WAI Web Accessibility Initiative
W3C initiative for web accessibility. Founded 1997 by Tim Berners-Lee. Publishes standards: WCAG, ARIA, ATAG, UAAG.
WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) — content. ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) — JS-rich apps. ATAG (Authoring Tool) — tools that create web. UAAG (User Agent) — browsers + assistive tech. Driving force behind much of modern frontend dev: alt text, semantic HTML, keyboard nav, color contrast. The EU European Accessibility Act (June 2025) requires A11y in many commercial services — has pushed WCAG implementation across the industry over the past year.