Foundations

WCAG Guidelines Overview: The 13 Guidelines Under POUR

Between the four POUR principles and the 55 individual, testable success criteria sits a middle layer: 13 guidelines. Guidelines aren't themselves testable — they're the organizing categories that group related success criteria together, and they're the layer worth skimming if you want a map of "everything WCAG cares about" without reading all 55 criteria in full.

Perceivable

• 1.1 Text Alternatives — non-text content (images, icons, media) needs a text equivalent
• 1.2 Time-based Media — captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions for audio/video
• 1.3 Adaptable — content structure (headings, lists, reading order) survives being presented differently, e.g. by a screen reader
• 1.4 Distinguishable — content is easy to see and hear, including color contrast and text resizing

Operable

• 2.1 Keyboard Accessible — everything works from a keyboard alone
• 2.2 Enough Time — users get enough time to read and interact; time limits can be extended or disabled
• 2.3 Seizures and Physical Reactions — nothing flashes enough to trigger seizures
• 2.4 Navigable — users can find their way around and figure out where they are
• 2.5 Input Modalities — interactions work beyond just precise mouse-driven pointing

Understandable

• 3.1 Readable — text content is readable and its language is programmatically identified
• 3.2 Predictable — pages appear and behave in consistent, expected ways
• 3.3 Input Assistance — users are helped to avoid and correct mistakes in forms

Robust

• 4.1 Compatible — content works reliably with current and future assistive technology

How to use this list

Each guideline links out to a growing set of individual success-criteria pages as they're published — this page is meant as the index you skim first, not the page you cite in a compliance report. If you already know which specific criterion your scan flagged (like "1.4.3" or "2.4.4"), go straight to that success-criteria page instead.

Common questions

How many WCAG guidelines are there?

Thirteen. They sit between the four POUR principles and the individual success criteria, grouping related criteria into themes such as Text Alternatives, Distinguishable, and Navigable.

Are WCAG guidelines testable?

No. The guidelines are organizing categories; the testable, pass-or-fail requirements are the success criteria nested under each guideline.

How do guidelines relate to success criteria?

Each of the four principles contains guidelines, and each guideline contains one or more success criteria. The criteria are what you actually test and conform to.