WCAG 2.2 AA is the set of level A and AA success criteria from the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2, the international guideline for accessible websites. If your site meets it, it can be used by people who have low vision, use a screen reader, work with a keyboard only or find reading and remembering difficult. European standards and laws, such as the European Accessibility Act, use WCAG as their technical yardstick.
This article explains what WCAG is, how the versions and levels work and what is new in 2.2. The focus is on the criteria you affect yourself as a marketer or content editor, separate from what your developer takes care of. It is part of our complete guide to website accessibility.
What is WCAG and who writes it?
WCAG is a technical guideline from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that describes when web content is accessible. It is written by the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group, part of W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). You can read this in W3C's WCAG overview.
WCAG is not a law. It is an open standard that legislators and standards committees adopt. That is why you come across the same criteria in European rules, in US practice and in audits of government websites.
The guideline is made up of success criteria: testable requirements with a number, a name and a level. Each criterion describes an outcome, not a technique. Criterion 1.1.1, for example, says that non-text content has a text alternative. How you build that is described in separate explanatory documents from W3C.
Which WCAG versions are there?
There are three versions of WCAG 2 in use, and each new version builds on the previous one. According to W3C, WCAG 2.0 was published in December 2008, WCAG 2.1 in June 2018 and WCAG 2.2 in October 2023.
| Version | Published | What it added |
|---|---|---|
| WCAG 2.0 | December 2008 | The foundation: text alternatives, keyboard, contrast, forms |
| WCAG 2.1 | June 2018 | Mainly mobile and low vision, such as reflow and contrast of non-text elements |
| WCAG 2.2 | October 2023 | Nine new criteria on focus, targets, help and logging in; 4.1.1 Parsing removed |
The versions are backwards compatible. W3C states that content which conforms to WCAG 2.2 also conforms to WCAG 2.1 and 2.0, and encourages you to use the latest version. The WCAG 2.2 specification has the status of W3C Recommendation; the current edition is dated 12 December 2024. WCAG 2.2 has also been published as an ISO standard, ISO/IEC 40500:2025.
What do levels A, AA and AAA mean?
Every success criterion has a level, and AA is the level that laws and standards ask for in practice. The levels stack: for AA you meet all A and AA criteria, for AAA all three.
- Level A is the minimum. Without these criteria a site is unusable for some people, for example because a button does not work with the keyboard.
- Level AA adds requirements that make the site workable for many more people, such as sufficient colour contrast and visible focus.
- Level AAA is the highest level, with stricter requirements such as even higher contrast.
Why AA is the norm and AAA is not: in the WCAG 2.2 conformance requirements, W3C writes that it is not recommended to require AAA as a general policy for entire sites. For some content, not all AAA criteria can be met. That makes AA the highest level you can reasonably require for a complete site.
Also note: conformance applies to full pages and complete processes. An accessible product page with an inaccessible payment step does not conform, because the checkout process has to work as a whole.
The four principles of WCAG
All success criteria fall under four principles, known together as POUR. The WCAG 2.2 specification organises the guidelines like this:
- Perceivable. Information and user interface components must be presented in ways that users can perceive. Think of alt text for images, captions for video and sufficient contrast.
- Operable. User interface components and navigation must be operable. Everything works with a keyboard, focus is visible and targets are large enough.
- Understandable. Information and the operation of the interface must be understandable. The page language is set, forms have labels and error messages explain what went wrong.
- Robust. Content must be robust enough to be interpreted by a wide variety of software, including assistive technology. Buttons and fields have a name and role that a screen reader can read out.
The numbering follows these principles. A criterion that starts with 1 falls under perceivable; one that starts with 3 falls under understandable.
What is new in WCAG 2.2?
WCAG 2.2 adds nine success criteria and removes one. W3C's overview of what's new in WCAG 2.2 lists these new criteria:
| Number | Criterion | Level | In plain language |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.4.11 | Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) | AA | The element with keyboard focus is not entirely hidden, for example by a sticky header or cookie banner |
| 2.4.12 | Focus Not Obscured (Enhanced) | AAA | The element with focus is not covered at all |
| 2.4.13 | Focus Appearance | AAA | The focus indicator is large enough and has enough contrast |
| 2.5.7 | Dragging Movements | AA | Anything you do by dragging can also be done with a single click or tap |
| 2.5.8 | Target Size (Minimum) | AA | Targets are at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels, with a few exceptions |
| 3.2.6 | Consistent Help | A | Help such as contact details or a chat appears in the same place in the order on every page |
| 3.3.7 | Redundant Entry | A | You don't have to retype information you already gave earlier in the same process |
| 3.3.8 | Accessible Authentication (Minimum) | AA | Logging in does not require a memory or puzzle test without an alternative |
| 3.3.9 | Accessible Authentication (Enhanced) | AAA | A stricter version of 3.3.8, with fewer exceptions |
So if you are aiming for AA, six criteria are new: 2.4.11, 2.5.7, 2.5.8, 3.2.6, 3.3.7 and 3.3.8.
4.1.1 Parsing has been removed. W3C calls the criterion obsolete: it was intended for assistive technology that had to parse HTML itself, and that is no longer necessary. According to W3C, the problems it caught no longer exist or are covered by other criteria. The other criteria from 2.0 and 2.1 are, according to W3C, essentially unchanged.
Which WCAG criteria do you affect as a marketer?
