The Django project is committed to being accessible to everyone in all possible ways. We work to conform to established accessibility standards, an also to meet our own targets for supporting specific input devices and assistive technologies.
We work to conform with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), version 2.2, at the AA level. WCAG is the most established standard for web accessibility. AA-level guidelines are the most common legal compliance target worldwide.
We also attempt to follow other best practices, such as:
WCAG 2.2 AAA-level guidelines.
The upcoming WCAG 3.0 guidelines.
Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) 2.0 – guidelines for software and services that are used to produce web content.
To learn more about accessibility without diving straight into standards, we recommend The A11Y Project, a community-driven effort to make digital accessibility easier.
Beyond standards, we want to make sure Django actually works for people using a wide range of input devices and assistive technologies. This has benefits to make sure Django works better for everyone. The best way to do this effectively is to take accessibility considerations into account as part of designing features. If in doubt, consult with users who rely on assistive technologies or with accessibility experts.
Design the UI with accessibility in mind, and the testing will only be needed as a final check. For more complex interfaces, confer with other contributors to decide on testing targets. Reach out to the Accessibility team for support and to coordinate testing.
Always test user interface changes with:
Keyboard-only navigation
The Accessibility Insights browser extension's automated checks feature, or an equivalent tool with the Axe checker.
Where the UI changes could affect those modalities, also test with:
Touch-only navigation
400% browser zoom
Forced-colors mode (for example Windows Contrast Themes)
Where the UI changes could affect assistive technologies, here are popular free options we recommend testing with:
NVDA on Windows with Firefox ESR
VoiceOver on macOS with Safari
Orca on Linux with Firefox ESR
Narrator on Windows with Microsoft Edge
Windows Magnifier and macOS Zoom
Windows Speech Recognition and macOS Voice Control
VoiceOver on iOS, or TalkBack on Android
Contrast themes on Windows
If you have the expertise or you can work with someone who does, also test with:
There are some parts of Django that do not meet our accessibility targets at the moment. We actively work on fixing issues, both as part of ongoing maintenance and bigger overhauls. To learn about known issues, and get involved, see:
#accessibility on the Django Discord server.
Our django accessibility improvements project board.
The Accessibility team.
Jan 15, 2024