# About WCAG Understanding Documents

Summary

Understanding documents provide detailed explanations for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) guidelines and success criteria. They are informative, not part of the "normative" WCAG standard. To start learning about WCAG, see the WCAG Overview.

## About WCAG

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provides requirements for making websites, applications, and other digital content accessible to people with disabilities. For an introduction to WCAG, supporting technical documents, and educational material, see WCAG 2 Overview.

There are additional resources that help you understand and implement WCAG. These Understanding documents are one type of resource. Others are explained in the WCAG 2 Documents.

## About the Understanding Documents

WCAG Understanding documents are guides to understanding and implementing WCAG. They provide detailed explanations for each guideline and each success criterion to help readers better understand the intent of the success criteria. They include background information and technical details. They include techniques that are examples of ways to meet the success criteria. Each technique is linked to more details in a techniques page. Techniques are explained in Understanding Techniques for WCAG Success Criteria.

WCAG Understanding documents are not introductory resources. They are for people who want to understand WCAG more thoroughly. The WCAG Overview provides introductory information.

### Structure of the Documents

Understanding Guideline pages include:

- The intent
- Any advisory techniques that are related to the guideline and not specifically related to any of its success criteria

Understanding Success Criterion pages include:

- The success criterion wording from WCAG
- Intent of the success criterion
- Benefits, how it helps people with disabilities
- Examples
- Related resources
- Techniques
  - Sufficient techniques
  - Advisory techniques
  - Failures
- Key terms for this success criterion, from the WCAG Glossary

## Change Log

For a detailed view of recent changes to the informative documents see the github updates.

## Acknowledgements

Back to Top