WCAG 2.2 AA Guide + Checklist for 2023 Web Accessibility

(Updated for 2023)

WCAG 2.2 hasn’t even officially been released yet but the latest revisions to the working draft are available and very likely to become final so I’ve updated this early bird’s look at WCAG 2.2 AA.

(Read the official What’s New guide from W3C).

For Beginners New to WCAG

WCAG is the acronym for the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. 2.2 is the latest version for WCAG and the official release has been pushed back multiple times, but release is now expected by early 2023 at the latest.

Previous versions of WCAG are 1.0, 2.0, and 2.1.

There are three conformance levels no matter what the version: A, AA, AAA.

99.99% of you reading this only need to concern yourself with AA but if you want to go the extra four miles and try to incorporate some of AAA into your website, go for it.

Each version of WCAG works on top of the previous version so nothing has been undone if you conform to a particular version. Here’s how it works:

WCAG 2.0 AA is comprised of 38 success criteria

WCAG 2.1 AA is 50 (38 + 12 new success criteria)

WCAG 2.2 AA is 58 (50 + 7 new success criteria)

Think of success criteria as bullet points you need to check off for accessibility.

WCAG 2.2 AA Checklist

And with that intro, below is my plain English checklist of the 7 new 2.2 AA success criteria.

You can download my quick reference WCAG 2.2 AA Checklist and Guide cheatsheets for free (no subscription) at Accessible.org.

2.4.11: Make sure the area that receives focus stands out from the background.

2.5.7: If a dragging movement is required (e.g., when adjusting a slider), provide an alternative means of dragging such as tapping or clicking.

2.5.8: Make sure all interactive targets (e.g., linked icons) take up at least 24x24 CSS pixels of space. This can include white space around the target.

3.2.6: If you make a help option available, make sure it is available consistently, in the same relative place, so it can be easily be located.

3.2.7: Any important controls (e.g., an edit button) should remain visible and/or available while that control is relevant and not stay hidden and/or disappear when they receive a mouse over or focus.

3.3.7: If there is a cognitive test to login (e.g., memorizing a username and password or a puzzle), there needs to be an alternative way to authenticate that does not require a cognitive test (e.g., authentication via clicking an emailed link).

3.3.8: When filling out a form, any previously entered information is available through auto-fill or selection. Confirming passwords and abandoned forms are exceptions.

Wrap Up

There are just seven new success criteria to incorporate for WCAG 2.2 AA conformance.

For a more generalized rundown of each success criteria, read my WCAG 2.1 AA vs. WCAG 2.2 AA article.

Investing in digital accessibility training with my WCAG Course.

Inside the course you will find:

• success criteria organized into lessons
• video explanations for all WCAG 2.2 AA success criteria
• code examples
• Excel spreadsheet with roles column for each success criterion

Learn more at WCAGCourse.com.