Creating a beautiful website is important, but ensuring it's readable for everyone is essential. An estimated 300 million people worldwide have some form of color vision deficiency. Our free Web Accessibility Color Contrast Checker helps you test your color choices instantly, ensuring your design is inclusive and compliant with official WCAG standards.

How to Use Our Color Contrast Checker

Checking your colors for accessibility compliance is incredibly easy. Just follow these steps:

1. Use the color pickers or type a hex code into the text fields to select your Text Color and Background Color.
2. Instantly see how your color combination looks in the live Preview panel.
3. Review the Results Table below the preview. It will show you the exact contrast ratio and whether it passes or fails WCAG standards.

Example: Good vs. Bad Contrast

Understanding the difference between passing and failing contrast is key.

Failing Example: Light gray text on a white background.

Text: #AAAAAA
Background: #FFFFFF
Contrast Ratio: 2.32:1 (Fails AA & AAA)

Passing Example: Dark gray text on a white background.

Text: #595959
Background: #FFFFFF
Contrast Ratio: 4.54:1 (Passes AA for normal text)

What is Web Color Contrast and Why is it Important?

Web color contrast refers to the difference in light intensity (luminance) between the color of the text and its background. A high contrast ratio makes text easier to read for everyone, but it is especially critical for users with visual impairments such as color blindness or low vision. This is a fundamental principle of web accessibility.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide the international standard for this. These guidelines define specific contrast ratios that must be met to be considered accessible. Our tool tests against two levels of conformance:

• WCAG AA: This is the widely accepted minimum level of accessibility. For normal-sized text, it requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1. For large text, it requires 3:1.
• WCAG AAA: This is an enhanced level of accessibility. It requires a much stricter contrast ratio of at least 7:1 for normal text.

Meeting these standards doesn't just help a segment of your audience; it improves the user experience for all visitors, including those viewing your site in bright sunlight on a mobile device. It's a cornerstone of inclusive design and can even positively impact your SEO.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What do WCAG AA and AAA mean?

WCAG AA is the mid-range and most common accessibility standard that websites aim to meet. WCAG AAA is the highest, most stringent level. While achieving AAA is excellent, meeting the AA standard is a huge step toward making your website accessible to the majority of users.

Q2: What is considered "large text" by WCAG?

WCAG has slightly more lenient contrast requirements for large text because it's easier to read. "Large text" is defined as text that is 18pt (or about 24px) and larger, or 14pt (or about 18.5px) and larger if it's bold. Our tool shows you the results for both normal and large text scenarios.

Q3: Why did my brand colors fail the contrast test?

It's very common for primary brand colors, especially vibrant ones, to fail contrast checks when paired with white or black. In these cases, designers often create an "accessible" color palette. This involves finding slightly darker or lighter shades of your brand colors that provide sufficient contrast for text, while the main brand colors are reserved for decorative elements that don't require reading.