WCAG 2.2 explained: what changed and what your product must do
WCAG 2.2 is the current W3C accessibility standard. It keeps everything in 2.1 and adds criteria for visible focus, minimum target size, alternatives to dragging, consistent help and logins that don't rely on memory tests. AA conformance is the level most laws and enterprise buyers expect.
Key takeaways
- Aim for WCAG 2.2 AA; it is what buyers and regulators reference.
- Design focus states and 24px minimum targets into components, not afterwards.
- Every drag action needs a click or tap alternative.
- Don't make users solve puzzles or retype codes to log in.
Accessibility is no longer a nice-to-have for products sold to enterprises or governments. In the USA it is tied to ADA expectations, in Ontario to the AODA, and procurement teams everywhere now ask for WCAG conformance up front.
What WCAG 2.2 added
- Focus not obscured
- When an element has keyboard focus, sticky headers or banners must not hide it.
- Dragging movements
- Anything done by dragging — sliders, kanban cards, maps — must also work with a single click or tap.
- Target size (minimum)
- Clickable targets need at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels, or enough spacing around them.
- Consistent help
- Help links or contact options appear in the same place on every page.
- Redundant entry
- Don't ask for the same information twice in one process.
- Accessible authentication
- Logins can't depend on remembering or transcribing — allow paste, password managers and passkeys.
Quick AA checks for every release
- Text contrast at least 4.5:1, large text 3:1.
- Visible focus on every interactive element.
- Targets at least 24px; we design 44–48px on mobile.
- Form fields have visible labels, not placeholders.
- Errors say what went wrong and how to fix it.
- Content reflows at 320px without horizontal scrolling.
Accessibility is part of every UI/UX design project we run, and our market pages for the USA and Canada cover the legal context in each.
Sources
Kiara writes Advorize's guides on design, development and digital systems, turning the team's project work into practical, plain-language answers.