What WCAG 2.2 covers
WCAG 2.2 is a W3C Recommendation with testable success criteria at A, AA, and AAA levels. The guidelines are organized around four principles: content must be perceivable, interfaces operable, information understandable, and implementation robust. WCAG is a technical standard, so a business review should combine automated checks, code inspection, keyboard testing, zoom testing, and representative assistive-technology testing.
Check structure, text, images, and contrast
Use one descriptive page title and a logical heading order. Give meaningful images useful alternative text and leave decorative images empty for assistive technology. Ensure text and important interface graphics meet contrast requirements, content remains usable when zoomed, and meaning is not communicated by color alone.
- Use semantic headings and landmarks
- Write alt text that explains the image’s purpose
- Verify contrast in default, hover, focus, error, and disabled states
Make every action work without a mouse
A keyboard user should be able to reach every link, menu, dialog, form field, and control in a sensible order. Focus must remain visible and should not be hidden behind sticky headers, cookie banners, or overlays. Avoid keyboard traps, provide a way to bypass repeated navigation, and ensure drag-based interactions have an alternative.
- Test Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, Space, and Escape
- Keep focus visible and unobscured
- Provide alternatives to dragging and pointer gestures
Review forms, authentication, and mobile targets
Form fields need persistent labels, clear instructions, programmatic error messages, and a path to correct mistakes. Do not ask people to re-enter information unnecessarily during the same process. WCAG 2.2 also adds criteria related to accessible authentication and minimum target size, which are especially relevant to quote forms, account portals, and mobile navigation.
- Associate labels and errors with each input
- Do not rely on placeholder text as the label
- Give touch targets enough size and spacing
Accessibility is an ongoing product practice
An overlay cannot repair every issue in content, design, code, documents, video, and third-party tools. Include accessibility in component design, editorial workflows, quality assurance, and vendor selection. Retest when navigation, forms, animation, plugins, templates, or major content change. Legal requirements vary by location and organization, so obtain qualified legal advice for compliance questions.
Primary guidance
Use the W3C standard and supporting materials as the authority for technical accessibility requirements.