level to aim for conformance with – just Level A, both Level A and AA, full Level A/AA/AAA – is fundamentally a policy decision.

From 08859b667feb172dc3e6a4e45d9a8a38bc51ab3f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Patrick H. Lauke" Date: Fri, 28 Aug 2026 16:26:55 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 10/10] Apply suggestion from @patrickhlauke --- understanding/conformance.html | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/understanding/conformance.html b/understanding/conformance.html index a57a80d3b6..240744563e 100644 --- a/understanding/conformance.html +++ b/understanding/conformance.html @@ -436,7 +436,7 @@

Understanding Levels of Conformance

While WCAG 1.0 categorized checkpoints into priority levels, which were then mapped to WCAG 1.0's Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA conformance levels, - WCAG 2 (which reworked how criteria were assigned to levels) does not suggest any particular level of priority or severity. Every criterion is important to one or more user groups. In most cases, there is no intrinsic severity to failing to meet the requirements of a particular criterion – this depends on other aspects, such as the frequency of the failure, and the type of content or functionality that is failing.

+ WCAG 2 (which reworked how criteria were assigned to levels) does not suggest any particular level of priority or severity. Every criterion is important to one or more user groups. In most cases, there is no intrinsic severity associated with failing a particular criterion – this also depends on other aspects, such as the frequency of the failure, and the type of content or functionality that is failing.

How to prioritize criteria during development or remediation is a question for development teams, which will factor in further aspects such as their resources, development cycles, or their own assessment of how severe or widespread a particular problem is in their content. The choice of which specific level to aim for conformance with – just Level A, both Level A and AA, full Level A/AA/AAA – is fundamentally a policy decision.