The Complete WCAG 2.2 Checklist for Business Owners

WCAG 2.2 contains 87 success criteria organized under four principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. For Level AA compliance — the standard courts and regulators reference — you need to meet all Level A and Level AA criteria. Here are the key areas business owners need to understand.

Perceivable means users must be able to perceive the information being presented. This includes: providing text alternatives for non-text content (images, videos, audio), providing captions and audio descriptions for multimedia, creating content that can be presented in different ways without losing meaning, and making it easy for users to see and hear content.

Operable means users must be able to operate the interface. All functionality must be available from a keyboard. Users must have enough time to read and use content. Content must not cause seizures or physical reactions. Users must be able to navigate and find content. Input must be possible through various modalities beyond just keyboard.

Understandable means users must be able to understand the information and operation of the user interface. Text must be readable and understandable. Web pages must appear and operate in predictable ways. Users must be helped to avoid and correct mistakes, especially in forms.

Robust means content must be robust enough to be interpreted by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. This primarily means using valid, semantic HTML and ensuring custom widgets properly communicate their role, state, and value to assistive technologies.

New in WCAG 2.2 are criteria addressing focus visibility, dragging alternatives, minimum target sizes, consistent help mechanisms, and accessible authentication. These additions reflect the growing importance of mobile accessibility and cognitive accessibility.