Digital Accessibility for All: Understanding WCAG 2.2 in Arts & Culture

Arts and culture is for anyone and everyone. You spend huge efforts ensuring everyone is catered for at your venues so it’s important to understand what’s required to reach those same standards in your digital spaces too—after all, your website is often the first point of contact for potential patrons. 

But what exactly does accessibility mean for arts and culture venues, and how can we make it happen? The best place to start is understanding WCAG 2.2.

What is WCAG 2.2?

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 are internationally recognised recommendations for making websites more accessible. Think of them as the building codes for the digital world – ensuring everyone can navigate, understand, and interact with your online content regardless of their abilities.

WCAG guidelines come in three conformance levels:

• Level A: This is the minimum level of accessibility. It covers the essential requirements that must be met to make content accessible to users of all abilities.
• Level AA: This is the level most organisations aim for and what many governments require by law. It’s often a precondition for funding grants too. It strikes a balance between comprehensive accessibility and practical implementation. Level AA includes all Level A requirements plus additional features to broaden its scope.
• Level AAA: The highest level of accessibility achievement. While desirable, Level AAA can be challenging to implement across all content. Having every possible accessibility feature is a dream scenario but not always practical.

Most organisations strive to meet Level AA compliance, which provides robust accessibility while remaining achievable. This level ensures your digital content is accessible to the vast majority of users while meeting legal requirements in many jurisdictions.

The guidelines are structured around four key principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust (POUR). It was developed in collaboration with people with a disability. Hence, it can be seen as a proxy for user testing input from people with a disability.

The POUR Principles

Perceivable

1. Ensure that information and user interface components are presentable to all users. This includes providing alt text for non-text-based content, adding subtitles to videos, and ensuring that content is adaptable for different senses and assistive technologies. In short, make sure any content or functionality is perceivable via at least 2 senses.

Operable

2. Make all interface components and navigation operable via various methods, such as keyboard-only use. Ensure error tolerance, sufficient time for task completion, and clear navigation.

Understandable

3. Information and website functions should be easy to understand. Use simple language, maintain consistency, and provide helpful feedback and error prevention.

Robust

4. Your website needs to be stable and robust enough to work across different platforms, technologies and devices. This includes clean coding practices and ensuring that messages and status updates do not disrupt the user’s workflow.

Why does accessibility matter for arts and culture venues?

Beyond the moral imperative of inclusivity, there are compelling reasons why accessibility should be a priority:

1. Funding Requirements: In many countries, public funding is increasingly tied to digital accessibility compliance. Meeting WCAG standards isn't just good practice – it could be essential for your venue's financial sustainability.
2. Legal Compliance: Many jurisdictions now require websites to meet certain accessibility standards. Getting ahead of these requirements protects your organisation from potential legal challenges.
3. Wider Audience Reach: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), roughly 1.3 billion people experience significant disability—about 1 in 6 of us. By making your digital content accessible, you're opening your doors to a significant audience segment.
4. Improved User Experience For Everyone: Accessibility isn't just about inclusion – it's about creating websites that work better for everyone through clearer structure and intuitive navigation.

Key areas of focus

To help you get started, these are some foundational accessibility elements that you can implement to help you towards that Level AA compliance. 

1. Structural-level accessibility

These overarching details have a wide effect on how people with disabilities interact with your website.

Semantic HTML structure

• Properly marked-up content that screen readers can interpret correctly
• Logical reading order for all content
• Clear document outline using appropriate heading levels
• Structured lists and tables for organised information presentation

ARIA labels and interactive elements

• Clear labels for all buttons, forms, and interactive components
• Descriptive error messages for form validation
• Custom ARIA attributes for complex interactive elements (Example: For a ticket booking calendar, the screen reader should announce "Selected date: 15th March, 4 seats available" rather than just "15")
• Focus indicators for keyboard navigation

Keyboard navigation

• Full functionality available without a mouse
• Logical tab order through page elements
• Skip links for bypassing repetitive content
• Clear visual indicators of keyboard focus

While many Peppered-powered websites have keyboard navigation features, we’re constantly tweaking and making upgrades to make the platform more accessible. As a result, all of these accessibility features for keyboard navigation are currently on our roadmap.

