If you have looked into website accessibility, you have probably run into the acronym WCAG and a version number. The current version is WCAG 2.2, and for many business owners the documents behind it are dense, technical and full of terms like “success criteria” and “conformance levels.” The ideas themselves are much simpler than the language suggests at first glance.

This guide explains WCAG 2.2 in plain English: what it is, how it relates to earlier versions, what is new, and what it means in practice for a small business website. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace a proper review of your own site. It should, however, help you understand what designers and developers are talking about and which questions to ask.

What WCAG is

WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. It is published by the World Wide Web Consortium, usually called W3C, the international body that develops many web standards. The guidelines describe how to make websites usable by people with a wide range of disabilities, including people who are blind or have low vision, people who are deaf or hard of hearing, people with limited movement, and people with cognitive or learning disabilities.

WCAG is organized as a set of testable statements called success criteria. Each one describes something a page should do, such as providing text alternatives for images or making sure everything can be operated with a keyboard. The criteria are grouped into three levels:

  • Level A: the most basic requirements.
  • Level AA: the level most commonly used as a target by organizations and in policies.
  • Level AAA: the most demanding level, often not achievable for every type of content.

When people say a site “meets WCAG 2.2 AA,” they mean it satisfies all Level A and Level AA criteria in version 2.2.

How WCAG 2.2 relates to earlier versions

WCAG has been updated gradually rather than rewritten. Version 2.1 became a W3C Recommendation on 5 June 2018. The WCAG 2.2 Recommendation followed on 5 October 2023.

According to the W3C, WCAG 2.2 is backwards compatible with WCAG 2.1, meaning pages that conform to 2.2 are at least as accessible as pages that conform to 2.1. It builds on 2.1 by adding new success criteria, and it explains that sites which conform to WCAG 2.2 also conform to WCAG 2.1.

In practice, if your site already meets WCAG 2.1 AA, moving to 2.2 means reviewing a handful of new criteria rather than starting again. The W3C’s working group recommends that sites adopt WCAG 2.2 as their target, even where formal obligations mention earlier versions, to improve accessibility and anticipate future policy changes.

What is new in WCAG 2.2, in plain English

WCAG 2.2 adds nine new success criteria. Six of them are at Levels A and AA, which most organizations aim for. Here is what each of those six means.

Focus Not Obscured (Minimum), Level AA. When someone moves through a page with a keyboard, the item they are on is highlighted, which is called focus. This criterion says that highlighted item should not be entirely hidden by other content the site added, such as a sticky header, a cookie banner or a chat widget. If a keyboard user cannot see where they are, they cannot use the page.

Dragging Movements, Level AA. Some features require dragging, such as sliders, map panning or drag-and-drop lists. Many people find dragging difficult or impossible. This criterion says anything done by dragging should also be possible with a simple single pointer action, such as clicking or tapping, unless dragging is essential.

Target Size (Minimum), Level AA. Buttons, links and other things people tap or click should be at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels, or have enough space around them, with some exceptions. Tiny, crowded controls are hard for people with tremors, limited dexterity or large fingers on a phone.

Hands in pink sleeves type on a laptop keyboard beside a blue mug and a yellow notebook.

Consistent Help, Level A. If your site offers help, such as a phone number, contact form, chat or FAQ link, and it appears on several pages, it should appear in the same relative place each time. People who rely on help should not have to hunt for it on every page.

Redundant Entry, Level A. If someone has already given information during a process, such as an address in a checkout, the site should not make them type it again in the same process. It should fill it in automatically or let them select it, with exceptions for security or where re-entry is essential.

Accessible Authentication (Minimum), Level AA. Logging in should not depend on a cognitive function test, such as remembering a password or solving a puzzle, unless the site offers an alternative or help. In practice, that means allowing password managers and copy and paste, or offering options like sign-in links, rather than blocking them.

WCAG 2.2 also removed one older criterion, 4.1.1 Parsing. The W3C explains that it was originally adopted because assistive technology had to parse HTML directly, and that this is no longer necessary, so the criterion no longer has utility.

The three new AAA criteria

The other three additions are at Level AAA, which few organizations require across a whole site. Focus Not Obscured (Enhanced) goes further than the AA version by asking that no part of the focused item be hidden. Focus Appearance sets requirements for how large and how visible the focus indicator itself is. Accessible Authentication (Enhanced) removes some of the exceptions allowed at AA for cognitive tests during login, such as object recognition. They are worth knowing about, and some are easy wins, but most small businesses focus on A and AA first.

