What is Perceivable Content?

In the context of website and app accessibility, perceivable content refers to information and user interface (UI) components that must be presented in ways that can be detected and understood by users. This is one of the key principles of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which aims to make web content more accessible to people with various disabilities, including those related to vision, hearing, and cognitive abilities.

To ensure content is perceivable, it must be accessible to users through different senses, typically sight and hearing, but also touch (e.g. for people using assistive devices like screen readers or braille displays).

Some examples include:

Text Alternatives

Non-text content (like images, buttons, or multimedia) should have a text equivalent. For example, images need "alt text" so that screen readers can describe them to visually impaired users.

Adaptable Content

Information should be presented in a way that can be adapted to different forms without losing meaning. For instance, content should be structured so that it can be resized or reformatted for various screen sizes or devices, including assistive technologies.

Distinguishable Content

The content must be presented in a way that users can easily distinguish, meaning sufficient contrast between text and its background, or clear and consistent audio levels for multimedia. This helps users with visual or hearing impairments perceive the content properly.

Captions and Transcripts

Audio and video content should include captions for users who are deaf or hard of hearing, and transcripts should be provided for any multimedia presentations.

In essence, perceivable content ensures that no critical information is hidden or inaccessible to users regardless of their disabilities.