The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are published by the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative. They set out testable success criteria for making web content accessible to people with disabilities. WCAG 2.2, published in October 2023, is the current W3C Recommendation; WCAG 2.1 (2018) and 2.0 (2008) remain widely referenced in laws and contracts. Most organizations aim for conformance at level AA.
Structure: principles, guidelines, criteria
WCAG is organized under four principles, often abbreviated POUR. Under these sit guidelines, and under each guideline sit success criteria, which are the testable requirements.
- Perceivable: information can be perceived, for example through text alternatives and sufficient contrast.
- Operable: the interface can be used, for example with a keyboard and without time pressure.
- Understandable: content and operation are clear, for example with labels and predictable behavior.
- Robust: content works with current and future assistive technologies.
Conformance levels
Each success criterion has a level. Level A covers the most basic requirements, AA adds the criteria most laws and policies reference, and AAA is the most demanding. W3C notes that AAA conformance is not recommended as a general policy for entire sites because some criteria cannot be met for all content.
What changed in WCAG 2.2
WCAG 2.2 added nine success criteria, including Focus Not Obscured, Dragging Movements, Target Size (Minimum), Consistent Help, Redundant Entry and Accessible Authentication. It also removed criterion 4.1.1 Parsing as obsolete. Content that conforms to 2.2 also conforms to 2.1 and 2.0. W3C is developing WCAG 3.0, which uses a different model, but it is a working draft and not yet a standard to build compliance on.
Example
Auditing against 2.2 AA
Hypothetical learning platform Elderspoke's enterprise customers ask for WCAG 2.2 AA conformance in procurement. The team audits its marketing site and app, finds that its sticky header hides focused links and its signup form disables paste, fixes both, and documents conformance in an accessibility conformance report.
Common mistakes
Claiming conformance after an automated scan
Automated tools can test only part of WCAG. Conformance claims need manual review of each criterion.
Citing the wrong version
Contracts and laws often name a specific version. Check whether 2.0, 2.1 or 2.2 is required.
Questions
No. WCAG is a technical standard. Many laws, regulations and procurement rules reference it, which is how it becomes a legal requirement in particular contexts.
