What's new in WCAG 2.2?

WCAG 2.2 is the next version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, published 5 October 2023. It includes all of WCAG 2.1, minus 4.1.1 Parsing, plus nine new criteria. Of those, six are in Level A + AA, the most commonly tested combination of levels.

Let's look at how you could meet the new Level A + AA criteria (note: this is just my summary and interpretation, for the official specification and wording, refer to WCAG 2.2):

  1. Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) (2.4.11, AA): don't obscure the element that has focus (eg with sticky headers/footers or modals)
  2. Dragging Movements (2.5.7, AA): when some action in your UI requires dragging, ensure the same action can also be performed without dragging (with a “single pointer”). Example: a map that can be dragged to move around, but also offers buttons to move up, down, left and right.
  3. Target Size (Minimum) (2.5.8, AA): ensure that things you can click (or otherwise “point”, eg using pen, touch etc), are more than the specified minimum size, unless there's enough distance, it's inline or the small size is “essential”
  4. Consistent Help (3.2.6, A): if your page/app contains help options, they are in the same order across pages (unless user zooms/turns device; these kinds of user-initiated changes are excepted)
  5. Redundant Entry (3.3.7, A): avoid that users have to enter the same information twice, instead auto-populate or allow previous input to be selected. Some exceptions apply.
  6. Accessible Authentication (Minimum) (3.3.8, AA): if your auth requires a “cognitive function test” (user has to remember, manipulate or transcribe), offer a way without such a test, or allow for assistance (eg support password managers, don't block copy/paste)

One SC was removed: Parsing (4.1.1). It existed because assistive technologies had to parse HTML, but they no longer do so directly.

Notably, the new SC Focus Appearance (2.4.13), that was initially put in Level AA, is going to be Level AAA. It has requirements for what focus styles look like, regarding contrast, size of the contrasting area and contrast of adjacent colors (this one may be the most tricky and “at risk”, but there's a lot of examples in Understanding Focus Appearance)

An overview of the new criteria, including examples of how they are useful to real people can be found on What's new in WCAG 2.2.

List of updates
  • 5 October 2023: WCAG 2.2 comes out today, updated intro to match that.
  • 18 September 2023: The post said “Accessible Authentication” was Level A, but it is AA. Updated this (thanks Jules!).
  • 18 July 2023: Removed comment on Focus Visible level change (to A) as it was changed back (to AA); renamed and renumbered Accessible Authentication; renumbered Focus Not Obscured; added removal of Parsing.
Thanks to the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (AGWG) at the W3C or all their work on WCAG and this latest version. Thanks James Edwards for feedback on my Dragging Movements example.

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Ingo Steinke, creative web dev, Martin Jacobsen, Stefan, A11y Up, Sean Leahy, Thien Bui, Evren Kiefer, Jonathan Holden, Luz De León, Deelip, Pratyusha Jaitly, Marcus Lindblom, Filip Vabroušek, Finn Kuhn 🇪🇺, Agnes Szmat, Philippe Vayssière, Cynthia Teeters, anthony9, Anthony, Patrick Joannisse (he/him), Vernon Fowler, Nina Amato, Leigh Mortimer, JJ Cloutier, sꜩven 🌮 collector.tez, Matthias Ott, Lise LaTorre, Owen, Josh Harwood, Ranked Choice Andrew, Andrew Johnson, Allie Thu, razh, Caleb (he/him) #BlackLivesMatter, Patrick Smith, Beck Kramer, Sandra, Jens Grochtdreis, Raffaella Isidori 💛💙, Tristan Dubbeld, Active for Autism, Nicky McAllister, Scott de Jonge, Ofer Shaal, Denis Boudreau - he/him (y'all), David Dias, xmanilovechina, Meagan Eller, Mirthe Valentijn, Gaurav Gupta, Shankar, Sarah L. Fossheim (they/them), Lawal Hamzat Ademola, Cyril (he/him), Claire, John Samuel, ApisNecros, Jon Henshaw :coywolf:, Tim Chambers, Borghal, JHadley, Christopher, Elly Loel ✨🌱, James Edwards, Nick, Andy :aglaceon: :teapot_blush:, Martín Baldassarre, Thomas Bassetto, Jon McLaren, Ben Myers ????, Heather Buchel, Steven Hoefer, Ruby Quail, Bart van de Biezen, Fynn Becker, Florian Geierstanger, Skye :verified_trans:, Kieran McGuire, Lars Laade, John P. Green, Darek Kay, nev, Hugo Soucy (hs0ucy) ???? ???? ????, Lea Rosema, Alex Volkov, hatch, Sean Boots, Ana Rodrigues, Tyler Sticka, Ryosuke, Marcel, Canine, Jason Beaird, Reed Mideke, Johnny Taylor, Joachim, Nico F., Sunny :autumnleaf6:, Josiah, Elly Loel ✨????, Alistair Shepherd, Nick F, Andrew Hick and Carol ???? liked this

