How to Meet WCAG 2.2 (Quick Reference)

What it is

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is the W3C standard for making web content usable by people with disabilities, including people who use screen readers, keyboards only, magnification or captions. WCAG 2.2 became a W3C Recommendation in October 2023, and the current edition on w3.org is dated December 2024. The quick reference is the W3C's own customisable view of it: every success criterion, with links to "Understanding" pages and to techniques that meet it.

How it is organised

WCAG is built on four principles, often shortened to POUR:

• Perceivable: people can perceive the content (text alternatives, captions, contrast)
• Operable: people can use the interface (keyboard access, enough time, no seizure triggers, clear navigation)
• Understandable: content and behaviour are predictable (labels, error messages, consistent help)
• Robust: content works with assistive technologies

Under them sit 13 guidelines and testable success criteria at three levels: A, AA and AAA. Most legal requirements and client briefs ask for level AA, which includes everything at A.

Using the filters

The quick reference lets you filter by level, by technology (HTML, CSS, ARIA, scripting, PDF) and by tags such as keyboard, contrast, forms and captions. For a typical business site, filter to A and AA and go through the tags that match what you built: forms for a contact page, keyboard and focus for menus, contrast for the theme's colours, captions for embedded videos.

What changed in 2.2

WCAG 2.2 added nine success criteria, several of which hit common site-builder work: Focus Not Obscured (sticky headers and cookie banners covering the focused element), Target Size (Minimum) (tap targets big enough to hit), Dragging Movements (a non-drag alternative for sliders and drag interfaces), Consistent Help and Redundant Entry (not asking for the same information twice in a checkout), and Accessible Authentication.

Why site builders should care

Themes, page builders and plugins can produce inaccessible markup without you noticing: icon-only buttons with no label, low-contrast text on hero images, menus you cannot open with a keyboard, forms with placeholder text instead of labels. Accessibility is a legal requirement for many organisations and a real quality difference for every visitor.

Prerequisites and time

Basic HTML helps. You will not read it cover to cover; use it as a reference while testing, alongside an automated checker such as WAVE and a manual keyboard test.

Common questions

Does an automated checker prove WCAG conformance? No. Tools catch a portion of issues; many criteria need a human to judge.

Is AAA required? Rarely for whole sites. Aim for AA and apply AAA criteria where they are practical.