Screen reader optimisation

• Compatible with popular screen readers (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver)
• Appropriate reading order of content
• Hidden elements properly marked (Example: If you have a "Show More" button that reveals extra content, screen readers need to know this content is hidden until the button is clicked)
• Dynamic content updates announced appropriately (Example: When someone fills out a form and there's an error, the screen reader should announce "Invalid email address" rather than silently showing a red border)

2. Content creation best practices

As websites grow and new content is published, many find the accessibility standards of their website deteriorate. It’s important to remember that accessibility is a continual process, not a one-off project. Your team needs to maintain accessibility with a consistent, well-defined content workflow. Here are some guidelines to implement.

Proper heading hierarchy

• Single H1 for main page title
• Logical progression of heading levels (H2, H3, etc.)
• No skipped heading levels
• Clear, descriptive heading text

Image and media accessibility

• Descriptive alt text for all meaningful images
• Empty alt attributes for decorative images
• Captions for videos and multimedia content
• Transcripts for audio content
• Audio descriptions for important visual information in videos

Link and navigation text

• Descriptive link text that makes sense out of context
• No "click here" or "read more" links
• Clear indication of where links lead
• Consistent navigation patterns across pages

Colour and contrast

• WCAG AA-compliant contrast ratios (4.5:1 for normal text) – Use a contrast checker‍
• No colour alone used to convey information
• Sufficient contrast for interactive elements
• Readable text over background images

Forms and interactive content

• Clear labels for all form fields
• Error messages that identify and explain issues
• Required fields clearly marked
• Sufficient time to complete forms
• No timing-dependent functionality without alternatives

Practical steps for your venue

1. Audit your current site
   • Use tools like WAVE to check for basic accessibility issues
   • Review your most visited pages first
   • Document common problems for team training
2. Train your team
   • Ensure content creators understand accessibility basics
   • Establish clear guidelines for content publication
   • Regular refresher sessions on best practices
3. Create an accessibility statement
   • Be transparent about your commitment to accessibility
   • Provide contact information for accessibility support
   • Update regularly as improvements are made

Common pitfalls to avoid

1. Assuming it's a technical issue: Accessibility isn't just about code – it's about how you create and present content.
2. Not having an accessibility workflow: Implementing good practices for newly published pages, content or elements on your website will ensure your website remains accessible.
3. One-time fix mentality: Accessibility is an ongoing process, not a one-off project.
4. Overlooking user testing: Include users with disabilities in your testing process for real-world feedback.

Next steps

1. Review your current website against WCAG 2.2 guidelines
2. Create an accessibility action plan
3. Train your team on accessibility best practices
4. Implement regular accessibility audits
5. Gather feedback from users with disabilities

Let’s make culture accessible to all

1. Want to make your website more accessible?
   All CultureSuite customers can take advantage of our comprehensive accessibility audit at discounted rates. Just get in touch to register your interest and we’ll get you onto the programme. Get in touch.
2. Need guidance on accessibility for your venue?
   ‍If you're not currently a CultureSuite customer, we recommend connecting with our trusted accessibility partners in your region. For venues in the Netherlands and Belgium, reach out to Digitaal Toegankelijk. UK venues should contact Accessible by Design.
3. Want to see how Peppered works?
   We’re proud of how easy we make it for venues to manage their website. That’s why live event venues around the world trust Peppered. Book a personalised demo.‍
4. Looking to partner with us?
   ‍If you’re a technology provider, design agency or supplier for the arts and culture sector, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us here.
5. ‍Want to learn more about digital tools for venues?
   Explore our industry insights and expert advice by heading over to our resources page, YouTube channel or subscribing to our newsletter.