irgendwasmitcomputern, A11y Up, Wolf Hoelscher, Lizzie Bruce, Evren Kiefer, ɐpıɹɐ̗ɔsɐ, Pratyusha Jaitly, Marcus Lindblom, Anthony, anthony9, Grace Snow, Matthias Ott, Kai Röder, Owen, Nicky McAllister, David Dias, Michael Hastrich, Lawal Hamzat Ademola, Tim Chambers, Justin Poehnelt, Aram Zucker-Scharff, Eric Eggert, Sarah L. Fossheim :they_them:, Sylvain G., Robert Lender, Björn Uhlig, Jon McLaren, Heather Buchel, Paul van Buuren, Gustav Hansen, max frühschütz – нет войне, Ruby Quail, Fynn Becker, Lars Laade, Lene Saile, Rich Holman, Dan Phiffer, nev, Lea Rosema, Jens Grochtdreis, Marc Amos, Hugo Soucy (hs0ucy) ???? ???? ????, Canageek, Walter Ebert, Sean Boots, suchajazzyline, Joe Lanman, Stefan Grund :eay:, Tyler Sticka, Ana Rodrigues, Thomas, s:mon, Chris ???? Reinbothe, Chris Henrick, Josh “Yoshi” Vickerson, Douglas McMillan, Joachim, Maarten Stolte, Alistair Shepherd, Harald Atteneder, Andrew Hick, Carol ???? and Dan Pope reposted this

For a more permanent and linkable version of this thread, I've also dropped the contents onto my blog hidde.blog/new-in-wcag22/
You were reading my mind!! Thanks.
haha was afraid someone would press that 'unfold' button to save the thread 😀
@hdv summarizes the changes that we can find in the WCAG 2.2 (2 in Level A, 5 in Level AA and 2 in Level AAA) hidde.blog/new-in-wcag22/
WCAG 2.2 나온 거 알고 트위터 하시나요? hidde.blog/new-in-wcag22/
#Accessibility Here's the Too Long Didn't Read of all the new things coming to WCAG 2.2 hidde.blog/new-in-wcag22/…
What's new in WCAG 2.2? hidde.blog/new-in-wcag22/ by Mr @hdv
This is an excellent summary of new specifications in WCAG 2.2. #A11y hidde.blog/new-in-wcag22/…
@hdv so, like trackbacks and pingbacks that WordPress stubbornly tried to make happen for many years?
Thanks to @sia I now know Webmentions can be used from Mastodon to your blog via https://brid.gy 🎉 Bridgy
@hdv @sia I've added it as well, but nobody will like my toot of my last post...even though I mentioned them in the post, Hidde!
@hdv When does it come ou… oh, sorry! 😂
@yatil @hdv 😂 I fully expect waking up some weird morning and skimming Mastodon while having a coffee only to find excited-anxious “Now it is out" toots
@marcus I could do with at least a couple more weeks personally, haven't finished writing my webinar slides. I'll be stressed if it's tomorrow lol.@yatil @hdv
@siblingpastry @marcus @hdv It’s so bizarre that this is a guessing game. They could just say “if we have consensus by September 1, we will publish the update on September 30.”(Also, technically WCAG 2.1 sticks around and with the changes I have refused learning anything more about 2.2 until it is finished. It’ll delay me using it for at least until early next year. 😮‍💨)
@yatil This is why I'm not doing the webinar until it is finished, cos it could change again.I've had to update my TPGi article half a dozen times at least.@marcus @hdv
@yatil @siblingpastry @hdv Having watched the 2.1 process very superficially (or rather not at all) in 2018, it somehow shocks me that you with W3C WAI insight also judge it as “bizzare” and not “yeah, this is how the sausage gets made”
@marcus @yatil @hdv These observations are not mutually exclusive 😆