Accessible marketing content: WCAG basics for marketers
For marketers, content writers and campaign coordinators who publish emails, landing pages and social video. No prior accessibility knowledge is needed. You learn how WCAG 2.2 is organised and how to read the W3C's Understanding documents, then apply four success criteria marketers break most often (text alternatives, contrast, link purpose and captions) by correcting synthetic campaign drafts and recording which criterion each fix meets. Your organization's accessibility standard decides which version and level you must meet.
- Level
- Beginner
- Length
- About 75 minutes
- Contents
- 5 lessons · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 10 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Identify the principle, guideline, success criterion and level from a WCAG reference such as 'SC 1.4.3 (AA)'
- Choose the right text alternative for an image (empty, function, or content) using the W3C alt decision tree
- Calculate a contrast ratio from relative luminance and judge it against the 4.5:1 and 3:1 thresholds without rounding
- Rewrite link text so its purpose is clear from the link or its programmatic context
- Write a correction log for a campaign draft that names the failing success criterion, the fix and how it was checked
Course outline
- 1.How WCAG is put together, and how to look things upLesson · 14 min
- 2.Images: deciding what the alt text should sayLesson · 15 min
- 3.Contrast ratios: calculate and judge against the thresholdsLesson · 9 min
- 4.Rewriting link text so its purpose is clearLesson · 7 min
- 5.Captions, and correcting a whole draftLesson · 15 min
- 6.Accessible marketing content: WCAG basics for marketers: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 15 questions
- 7.Accessible marketing content: WCAG basics for marketers: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 8.Final exam10 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- W3C WAI: WCAG 2 Overview (versions, principles, levels, supporting documents)
- W3C WAI: Understanding SC 1.1.1 Non-text Content (WCAG 2.2)
- W3C WAI Images Tutorial: An alt Decision Tree
- W3C WAI: Understanding SC 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (WCAG 2.2)
- W3C WAI: Understanding SC 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (WCAG 2.2)
- W3C WAI: Understanding SC 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) (WCAG 2.2)
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.