Why everyone asks for the middle level
The accessibility guidelines are published in three conformance levels. Nearly every policy, contract and procurement document names the middle one, and there is a good reason for that.
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Short answer
The guidelines define three conformance levels. The first covers the most basic barriers, the middle level is the common target named in policies and contracts, and the top level includes criteria that cannot be met by all content. Conformance is assessed per page, and meeting a level means meeting every criterion at that level and below.
How the levels are built
Each success criterion in the guidelines carries a level. The lowest holds the ones that address the most basic barriers, where a failure shuts some people out completely.
The middle level adds criteria that remove real barriers for a wider group. The top level adds refinements beyond that.
The levels stack. Meeting the middle level means meeting everything in the lowest level too, not just the new items.
The lettering is not a quality grade and is often read as one. A page meeting the lowest level is not a bronze-standard page; it is a page that has cleared the barriers which shut people out entirely.
What the first level covers
The essentials. Images that convey meaning need text alternatives. Content must be operable by keyboard. Information must not be conveyed by color alone.
Video needs alternatives. Page structure has to be real rather than visual. Nothing may trap a keyboard reader.
A site failing at this level is not merely awkward for some visitors. There are people who cannot use it at all.
What the middle level adds
Contrast minimums for text. Captions for live audio. Multiple ways to find a page. Headings and labels that describe what follows.
Visible focus indication, consistent navigation across pages, and error suggestions when somebody fills in a form incorrectly.
This is where most of the practical, everyday accessibility of a business site actually lives, which is why it became the standard target.
- Minimum contrast for normal and large text
- Captions for live audio
- More than one way to find a page
- Headings and labels that describe what follows
- A visible indication of keyboard focus
- Navigation that stays consistent across pages
- Error suggestions when a form entry is rejected
Why the top level is not a target
The guidance itself says it is not meant as a blanket policy target. Some content simply cannot meet every criterion at that level.
Sign language for all recorded audio is one example. A reading level rule is another, which a legal or technical subject may not be able to meet.
Many groups adopt single criteria from the top level where they help, without claiming the level. That is a sensible way to use it.
Conformance is per page
This trips people up. Conformance is assessed page by page, and a page conforms only if every criterion at that level is met.
One unlabeled field on one page means that page does not conform, whatever the rest of the site looks like.
It also means a claim about a whole site is a claim about every page in it, including the ones added last week.
That is also why a claim about a whole site ages badly. A site assessed in March, with forty pages added since, is making a statement about pages nobody has looked at.
What this means for a business site
Aim at the middle level, because that is what contracts, policies and procurement documents name. Take criteria from the top level where they are easy and helpful.
Treat it as continuous rather than as a project. A site that conformed in March and has had forty pages added since is making a claim about pages nobody assessed.
Every page written by Website Builder Studio passes a check that runs before anything publishes, validated against Google Search Essentials and modern web standards, so new pages are checked as they arrive.
Treat it as continuous rather than as a project with an end. The pages that fail are usually the ones added after the review, which is the argument for a check that runs on every publish.
What a checker can and cannot tell you
Automated tests cover a real share of the criteria, and nothing like all of them. Contrast, labels, structure and attributes can be read by a machine. Whether alt text is true cannot.
So a clean report is a good sign. It is not a conformance claim. The in-app assistant is clear about which findings still need a person.
None of this is legal advice. Anyone telling you a tool alone delivers a level is describing something the guidelines do not support.
The split between the two is set out in automated and manual testing, and it is the reason a clean report is a good sign rather than a conformance claim.
The levels, as the standard defines them
- Level AA requires a contrast ratio of 4.5 to 1 for normal size text W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2
- Level AAA raises the same requirement to 7 to 1 W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2
Figures are from the source named beside each one, as published there. None of them is a claim about this product.
Questions people ask
Which level should I aim for?
The middle level. It is what policies and contracts almost always name, and it covers the barriers that affect the most people day to day.
Is the top level ever required?
Rarely as a blanket requirement, and the guidance advises against that. Individual criteria from it are often adopted where they are practical.
Do the levels mean bronze, silver and gold?
No. They are not a quality ranking. They group criteria by how fundamental the barrier is and how broadly the criterion can be applied.
If one page fails, does the site fail?
Conformance is assessed per page, so that page does not conform. A claim about the whole site is a claim about every page, which is why continuous checking matters.
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