Straight answers about web accessibility, the standards behind it, and how adasafe fits in. Every answer is drawn from authoritative sources — the W3C, ADA.gov, and the EU — and the legal ones are general information, not legal advice.
Web accessibility means designing and building websites, tools, and technologies so that people with disabilities can use them. In practice, that means a person can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the web, and contribute to it, however they access it — whether by screen reader, keyboard only, voice control, screen magnifier, or captions.
Accessibility overlaps with general usability and benefits everyone, including people on slow connections, older people, and anyone using a small screen or reading in bright sunlight.
WCAG stands for the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. It is the internationally recognised standard for making web content accessible, developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) through its Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).
WCAG is organised around four principles, often abbreviated POUR: content must be Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. Under those principles sit testable success criteria at three conformance levels — A (minimum), AA, and AAA (strictest).
WCAG 2.2 is the current version of the guidelines, published by the W3C as a formal Recommendation in October 2023. It builds on WCAG 2.1 and 2.0, adding nine new success criteria covering areas such as visible focus, alternatives to dragging movements, minimum target sizes, and accessible authentication.
'AA' is the middle of the three conformance levels. It is the level most laws, policies, and procurement standards point to as the target, so 'WCAG 2.2 AA' is the benchmark most organisations aim for. Meeting AA means satisfying all Level A and all Level AA success criteria.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a US civil rights law, passed in 1990, that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. Title II covers state and local governments; Title III covers businesses open to the public ('public accommodations').
The US Department of Justice has long taken the position that the ADA's requirements extend to the web services of these entities. In 2024 the DOJ issued a Title II rule that formally adopts WCAG 2.1 AA as the technical standard for state and local government websites and mobile apps. For private businesses under Title III, the DOJ has not set a single numeric standard, but courts and settlements have widely treated WCAG Level AA as the practical benchmark.
This answer is general information, not legal advice. For how the ADA applies to your specific situation, consult a qualified attorney.
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is an EU law — Directive (EU) 2019/882 — that requires a range of products and services, including e-commerce, banking, e-books, transport, and telecoms, to meet common accessibility requirements. Its obligations apply from 28 June 2025.
EN 301 549 is the European standard that sets out the technical accessibility requirements for ICT, including websites and mobile apps. It incorporates WCAG (Level AA) as the basis for web content, so meeting WCAG AA is central to conforming with EN 301 549 and the EAA.
This answer is general information, not legal advice. Requirements vary by country and sector; consult a qualified professional for your obligations.
No tool can guarantee that, and adasafe does not. adasafe is an automated scanner that helps you find and fix accessibility issues quickly — it points to likely WCAG problems, explains them in plain language, and suggests fixes.
Automated testing catches only a portion of accessibility barriers. Many WCAG success criteria — such as whether alt text is meaningful, whether reading order makes sense, or whether a page works end to end with a screen reader — require human judgement. adasafe does not replace manual testing, expert review, or legal advice, and its reports and compliance documents are working drafts to support your own review, not a legal certification of compliance with the ADA, WCAG, or the EAA.
Use adasafe to catch and resolve issues faster and to document your progress, then pair it with manual testing and — where compliance matters legally — a qualified accessibility professional or attorney.