Much of WCAG lives in the design and the code, but you decide a large part of it yourself every day in your CMS. Every image, heading, link and form you publish falls under a success criterion. The numbers and levels below come from the WCAG 2.2 specification.
| Number | Criterion | Level | What you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1.1 | Non-text Content | A | Give informative images alt text; give decorative images an empty alt |
| 1.2.2 | Captions (Prerecorded) | A | Add captions to videos with spoken content |
| 1.3.1 | Info and Relationships | A | Use real headings (H2, H3) and lists, not bold text that looks like a heading |
| 1.4.3 | Contrast (Minimum) | AA | Keep text contrast at 4.5:1 or more, and 3:1 for large text (18 point, or 14 point bold) |
| 1.4.11 | Non-text Contrast | AA | Make sure buttons, input fields and icons have enough contrast with the background |
| 2.4.2 | Page Titled | A | Give every page a title that describes its topic |
| 2.4.4 | Link Purpose (In Context) | A | Write link text that says where the link goes, not "click here" |
| 2.4.6 | Headings and Labels | AA | Make headings and labels describe the topic or purpose |
| 2.4.7 | Focus Visible | AA | Don't let your theme or brand styling remove the focus outline |
| 2.4.11 | Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) | AA | Check that cookie banners, chat buttons and sticky headers don't fully cover the focus |
| 2.5.8 | Target Size (Minimum) | AA | Make buttons and icons in campaigns and landing pages at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels |
| 3.1.1 | Language of Page | A | Set the correct page language, especially on multilingual sites |
| 3.1.2 | Language of Parts | AA | Mark up passages in another language, such as a quote in French |
| 3.2.6 | Consistent Help | A | Put contact details, chat or help centre in the same place on every page |
| 3.3.2 | Labels or Instructions | A | Give every form field a visible label, not just placeholder text |
| 3.3.7 | Redundant Entry | A | Don't ask for the same information twice in a sign-up or order process |
| 3.3.8 | Accessible Authentication (Minimum) | AA | Choose login options without a puzzle CAPTCHA, or offer an alternative |
A few of these criteria deserve extra attention, because they often go wrong in marketing work.
Contrast in campaigns. Light grey text, text over a photo and brand colours with little difference between them are the classics. A contrast ratio of 4.5:1 sounds technical, but any colour picker or contrast checker will work it out for you.
Alt text that says something. Alt text such as "image" or the file name helps no one. Describe what the image tells the reader in that context. That also helps search engines and AI systems, which understand images through that text; see content that AI cites.
Consistent help and redundant entry. These two new level A criteria affect landing pages and sign-up flows. A chat button that sits somewhere different on every page, or a form that asks for your email address again in step three, does not conform.
In the overview of the most common accessibility errors you will find the HTML fix for each error.
How does WCAG relate to EN 301 549 and the EAA?
The European Accessibility Act sets the end result, and the European standard EN 301 549 translates that into WCAG for websites. The EAA (Directive (EU) 2019/882) describes which products and services must be accessible. Harmonised standards give a presumption of conformity: if you meet them, you are deemed to meet the legal requirements.
Which WCAG version counts depends on the version of EN 301 549:
- EN 301 549 V3.2.1 (2021) refers to WCAG 2.1 for web content. You can see this in the standard itself at ETSI.
- EN 301 549 V4.1.1 refers to WCAG 2.2. The text of V4.1.1 at ETSI includes the new criteria, such as 3.3.8 on accessible authentication.
According to Ireland's National Disability Authority, V4.1.1 was published on 2 September 2026, but it only becomes legally decisive once the European Commission references the standard in the Official Journal. That is expected on 16 December 2026. Until then, V3.2.1, with WCAG 2.1, remains the standard that applies.
In practical terms: if you work towards WCAG 2.2 AA now, you also meet WCAG 2.1 AA and you are ready for the new standard. What else the EAA asks of your business is covered in the article on the European Accessibility Act. This is an explanation of the rules, not legal advice; if you are unsure about your own situation, consult a lawyer or the supervisory authority.
What is WCAG 3.0?
WCAG 3.0 is a W3C working draft and not yet a standard in force. In its introduction to WCAG 3, W3C calls it an incomplete draft that will still change. An updated Working Draft was published in September 2026.
According to W3C, it will take several more years before WCAG 3 is a finished standard. WCAG 3 will not replace WCAG 2 straight away either: W3C writes that WCAG 2 will not be deprecated for years after WCAG 3 is finalised. W3C's advice is clear: the best way to prepare for WCAG 3 is to meet WCAG 2.2 now.
How to check this on your own site
Follow these steps to find out where your site stands on WCAG 2.2 AA:
- Pick your most important pages. Take the homepage, a landing page, a product or service page, a form and, if you have one, the checkout process.
- Run an automated test. A tool based on axe-core finds missing alt text, fields without labels, empty links and buttons, and a missing language attribute.
- Check contrast by hand. Measure text over images, buttons and light shades with a contrast checker, because contrast requires the page to actually be rendered.
- Navigate using only the keyboard. Press Tab through the page and check that you can always see where the focus is and that a cookie banner or chat button doesn't cover it.
- Review your content. Check headings, link text, alt text, captions and whether help sits in the same place on every page.
- Record what you found. Use your findings for an improvement plan and for your accessibility statement.
You can read more about the split between automated and manual work in testing website accessibility. Flowproof's accessibility check is included in the paid Pro and Business plans. It tests your pages against WCAG 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2 level A and AA with axe-core, shows the success criterion and level for each finding, and honestly reports colour contrast as something to check manually. See the plans on the pricing page.