What to Know About WCAG 2.2

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What to Know About WCAG 2.2

Posted September 19, 2024

AudioEye

Posted September 19, 2024

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Released in October 2023, the latest version of WCAG — 2.2 — includes new success criteria that enhance digital accessibility for individuals with disabilities. We’ll explore the updates to these accessibility guidelines and the compliance deadline.

Originally Posted on July 6, 2022

Creating an accessible website is essential for extending the reach of your audience and ensuring everyone can engage with your content. To achieve this, it’s crucial to adhere to established digital accessibility standards — primarily the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). 

Below, we’ll explore what you need to know about the latest version of WCAG — 2.2 — released in October 2023. We’ll discuss how the new accessibility standards can elevate your web presence and why embracing these guidelines is critical for fostering an inclusive digital environment.  

Four accessibility icons

What Is WCAG 2.2?

Published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), WCAG contains recommendations for removing barriers that affect people with disabilities. WCAG is accepted as an international standard for digital accessibility and is regularly updated as digital experiences evolve and become more sophisticated. Each update undergoes rigorous reviews and numerous rounds of revisions, and the W3C seeks feedback from the public as part of the update process. 

The W3C originally published the WCAG accessibility standards on May 5, 1999. Since then, the organization has announced three new versions, each one building on the previous version:

  • WCAG 2.0: Released on December 11, 2008, this version introduced four principles of accessibility and 61 success criteria to provide guidance for new types of web content.
  • WCAG 2.1: WCAG 2.1 was released on June 5, 2018, and added 17 new success criteria for accommodating a wider range of disabilities and improving mobile device experiences.
  • WCAG 2.2: The latest version of WCAG was released in October 2023 and includes nine new success criteria. The new success criteria are designed to enhance navigation and make interaction with digital elements more seamless.

Another version of the guidelines, WCAG 3.0, may introduce more significant changes, including a new conformance system. However, WCAG 3.0 is currently in a working draft and will likely not be released for a few years. 

Each version of WCAG categorizes success criteria into three conformance levels:

  • Level A: The minimum level of conformance, Level A contains basic success criteria for removing serious accessibility barriers that affect a wide range of users.
  • Level AA: Level AA success criteria remove additional barriers and establish a level of accessibility that works for most users with disabilities and assistive technologies, such as screen readers. To conform with Level AA, you must also meet Level A criteria. 
  • Level AAA: The most strict level of conformance, Level AAA contains additional success criteria to establish the highest possible level of accessibility. Claiming conformance to Level AAA means your site meets all WCAG success criteria. 
Accessibility icon with the label 2.1 next to an accessibility icon with the label 2.2

Understanding the Difference Between WCAG 2.2 and 2.1

It’s important to note that WCAG 2.2 does not deprecate earlier versions of the guidelines. In other words, every success criterion from WCAG 2.1 appears with the same wording in WCAG 2.2 — just as every success criterion from WCAG 2.0 appeared in WCAG 2.1.


The latest version of WCAG 2.2 introduced nine new success criteria. Each one is intended to accommodate a greater variety of assistive technologies and to follow the four guiding principles of WCAG: Content should be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.

What’s New in WCAG 2.2?

Below is a look into the new criteria in WCAG 2.2:

  • 2.4.11 Focus Appearance (Minimum) (Level AA): This criterion ensures that a visual keyboard focus indicator (like a border or highlight) is clearly visible when users navigate through interactive elements, such as links and buttons. The minimum standard means that the focus must be distinguishable from surrounding content.
  • 2.4.12 Focus Appearance (Enhanced) (Level AAA): Building on the minimum requirement, the enhanced criteria calls for even more robust visual indicators for focus states. It encourages designers to use elements that stand out significantly, improving the visibility and clarity of focused items. 
  • 2.4.13 Page Break Navigation (Level A): This standard addresses the need for effective navigation across page breaks in multi-page content. More simply, when users are working with long documents or forms, the criteria ensures users can move smoothly from one page to another without getting confused or losing track of where they are.
  • 2.5.7 Dragging Movements (Level AA): Whenever a user has to drag an item, this function must be made accessible. For example, when a user drags an item to reorder it, alternative methods (such as buttons) should be available for those who can’t perform dragging actions.
  • 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) (Level AA): Interactive elements, such as buttons and links, must have a minimum target size to ensure they can be easily tapped or clicked. Larger targets reduce the likelihood of errors and enhance the experience for assistive technology users.
  • 3.2.6 Consistent Help (Level A): Consistent help refers to the need for assistance and guidance features, like help mechanisms or FAQ sections, to appear in predictable locations across your website. That consistency helps users to quickly find help options and navigate your site easier — something that particularly benefits individuals with cognitive disabilities. 
  • 3.3.7 Redundant Entry (Level A): If users are required to input information in multiple fields, this success criterion requires there to be multiple mechanisms in place to minimize redundancy. Techniques such as auto-filling fields or allowing users to conform entries help reduce errors and enhance the user experience for everyone.
  • 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (Minimum) (Level AA): Accessible authentication standards require that any forms of user authentication (such as login fields) are designed to accommodate users with disabilities. This may include providing options for different input methods, clear error messaging, authentication processes, and assistance for password recovery, ensuring users can access their accounts without any barriers.
  • 3.3.9 Accessible Authentication (Enhanced) (Level AAA): The enhanced standard builds on the basic requirements for accessible authentication by ensuring that the methods used are flexible and supportive. The criterion includes multiple methods of authentication, clear instructions and feedback, and support for password recovery.
Calendar showing the month September

When was WCAG 2.2 Released?

WCAG 2.2 was released in October 2023 after being in a working draft since February 2, 2020. As of the time of this writing, there is no specific deadline for businesses to comply with the new standards. However, it’s encouraged to start working towards compliance now to enhance accessibility for those with disabilities.

Scale of justice holding WCAG 2.2 and WCAG 2.1 icons

Which WCAG Version Should You Follow? 

At AudioEye, we regularly update and refine our suite of accessibility tools, and we’re preparing for the final release WCAG 2.2. However, we recommend following the W3C’s published guidance. 

Currently, that means testing your content against WCAG 2.1 Level AA. These guidelines address many of the most frustrating barriers that affect people with disabilities, including:

  • Missing image alternative text (also called alt text or alt tags), which impacts people who cannot perceive content visually.
  • Missing video captions and transcripts, which may impact people with hearing disabilities and neurocognitive conditions.
  • Missing subheadings and title tags, which can make browsing more difficult for people who use screen readers.
  • “Keyboard traps,” which may make content unusable for people who don’t use a mouse to navigate web content.

Remember, if your website currently conforms with WCAG 2.1, you’re in great shape to conform with WCAG 2.2.

The First Step to WCAG Conformance: Test Your Content.

Though there’s no deadline to conform to the new standards in WCAG 2.2, the time is now to start integrating the new success criteria into your web design. With AudioEye, testing your content for WCAG conformance is clear and straightforward.

We start by scanning your content with our Website Accessibility Scanner, which identifies many of the most common accessibility issues and resolves them automatically with our Automated Fixes. Through Active Monitoring and Expert Audits (overseen by our team of human experts), we provide a real-time assessment of your website’s accessibility along with guidance for removing accessibility barriers. 


Get started by testing your content with our Website Accessibility Checker. Or schedule a demo to see AudioEye in action.

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