What this means for a typical small business site

Most of the new criteria touch common features. A quick way to see where your site stands is to check:

  • Sticky headers, banners and chat buttons. Tab through your pages with a keyboard. Can you always see what is highlighted, or does something cover it?
  • Sliders, carousels and drag-and-drop features. Can each be used with simple clicks or taps?
  • Buttons and links on mobile. Are small icons, such as social media links or close buttons, large enough and well spaced?
  • Help options. Does your phone number or contact link appear in the same spot across pages?
  • Forms and checkout. Do customers have to re-enter information they already gave?
  • Login pages. Do they block pasting passwords, or rely on puzzles without an alternative?

Many of these improvements help everyone, not just people with disabilities. Larger tap targets, visible focus and fewer repeated fields make sites easier to use on phones and for customers in a hurry. That is why accessibility and good UI/UX design usually point in the same direction.

WCAG 2.2 and the law

WCAG itself is a technical standard, not a law. Whether and how it applies to a business depends on where it operates and what laws cover it.

In the United States, the Department of Justice published a final rule in April 2024 on the accessibility of web information and services of state and local governments under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It requires those public entities to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, with compliance dates as published of April 24, 2026 for larger entities and April 26, 2027 for smaller ones and special district governments. The rule says nothing in it prevents an entity from conforming to WCAG 2.2 where state law requires.

That rule applies to state and local governments, not to private businesses. Businesses open to the public are covered by a different part of the ADA, Title III, and the Title II rule does not set a technical standard for them. Still, it shows which version of WCAG U.S. regulators chose as a benchmark in 2024, and many businesses use WCAG AA as a practical target.

Requirements differ in other countries and states, and they change over time. If you have specific legal obligations, get advice from a qualified professional.

A young man in a wheelchair uses a tablet at a cafe table against a sunny yellow wall, a pink cup beside him.

Where to start

You do not need to fix everything at once or immediately. A practical sequence for most small businesses looks like this:

  1. Review your most important pages first, such as the home page, contact page, key service or product pages, and any booking or checkout process.
  2. Check the basics, including image descriptions, color contrast, headings, link text and keyboard access, since these affect many users.
  3. Review the new 2.2 criteria listed above for those same pages.
  4. Fix issues in your templates and theme, so improvements apply across the whole site rather than page by page.
  5. Test on mobile devices, where target size and focus problems often show up first. Responsive designs that adapt well to small screens make many of these criteria easier to meet.
  6. Offer a way for visitors to report problems, and respond when they do.

Keep a simple record of what you checked, what you fixed and what remains. That record helps you prioritize and shows a good-faith effort. Revisit it whenever you add a new feature, such as a booking widget or payment option, because third-party tools can introduce problems your own pages did not have.

Questions to ask your designer or developer

If someone else builds or maintains your site, these questions help turn WCAG 2.2 into specific work:

  • Which version and level of WCAG are you designing and testing against?
  • How do you check keyboard focus when sticky headers or pop-ups are present?
  • Do our buttons and icons meet the 24 by 24 pixel minimum or spacing rule?
  • Can our login and checkout work with password managers?
  • How will accessibility be maintained as new pages and features are added?

Clear answers suggest accessibility is part of the process. Vague ones suggest it may need more attention.

Common misunderstandings

“An accessibility plugin makes us compliant.” Tools can help find some issues, but no single plugin or overlay can make a site meet WCAG on its own. Many criteria require human judgment, such as whether image descriptions are meaningful.

“Accessibility means a plain, ugly site.” WCAG does not prescribe a visual style. Well-designed sites can be attractive and accessible at the same time.

“We will deal with it during the next redesign.” Some fixes, such as larger buttons, visible focus and allowing password pasting, are small changes that can be made now.

The bottom line

WCAG 2.2 is an incremental update. It keeps everything from WCAG 2.1, removes one outdated criterion, and adds new requirements focused on keyboard focus visibility, dragging, target size, consistent help, repeated form entry and easier login. For most small business sites, meeting it is a matter of reviewing common features and fixing them steadily.

If you would like help reviewing your site against WCAG 2.2, Motta Industries’ website accessibility service can identify the issues that matter most and plan practical fixes.