What WCAG 2.2 changed for small organisations

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, usually shortened to WCAG, are the standard most people mean when they talk about an accessible website. In October 2023 the W3C published version 2.2. If your site was built to WCAG 2.1, most of what you have still holds. But a few new requirements are worth understanding, because they affect everyday things like menus, buttons, forms and logins.

This note is our plain-language summary for small businesses, not-for-profits and schools. It isn’t legal advice, and it isn’t a replacement for reading the standard, but it should help you work out where to look first.

What stayed the same

WCAG 2.2 builds on 2.1 rather than replacing it. Everything in 2.0 and 2.1 carries over, with one exception: the old criterion about parsing (4.1.1) has been marked obsolete and removed. Modern browsers and assistive technology handle the problems it was written for, so it no longer adds much.

That means a site that met WCAG 2.1 at level AA is a good starting point. You’re adding to it, not starting again. You can read the W3C’s own summary on what’s new in WCAG 2.2.

The new criteria, in plain language

There are nine new success criteria. Six of them sit at level A or AA, which is the level most organisations aim for. The other three are level AAA, which is the stricter, aspirational level.

Focus you can actually see

When someone moves through a page with a keyboard, the focused link or button should be visible. Focus Not Obscured (Minimum), at level AA, says that focused item mustn’t be completely hidden behind something else. The usual culprits are sticky headers, cookie banners and chat widgets that sit over the content and cover whatever has focus.

Dragging shouldn’t be the only way

Dragging Movements (AA) asks that anything you can do by dragging, such as reordering a list, moving a map or using a slider, can also be done with a simple tap or click. Dragging is hard for people with limited movement and for many people using a mouse alternative.

Targets big enough to hit

Target Size (Minimum) (AA) sets a minimum size for things people tap or click: 24 by 24 CSS pixels, or enough space around a smaller target. There are sensible exceptions, such as links inside a sentence. Tiny social icons and close buttons crammed together are where most sites fall short.

Help in a consistent place

Consistent Help (A) says that if you offer help, such as a phone number, contact link or chat, it should appear in the same relative place on each page where it appears. People who rely on that help shouldn’t have to hunt for it.

Don’t ask twice

Redundant Entry (A) means that within one process, you shouldn’t make people re-type information they’ve already given you. Either fill it in for them or let them select it. A “same as billing address” option is the classic example.

Logins without puzzles

Accessible Authentication (Minimum) (AA) says logging in shouldn’t depend on a cognitive test, like remembering a password with no help or solving a puzzle, unless there’s an alternative. In practice: let password managers fill in fields, allow pasting, and offer options like email links or passkeys where you can.

The three AAA criteria go further on focus visibility, focus appearance and authentication. They’re worth reading, but most small sites won’t be assessed against them.

What this means in Australia

The Disability Discrimination Act applies to websites, and the Australian Human Rights Commission’s advisory notes point organisations to WCAG as the benchmark. Many government and education bodies also set their own accessibility requirements in contracts and policies. If you work with one of them, check which version they ask for. Either way, aiming for WCAG 2.2 AA now saves you a second round of fixes later.

What to check first

You don’t need an audit to make a start. These checks cover most of what 2.2 added:

• Tab through your key pages. Does the focused item ever disappear under a sticky header, banner or widget?
• Look for anything that only works by dragging, like sliders, carousels or sortable lists.
• Check your smallest buttons and icons on a phone, especially social links, close buttons and pagination.
• Make sure your contact or help link sits in the same place on every page.
• Walk through your forms and checkout. Are you asking for the same details twice?
• Try logging in with a password manager, and try pasting into the password field.

Most fixes are small changes to the theme or a form, not a rebuild.

Our rule of thumb

If a person with a keyboard, a shaky hand or a tired brain can’t get through a task on your site, the site isn’t finished. WCAG 2.2 just names more of the places where that tends to go wrong. Lighter, simpler pages with fewer overlays and widgets also tend to pass more easily, which suits our approach to sustainable design as well.

If you’d like help checking your site against WCAG 2.2 or fixing what you find, have a look at our accessibility services or tell us what you’re working on. We’ll tell you honestly what matters most and what can wait.