Applying WCAG to mobile apps

Understand how the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines apply to mobile apps.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) apply primarily to web pages, but most of WCAG applies also to mobile apps.

See the W3C document, Mobile Accessibility: How WCAG 2.0 and Other W3C/WAI Guidelines Apply to Mobile, which describes how WCAG “can be applied to mobile web content, mobile web apps, native apps, and hybrid apps using web components inside native apps”. While this guidance is from 2018 and doesn’t address later versions of WCAG or more recent mobile technologies, it remains a useful, high-level introduction to how the principles in WCAG translate to mobile apps.

WCAG for web apps

Web apps are just websites and can be assessed directly against WCAG.

EN 301 549 for native apps

Native apps are software. The W3C document, Guidance on Applying WCAG 2 to Non-Web Information and Communications Technologies (WCAG2ICT), describes how WCAG can be applied to non-web documents and software.

The European Standard, EN 301 549 Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services, is informed by the WCAG2ICT guidance and sets the applicable WCAG 2.1 Success Criteria as accessibility requirements for software. See Section 11 Software — EN 301 549 v3.2.1 — ETSI (PDF 2.2MB).

Which WCAG 2 Success Criteria apply to native apps?

In EN 301 549 Section 11, all but 6 WCAG 2.1 Success Criteria (SC) at Level A and AA apply to software, which includes native apps. The 6 SC that do not apply to software in EN 301 549 are:

• 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks

• 2.4.2 Page Titled

• 2.4.5 Multiple Ways

• 3.1.2 Language of Parts

• 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation

• 3.2.4 Consistent Identification.

WCAG and EN 301 549 for hybrid apps

Hybrid apps are a mixture of native app and web app, or software and web page. As such, the web-based parts of the hybrid app should be assessed against WCAG directly, while the native parts of the app should be assessed against EN 301 549 Section 11 Software.