Plain-English definitions of the accessibility terms you’ll meet across WCAG, the ADA, and the EAA — each linked to the deeper guide or tool.
a11yA numeronym for “accessibility” — the letter a, 11 letters, then y — used widely in the web community.
Accessibility auditA structured evaluation of a website or app against accessibility standards like WCAG.
Accessibility overlayA third-party script that claims to make a site compliant automatically by patching it in the browser.
Accessibility statementA public page stating your accessibility commitment, conformance status, and how to report barriers.
Accessible nameThe label a screen reader announces for a UI element, computed from text, labels, or ARIA.
ADAA 1990 U.S. civil-rights law prohibiting discrimination based on disability, increasingly applied to websites and apps.
Alt textA short text description of an image, announced by screen readers and shown when the image fails to load.
ARIAA set of HTML attributes that add accessibility information to custom widgets when native HTML isn’t enough.
Assistive technologyHardware or software that helps people with disabilities use computers — screen readers, magnifiers, switch devices, voice control.
Audio descriptionA narration track describing important visual information in a video for blind and low-vision viewers.
axe-coreThe widely used open-source accessibility testing engine that powers many scanners, including ours.
CaptionsSynchronized text of speech and important sounds in video, for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers.
Color contrastThe luminance difference between text (or UI) and its background, which determines readability for low-vision users.
Conformance levelWCAG’s A, AA, and AAA tiers indicating how fully content meets the guidelines.
Focus indicatorThe visible outline showing which element the keyboard is currently on.
Focus orderThe sequence in which interactive elements receive keyboard focus as you Tab through a page.
Keyboard navigationOperating a website using only the keyboard — Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, Space, and arrow keys — without a mouse.
LandmarkAn ARIA/HTML region (header, nav, main, footer) that lets screen-reader users jump between major page areas.
Low visionReduced vision that isn’t correctable with glasses, affecting how people perceive text, contrast, and layout.
NVDAA free, open-source screen reader for Windows, widely used for testing and by blind users.
Reduced motionA user preference to minimize animation, which sites should respect via the prefers-reduced-motion media query.
Screen readerSoftware that converts on-screen content into speech or braille so blind and low-vision people can use a computer.
Section 508A U.S. law requiring federal agencies — and their vendors — to make information technology accessible.
Semantic HTMLUsing HTML elements for their meaning — headings, lists, buttons, labels — rather than generic divs and spans.
Skip linkA link at the top of a page that lets keyboard users jump straight to the main content, past repeated navigation.
Target sizeThe clickable/tappable dimensions of a control; WCAG sets a 24×24px minimum to help motor-impaired users.
Text alternativeAny text that serves the same purpose as non-text content, so it can be read, spoken, or enlarged.
TranscriptA full text version of audio or video content, readable independently of the media.
VoiceOverApple’s built-in screen reader for macOS, iOS, and iPadOS.
VPATA standardized document describing how a product conforms to accessibility standards; the completed version is an ACR.
WCAGThe international standard, published by the W3C, that defines how to make web content accessible to people with disabilities.
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