WCAG and BITV
What are the WCAG requirements?
The WCAG set the international standard for the accessible design of online content in the EU.
The W3C guidelines are not official legal regulations. However, they serve as the basis for many laws.
There are now several versions of the WCAG.
-
WCAG 1.0 (1999) - This document focuses on HTML and CSS as the most important standards of the Internet.
-
WCAG 2.0 (2008) - This section covers layouts and interactions, as well as their design.
-
WCAG 2.1 (2018) - This covers, among other things, contrast requirements and informative graphic elements.
-
WCAG 2.2 (expected in August 2023)
What are the BITV requirements?
The BITV (Regulation on Accessible Information Technology) is based on the WCAG guidelines. It thus establishes the framework for compliance with the WCAG in Germany.
The BITV was enacted in 2002, but at that time it was not yet binding on federal agencies with regard to their websites. It was not until late 2003 that it became mandatory for websites that provide services for people with disabilities, after it was incorporated into the law. This is how the implementation of WCAG 1.0 became established in Germany.
Similar to the WCAG, there are various versions of the BITV. In 2008, BITV 2.0 was introduced, which was based on WCAG 2.0 and thus placed greater emphasis on the design of layouts and interactions. With the updated version of BITV 2.0 in 2019, the standards to be taken into account were no longer listed directly in the regulation; instead, reference was made to the standards published in the Official Journal of the European Union (New BITV 2.0 in effect).
More Information
Act to Strengthen Accessibility (BFSG)
The Accessibility Enhancement Act (BFSG) implemented the European Accessibility Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/882 on accessibility requirements for products and services). The law was promulgated in July 2021 and will take effect on the 28th. June 2025. For the first time, this law requires private-sector entities to comply with accessibility requirements if their products or services fall within the scope of the law.
More Information
Act to Strengthen Accessibility (BFSG)
Video - Act to Strengthen Accessibility (BFSG)
Here you will find information about WCAG and BITV
A helpful website regarding accessibility and for comparing WCAG and BITV is BIK für alle. BIK stands for "accessible information and communication."
The "BIK for All" project was funded by the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs from 2015 to 2018 to raise awareness of accessible websites and promote compliance with relevant standards. Numerous awareness-raising initiatives were carried out in collaboration with partners. The project has also produced numerous implementation guides and a WCAG test that can be used to check websites for compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
WCAG, BITV, and Intrexx
The sections of the online help provided here are based on both the WCAG guidelines and the BITV guidelines.
Starting with the section on WCAG, BITV, and Intrexx, you will find a detailed list of all WCAG guidelines, along with their relevance and implementation in Intrexx. You'll find the BITV guidelines right next to it. WCAG and BITV guidelines do not always correspond on a one-to-one basis. If they correspond, they will be covered together in the online help. Where there is no equivalent, you will find separate descriptions.
The WCAG guidelines are marked as follows: ![]()
The BITV guidelines are identified as follows: ![]()