# What is WCAG 2.2, and why does it matter for your website? WCAG 2.2 is the current version of the W3C's web accessibility guidelines, with three conformance levels. Level AA underpins the Accessibility Act. URL: https://ergostrat.com/en/digital-accessibility-review/what-is-wcag-2-2.html Service: https://ergostrat.com/en/digital-accessibility-review.html Checked: 2026-09-24 Contact: contact@ergostrat.com Language: English. Български: https://ergostrat.com/digital-accessibility-review/what-is-wcag-2-2.html WCAG 2.2 is the W3C's guidelines for web content accessibility, adopted as an official Recommendation on 5 October 2023. It sets out what your website needs to do so people with vision, hearing, movement or cognitive difficulties can use it. It is arranged in three levels: A, AA and AAA. It matters for your business because level AA is the technical basis the EN 301 549 standard behind the European Accessibility Act points to today, though still through an older version of WCAG. ## What are the four principles behind the guidelines? WCAG 2.2 rests on four principles known by the shorthand POUR. Content must be perceivable: a text alternative for every image, enough contrast, captions on video. It must be operable: every function working from a keyboard, enough time to read, clear navigation. It must be understandable: predictable page behaviour, clear error messages on forms. And it must be robust: code written so a browser, screen reader or other assistive technology reads it correctly, today and in five years, whichever version you are running. ## What are the three conformance levels? Every individual WCAG 2.2 criterion carries one of three levels. Level A covers the roughest barriers, the ones that stop part of your visitors outright: a missing text alternative on an image, content reachable only with a mouse. Level AA adds requirements for contrast, for the size of touch targets, for consistent navigation. It is the level EN 301 549 and most national laws treat as the practical minimum. Level AAA is the strictest and covers cases such as sign-language interpretation of video. WCAG does not expect a whole website to reach level AAA, because for some kinds of content that is not always achievable. ## What does WCAG 2.2 add over 2.1? WCAG 2.2 adds nine new success criteria over the previous version, 2.1, most of them about focus, movement and data entry: keyboard focus must not stay hidden behind another element on screen, a button or link's touch target must not be too small, a dragging action needs an alternative that does not require dragging, help information must sit in the same place on every page. Fields the user has already filled in elsewhere should not be asked for again without reason. Identity authentication must not rely solely on a memory task like solving a puzzle. One criterion from 2.1, technically named "parsing" (4.1.1 Parsing), is dropped in 2.2 as obsolete. This is because modern browsers no longer stumble on small HTML errors the way the criterion was written to catch. ## What is the link between WCAG 2.2 and the European Accessibility Act? The Act itself names neither WCAG nor a specific standard; in practice, conformity is shown against the European standard EN 301 549. As of today the version of that standard in force is 3.2.1 from 2021, built on WCAG 2.1 level AA, not 2.2. In September 2026 ETSI published a new version, 4.1.1, which adopts WCAG 2.2 level AA as its basis. But until the Commission cites it in the Official Journal, it is not the reference for showing conformity with the Act. In other words: a website that meets WCAG 2.2 level AA also covers the older 2.1 requirement. But claiming that WCAG 2.2 is "legally required" today runs ahead of the standard actually in force. ## Questions ### Does our new website need to meet WCAG 2.2 exactly, or is 2.1 enough? The reference for showing conformity with the Act today is still WCAG 2.1 level AA. Building to 2.2 automatically covers 2.1 too, because the new version only adds criteria rather than removing existing ones, apart from the one obsolete criterion. ### Who publishes WCAG, and can we trust it not to change without warning? The W3C publishes it, the international body that writes most web standards. Versions change rarely, and older versions stay valid reference documents even after a new one is released. ### Will WCAG 3.0 replace 2.2, and when? Not soon. WCAG 3.0 is still a W3C working draft, last updated on 10 September 2026, and by the working group's own account is years away from becoming a finished standard. W3C states outright that WCAG 3 "does not deprecate WCAG 2," so websites can keep building to WCAG 2.2 level AA with no forced switch date. ## Sources - [W3C, "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2," 2023.](https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/) - [W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, announcement of WCAG 2.2 as an official Recommendation, 5 October 2023.](https://www.w3.org/WAI/news/2023-10-05/wcag22rec) - [W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, "What's New in WCAG 2.2," 2023.](https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/new-in-22/) - [AccessibleEU, the European Commission's accessibility centre, "The European accessibility standard EN 301 549 has been updated," September 2026.](https://accessible-eu-centre.ec.europa.eu/content-corner/news/european-accessibility-standard-en-301-549-has-been-updated-2026-09-07_en) - [W3C, "WCAG 3.0," working draft, 2026.](https://www.w3.org/TR/wcag-3.0/) ## More on this topic - [Who does the European Accessibility Act apply to? Any firm, in or outside the EU, selling listed products or services to EU consumers. Service microenterprises (under 10 staff, up to EUR 2 million) are exempt.](https://ergostrat.com/en/digital-accessibility-review/who-eaa-applies-to.html) - [Do accessibility overlay widgets actually work? Not in the way they are sold. An April 2025 US FTC order made accessiBe pay monetary relief over claims that its overlay makes any website WCAG-compliant.](https://ergostrat.com/en/digital-accessibility-review/accessibility-overlays.html) - [How much does an accessibility review cost for a small business? Market prices in EUR run from around 99 to 390 euros for a few key pages to several thousand euros for a whole online shop, depending on scope.](https://ergostrat.com/en/digital-accessibility-review/accessibility-review-cost.html) ## The standard sets the target. The review shows where you fall short. WCAG 2.2 defines the goal. A Digital Accessibility Review goes through your key pages by hand, with a keyboard and a screen reader. It shows exactly which criteria are not met and what that costs you today.