Disclaimer and Additional info
This contrast checker aims to measure contrast ratios with maximum accuracy. However, there may be instances where a color combination meets the calculated ratio but still fails overall. This can be due to other visual factors, such as hover or focus states and effects. For more information on color blindness, please visit our knowledge base.
Mandatory Contrast Ratios for WCAG Compliance
Level AA – Text
4.5:1 for regular text and 3:1 for large text (18 pt or 14 pt + bold).
Level AA – Non-Text
3:1 for UI components & graphics.
Level AAA – Text
7:1 for regular text and 4.5:1 for large text (18 pt or 14 pt + bold).
Color Contrast Checker FAQs
A color contrast checker is a tool used to assess the difference in luminance or color between text and its background on a digital interface. It ensures that text is easily readable against its background, especially for people with visual impairments.
Color contrast checker typically calculates the color difference between text and its background using algorithms that consider factors such as luminance contrast, color brightness, and hue difference. They then provide a rating or score indicating whether the contrast meets accessibility standards.
If your design fails the color contrast check, you should adjust the colors of the text and background to improve the contrast ratio. This might involve choosing darker or lighter colors, changing the text size, or modifying the background color to ensure readability and accessibility.
Utilize the color contrast checker provided above - simply enter the foreground and background colors of your website, and the tool will instantly compute the contrast level for you.
Color contrast is crucial for ensuring readability and accessibility. High contrast between text and background improves readability, especially for those with visual impairments like color blindness or low vision. It also helps meet accessibility standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
According to the WCAG guidelines, text should have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background for normal text and 3:1 for large text (18pt or 14pt bold). This ensures readability for most users, including those with vision impairments.
While color contrast is particularly critical for text readability, it's also essential for other interface elements like buttons, images, icons, and form fields. Ensuring sufficient color contrast for these elements improves overall usability and accessibility for all users.
According to W3C WCAG standards for color blindness:
- Color should not be the only medium to convey information or prompt responses.
- There is a defined color contrast ratio for the visual presentation of text and images of text (4.5:1).
For more information, please visit this blog.
Other Tools and Resources
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Accessibility Statement Generator
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Website Accessibility Checker
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All in One Accessibility Knowledge Base
Ask our experts any accessibility question and browse through answered topics.