WCAG 2.1 – Criterion 1.3.3 – Sensory Characteristics (Level A)

Good morning on Friday

As part of our series of posts about WCAG, let’s talk today about senses.

We have five of them… right?

Unfortunately, not everyone can fully utilize them.

Criterion 1.3.3 – Sensory Characteristics – sensitizes us not to use expressions, descriptions, commands that not everyone can understand.

Any examples?

• “Press the red button on the right to proceed” – how can a blind person or someone who can’t differentiate colors find an unlabeled button?
• “Your test will end shortly after hearing the bell” – what if I can’t hear? Why don’t I have an alternative like a countdown timer to the end of the test?

This criterion indicates that websites and applications must provide alternative ways of accessing information that depend on senses, such as sight or hearing.

This means that websites and applications should provide:

• Alternative ways to receive visual content, such as alternative descriptions for images and graphics.
• Alternative ways to receive audio content, such as captions for videos and transcriptions for audio recordings.
• Alternative ways to receive color-dependent content, such as low-contrast color schemes for people with visual impairments.
• Alternative highlighting for links embedded in text. They are often highlighted by color, but this is insufficient for people who cannot distinguish them.

Link to the criterion on W3C: https://lnkd.in/da254uZz