WCAG 2.2 in plain words

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or WCAG, are published by the W3C. Version 2.2 became a W3C Recommendation in October 2023 and is the version most teams and regulations point to today. It builds on 2.0 and 2.1, so nearly everything you learn about earlier versions still applies.

Four principles

WCAG is organised under four principles, often remembered as POUR:

1. Perceivable: information can be seen or heard in some form, for example text alternatives for images and captions for video.
2. Operable: everything works with different input methods, including a keyboard, and people have enough time.
3. Understandable: content and behaviour are predictable and errors are explained.
4. Robust: content works with assistive technologies, which mainly means correct semantics.

Under the principles sit guidelines, and under those sit testable success criteria, each with a number such as 1.4.3 and a level: A, AA or AAA. Most laws and company policies require level AA, which includes all A and AA criteria.

What 2.2 added

WCAG 2.2 added nine success criteria. The ones at A and AA that affect most products are:

• 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum): a focused element must not be completely hidden, for example behind a sticky header or cookie banner.
• 2.5.7 Dragging Movements: anything done by dragging must also be possible with a single pointer action, such as tapping.
• 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum): pointer targets should be at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels, or have enough spacing around them.
• 3.2.6 Consistent Help: help options appear in the same place across pages.
• 3.3.7 Redundant Entry: do not make people enter the same information twice in one process.
• 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (Minimum): log in must not depend on a cognitive test such as remembering or transcribing a code, unless an alternative or assistance like paste and password managers is allowed.

WCAG 2.2 also removed criterion 4.1.1 Parsing, because modern browsers handle markup errors consistently.

Do not try to memorise every criterion. Learn the principles, keep the official quick reference open, and focus on the criteria that come up again and again, which the rest of this course covers.