Let's talk about flashy content. 

WCAG criteria about flashes

There are two WCAG standards about safety and preventing people with photosensitive epilepsy from having seizures. But also people with an attention deficit disorder can benefit from limiting flashing content.

According to WCAG 2.3.1: Three Flashes or Below Threshold (Level A), you shouldn’t include any content that flashes more than three times a second unless the flashes fall below a defined threshold. However, WCAG 2.3.2: Three Flashes (Level AAA) does not allow more than three flashes a second, even if these are below the threshold.

In general, it is safer and more recommended to avoid flashes whenever possible. To comply, avoid using text and animations that create a flickering effect or using blinking effects alongside texts. And, as with animations and other effects, give people the possibility to pause, stop or hide this kind of content.

Resources:

• Follow this link to read the full WCAG criteria of 2.3.1, including what the threshold is: 2.3.1: Three Flashes or Below Threshold (w3.org)

• See a bad example of a flashy Start button in an eLearning game: Bad example of flashes (eLaHub)

• The Photosensitive Epilepsy Analysis Tool (PEAT) is a free tool to identify seizure risks in web content and software: PEAT tool

• Follow this link to read the full WCAG criteria of 2.3.2: 2.3.2: Three Flashes (w3.org)

Discussion questions:

Get Involved: Come to the LCA Spotlight LinkedIn group and join the conversation.

• What do you think one reason is for people creating flashy content and how could you achieve the same effect without flashes?

• What else other than flashes could cause seizures?

• If you use animated objects in your content, which criteria would you follow to ensure that your design is still accessible?

• Do you have an example where you have revamped flashy content?

When you post in the community, use the hashtag #LCASpotlightFlashes