Inclusion in the online teaching environment: WCAG guidelines

3. WCAG guidelines

When we talk about accessibility in the digital world, we primarily mean the accessibility of online content and applications, native applications for mobile devices and desktop computers, electronic books and content in learning management systems, and other digital content.

According to CARNET data presented in the 2025 Guidelines for Ensuring Digital Accessibility studies show that between 10% and 20% of the population has some form of disability related to visual, hearing, motor or cognitive impairment. Each of these categories requires certain adjustments in the creation and design of digital content, and in most cases such adjustments benefit all users, not just people with disabilities.

Back in 2005, the European Commission defined that content accessibility refers to the removal of barriers that prevent people from accessing and using digital content, or the degree to which people with disabilities can use digital content, websites and applications.

When we talk about factors that influence digital accessibility, we usually mean:

meaning and form of digital content, immediate information (text, image, sound)
native applications, web browsers and audio/video playback programmes, and other programs and tools used by users of digital content
assistive technology (screen readers, specially designed keyboards, scanning programmes, etc.)
user knowledge and experience in using digital content
people who develop and shape online and offline digital content and original applications
programmes and tools for creating multimedia presentations, web pages and native applications
programmes and tools for evaluating the accessibility of original applications, web pages (HTML and CSS validators, etc.).

2018 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) provide a concrete framework for creating digital educational materials that are understandable and usable by everyone, regardless of physical or cognitive abilities. Basic steps include adding alt text for images and graphs, logically organising content using structural tags (headings, paragraphs, lists), ensuring sufficient contrast between text and background, and using legible fonts and clear visuals. Although there are WCAG 2.2 guidelines from 2023, these are not yet recommended for full application.

It is equally important to avoid content that limits accessibility, such as scanned PDFs without search and markup capabilities, auto-playing videos without user control or complex interactive elements that are not accessible via keyboard. WCAG-based accommodation does not only benefit people with disabilities, they improve the learning experience for all students, including those who use mobile phones, study in adverse conditions (poorly lit spaces, noise) or have temporary difficulties (injuries, fatigue, stress).

Additional recommendations when ensuring digital accessibility:

when digital content uses tabular displays containing a large amount of data, they are accompanied by a concise explanation in Croatian.
all elements that are not permanently displayed are opened and closed by touching (clicking) the mouse (not by hovering the cursor over the button)
navigation menus have only the first level of navigation visible, while sub-levels of the menu are initially hidden or reduced
drop-down menus and/or submenus do not have many sub-levels of navigation nor a large number of links in one level
the use of drag and drop elements is avoided
images and complex images (e.g. graphs and diagrams) have a short audio title in Croatian, with an appropriate textual title (so-called alt attribute) and a description in Croatian
audio and video clips have subtitles and/or transcripts of the text in Croatian
audio and video clips have a short audio title in Croatian, with an appropriate textual title and description in Croatian
buttons on audio and video recordings have a short audio title in Croatian, along with a textual title in Croatian
audio and video and music used in audio and video must be pleasant, unobtrusive and appropriate for the content in which they are used
dynamic content, except for audio and video, can be stopped or started at will
if a website uses visual verification and confirmation (captcha), alternative auditory verification is also used
on web pages that have a lot of text, images related to the content are inserted to make it easier for people who originally use Croatian sign language to understand the text.
avoids the need to simultaneously use two or more keyboard keys for a specific command
the text part is divided into smaller blocks separated by blank space.

Digital Accessibility Validators

To check the digital accessibility of content, so-called validators, or verification tools, are used. They are all available as online solutions and are free, and do not need to be installed on your devices. You usually need to enter the address (URL) of the content for which you want to check the accessibility, and such tools will, after conducting an analysis, provide you with a report with an overview of how accessible the content is, and what measures need to be taken to improve it (including links to instructions on how to do this).