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RGAA on Contentful: complete compliance checklist

Implementing RGAA compliance on Contentful means addressing the platform's specific failure modes (front-end framework variance, alt text discipline in asset library) while applying Référentiel général d'amélioration de l'accessibilité success criteria across content, code, and editorial workflow.

Maya Ramos · IAAP CPACC · IAAP WAS · 7 years lead auditor3 min readPublished · Updated

RGAA in 60 seconds

France's Référentiel général d'amélioration de l'accessibilité (RGAA) is the French government's national web accessibility methodology, currently at version 4.1, that operationalises EN 301 549 / WCAG 2.1 AA with 106 control tests and is mandatory for public-sector and (since the EAA transposition) large-private-sector French websites.

Contentful accessibility — what you are starting with

Headless CMS pushes accessibility responsibility onto the front-end. Contentful's editorial tooling supports alt text and semantic structure but does not enforce it.

RGAA setup checklist for Contentful

1. Configure required alt text in Asset model: Make alt text required at content model level.

2. Audit Rich Text renderer: Map document nodes to semantic HTML in your consuming app.

Common RGAA failures on Contentful

• Front-end framework variance

• Alt text discipline in Asset library

• Rich Text rendering without semantic mapping

Putting it together

Combine RGAA's Level AA requirements with Contentful's native tooling. Bake accessibility into your component library and editorial workflow; instrument axe-core in CI for regression.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Cited answers. Sourced. Updated as standards and case law change.

  • Is Contentful RGAA-compliant out of the box?

    Contentful provides the authoring tooling. Accessibility is delivered by the consuming application.

  • What is the easiest path to RGAA compliance on Contentful?

    Start with the platform's most-accessible default theme (where applicable), audit each installed plugin/extension/module, train content authors on alt text and heading hierarchy, and instrument axe-core in your CI pipeline.

  • Does Contentful guarantee accessibility?

    Contentful provides the authoring tooling. Accessibility is delivered by the consuming application.

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