What’s new in the WCAG 2.2 standards

Lots of things have happened since WCAG version 2.0 was released. Since then we got WCAG 2.1 which contained all the success criteria’s from the 2.0 version and then they added new criteria’s to it as well. Now W3 is working on their WCAG 2.2 version which is expected to be published and released in 2021.

In this article we will look into some of things you will find in the new WCAG 2.2 version and what you can do to comply with the new criteria’s.

When is WCAG 2.2 going to be released?

The WCAG 2.2 standards is in what they call an open draft at the moment. This means they are still making changing to it, but they expect the final list of criteria’s to be released sometime during 2021. The exact release date is still unknown, but hopefully W3 will publish the date soon.

What the WCAG standards is

The WCAG web standards is a set of criteria’s made to create a standard for how each website should build their accessibility. Normally a websites accessibility will be limited and it can be hard to navigate and interact but when following the WCAG standards your website will be accessible even to people with low vision or movement.

In some countries it is required by law to follow the WCAG standards and in others it might cost you deals. If looking away from law and money, it also makes it harder for people with low sight or movement to interact and use your website and therefore they might go elsewhere instead.

If you are interested in knowing more about the WCAG standards and how you can ensure your website is complying with the 2.1 standards, please take a look at our article where we go in depth about this subject: https://sustainablewww.org/principles/what-is-a-wcag-compliance-checker-and-where-to-find-one.

What’s new in the WCAG 2.2 standards

The new WCAG 2.2 standards are bringing all the success criteria’s from WCAG 2.0 and WCAG 2.1, but we are also going to see new criteria’s which will be fitted todays websites. Underneath here we have included a list with some of the added criteria’s we will be seeing this year in the 2.2 version. As the list might change before the official release date, we will update the list below.

WCAG A (4 new criteria’s):

Page break navigation: For web content with page break locators, a mechanism is available to navigate to each locator.
Consistent help: For websites displaying one or more ways to find help, at least one of these should be displayed on each page in the same order: Human contact details, Human contact mechanism, Self-help option or a fully automated contact mechanism.
Accessible authentication: For each authentication process that relies on cognitive authentication, you have to give at least one other non-cognitive way of authenticate.
Redundant entry: Information entered/provided by the user earlier, should be automatically populated or be available to re-enter by click.

WCAG AA (4 new criteria’s):

Focus appearance (Minimum): When user interface components receive keyboard focus, a set of appearance requirements around contrast ratio, minimum area, outline, shape, adjacent contrast, and visibility must be checked to meet this criterion.
Dragging: All functions using dragging should be achievable by a single pointer click.
Target size: Targets must have an area of at least 24 x 24 CSS pixels with some exceptions such as inline-text or adjacent spacing.
Visible controls: When elements or components appear on hover or focus they need to contain visible describing context that helps the user identify the element.

WCAG AAA (1 new criteria):

Focus appearance (Enhanced): When user interface components receive focus by keyboard the area must have a contrasting ratio of at least 4.5:1, the minimum focused area is at least the size of the component plus 1 CSS pixel and no parts of the focus indicator can be obscured or hidden.

Author

Michael Andersen

I am a self-taught and highly passionate web developer currently living in Sweden, where I use my skills to make the internet a better place through ethical and sustainable web design.