Let’s clear something up: WCAG is not the law.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are just that – guidelines. They weren’t written by a government. They aren’t legally binding on their own. And they don’t automatically apply just because you built a website.
But here’s the twist:
Even though WCAG isn’t the law, it’s written into almost every law that matters.
Different countries handle accessibility differently. Some have sweeping civil rights legislation. Others have specific accessibility rules for public services, education, or technology procurement.
But nearly all of them point to WCAG as the technical standard. Why?
Because it works.
It’s not perfect – but it’s the most widely recognized accessibility standard in the world. It’s structured, testable, and written to cover a huge range of disabilities, technologies, and industries.
So when the law says your site must be “reasonably accessible”? WCAG is how that gets measured.
And when a court needs to decide if someone was unfairly excluded? WCAG is what they look at.
That’s the pattern:
- WCAG isn’t a law.
- But the law uses WCAG.
- And the expectation? Make your website accessible, or you could be held legally accountable.
This is true whether you’re working in government, education, finance, healthcare, or just selling t-shirts online. If you’re building for the public, you’re expected to build for everyone.
So no, you don’t have to memorize every regulation.
But yes, you absolutely need to care.