Under the Information and Communications Standards of the AODA, organizations must make their websites and web-based apps accessible. Organizations must do so by making their websites compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Level AA. This international standard gives web developers guidelines on how to make their webpages accessible to computer users with disabilities. However, updates to the Information and Communications Standards could require organizations to comply with more recent versions of WCAG. An improved version of these guidelines, version 2.2, was released in October 2023. This article will outline WCAG 2.2’s web accessibility guidelines for logging in.
Web Accessibility Guidelines for Logging In
Many websites need users to log in or verify their identities, for security reasons. For example, log-in processes often involve “cognitive function tests” that require users to:
- Remember passwords
- Solve puzzles
However, web designers should not need to test users’ cognitive functions. Instead, web designers can ask users to log in or verify their identities in other ways. For example, web designers can create log-in processes that allow users to:
- Copy and paste their passwords instead of typing them from memory
- Import their passwords from a password manager
Alternatively, log-in processes can avoid passwords and ask users to recognize objects. These objects may be pictures displayed on the log-in screen for the user to identify. Conversely, a website could ask a user creating an account to upload a sample of non-text content, such as a:
- Picture
- Audio or video clip
The user should then identify the content, with details such as:
- People or places in a picture or video
- Sounds in audio or video
When the user leaves the site and needs to log in later, they first revisit the content they uploaded. Then, the site can ask them to identify details about the content. If the details they enter match the ones they described when they created their account, they have successfully verified their identity and logged in.
Advanced Requirements
The WCAG webpage provides the full list of requirements, as well as technical guidance on how to implement them. The AODA only requires websites to follow guidelines in version 2.0, level AA. However, the WCAG webpage provides guidelines at level AAA. While websites do not need to follow these guidelines, they can choose to follow them as a best practice. Websites that follow more guidelines have the chance to welcome more visitors and do more online business.