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What changed from WCAG 2.1, why it matters legally and practically, and how to test
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 became a W3C Recommendation on October 5, 2023. It builds on WCAG 2.1 by adding nine new success criteria and removing one obsolete criterion (4.1.1 Parsing). Most organisations target Level AA, which now includes six of the new criteria.
Accessibility is increasingly a legal requirement as well as good practice. The European Accessibility Act has applied to many digital products and services sold in the EU since June 28, 2025. In India, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and the Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW) set accessibility expectations, especially for public-sector and public-facing services.
Every WCAG criterion falls under one of four principles: content must be Perceivable, Operable, Understandable and Robust.
When an element receives keyboard focus, it must not be entirely hidden by other content such as sticky headers, cookie banners or chat widgets.
Fix: Use scroll-padding-top equal to the sticky header height and ensure overlays do not cover focused elements.
No part of the focused element may be hidden.
Focus indicators must be sufficiently large and have enough contrast between focused and unfocused states.
Any action that uses dragging (sliders, sortable lists, maps) must also be possible with a single pointer without dragging, for example with buttons or tapping.
Pointer targets must be at least 24 × 24 CSS pixels, or have enough spacing around them, with some exceptions such as inline text links.
If help options (contact details, chat, FAQ link) appear on multiple pages, they must appear in the same relative order.
Information a user already entered in the same process should be auto-populated or selectable, rather than typed again, unless re-entry is essential (such as confirming a password).
Login must not rely on a cognitive function test, such as remembering or transcribing a password or solving a puzzle, unless an alternative or assistance exists. Allowing password managers and copy-paste, or offering passkeys or email links, satisfies this.
A stricter version that also removes exceptions for object or personal-content recognition.
| Criterion | Level | Typical fix |
|---|---|---|
| 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured | AA | Scroll padding, non-overlapping banners |
| 2.5.7 Dragging Movements | AA | Add button alternatives |
| 2.5.8 Target Size | AA | 24×24 px targets or spacing |
| 3.2.6 Consistent Help | A | Same help placement site-wide |
| 3.3.7 Redundant Entry | A | Autofill, "same as billing" |
| 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication | AA | Allow paste, password managers, passkeys |
4.1.1 Parsing was removed because modern browsers and assistive technologies handle HTML parsing errors consistently, making the criterion obsolete.
Yes. A site that meets WCAG 2.2 also meets 2.1 and 2.0, apart from the removed Parsing criterion.
Level AA is the common legal and industry benchmark.
WCAG is written for web content, but its principles are widely applied to mobile apps and many regulations reference it for apps too.
The W3C is developing WCAG 3.0, which is still a working draft and not yet a standard.
WCAG 2.2 focuses on keyboard users, people with motor impairments and people with cognitive disabilities. Most of its new requirements can be met with small design and code changes, and meeting them improves usability for everyone.
