WCAG 2.2 checklist in plain language

How to use this list

WCAG 2.2 is the W3C standard that defines what an accessible website is. It has 86 success criteria, spread across three levels. The level you need is AA, which means the 55 criteria at levels A and AA below. That is what EN 301 549, the European Accessibility Act and most national laws point to.

The official wording is precise but hard to read. Here each criterion is turned into a question about your site. If the answer is “no” for a page, that is a finding. New criteria in 2.2 are marked New.

Perceivable: can people get the content?

Criterion	Level	Check
1.1.1 Non-text Content	A	Every meaningful image, icon and chart has a text alternative; decorative ones have an empty alt.
1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only	A	Podcasts have a transcript; silent videos have a description or transcript.
1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded)	A	Videos with speech have captions.
1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative	A	Important visual information in videos is described in audio or text.
1.2.4 Captions (Live)	AA	Live streams have captions.
1.2.5 Audio Description	AA	Prerecorded videos have audio description where visuals carry information.
1.3.1 Info and Relationships	A	Headings, lists, tables and form labels are real HTML, not just styled text.
1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence	A	Reading order in the code matches the order on screen.
1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics	A	Instructions do not rely only on shape, color, size or position (“click the round button on the right”).
1.3.4 Orientation	AA	The site works in both portrait and landscape.
1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose	AA	Fields for name, email, address and phone have the right autocomplete value.
1.4.1 Use of Color	A	Color is never the only way to show an error, a link or a state.
1.4.2 Audio Control	A	Audio that plays by itself for more than 3 seconds can be paused or muted.
1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)	AA	Text reaches 4.5:1 against its background (3:1 for large text).
1.4.4 Resize Text	AA	At 200% browser zoom, nothing is cut off or overlapping.
1.4.5 Images of Text	AA	Text is real text, not part of an image (logos excepted).
1.4.10 Reflow	AA	At 400% zoom (320 px wide), the page reads without scrolling sideways.
1.4.11 Non-text Contrast	AA	Icons, field borders and focus indicators reach 3:1.
1.4.12 Text Spacing	AA	Increasing line, letter and word spacing does not break the layout.
1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus	AA	Tooltips and pop-ups can be dismissed, hovered over and stay until closed.

Operable: can people use the controls?

Criterion	Level	Check
2.1.1 Keyboard	A	Everything works with the keyboard alone.
2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap	A	Focus never gets stuck inside a component.
2.1.4 Character Key Shortcuts	A	Single-letter shortcuts can be turned off or remapped.
2.2.1 Timing Adjustable	A	Time limits can be turned off, adjusted or extended.
2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide	A	Carousels and animations that move for more than 5 seconds can be paused.
2.3.1 Three Flashes	A	Nothing flashes more than three times per second.
2.4.1 Bypass Blocks	A	A “skip to content” link or landmarks let people jump past the menu.
2.4.2 Page Titled	A	Every page has a unique, descriptive <title>.
2.4.3 Focus Order	A	Tabbing moves through the page in a logical order.
2.4.4 Link Purpose	A	Each link makes sense from its text and context; no lone “click here”.
2.4.5 Multiple Ways	AA	Pages can be found in more than one way (menu, search, sitemap).
2.4.6 Headings and Labels	AA	Headings and labels describe what follows.
2.4.7 Focus Visible	AA	You can always see which element has keyboard focus.
2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured	AA	New. The focused element is not hidden behind a sticky header, footer or cookie banner.
2.5.1 Pointer Gestures	A	Pinch, swipe and multi-finger gestures have a single-tap alternative.
2.5.2 Pointer Cancellation	A	Actions fire on release, so a mis-tap can be cancelled by sliding away.
2.5.3 Label in Name	A	A button’s accessible name contains its visible text.
2.5.4 Motion Actuation	A	Shake or tilt features have a button alternative.
2.5.7 Dragging Movements	AA	New. Anything done by dragging (sliders, sortable lists, maps) can also be done with taps or clicks.
2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum)	AA	New. Buttons and links are at least 24 × 24 px, or have enough space around them.

Understandable: can people follow it?

Criterion	Level	Check
3.1.1 Language of Page	A	The page declares its language (<html lang="en">).
3.1.2 Language of Parts	AA	Passages in another language are marked with their own lang.
3.2.1 On Focus	A	Moving focus onto something does not trigger a change of page or context.
3.2.2 On Input	A	Choosing an option does not submit the form or jump to a new page without warning.
3.2.3 Consistent Navigation	AA	Menus are in the same place and order on every page.
3.2.4 Consistent Identification	AA	The same function has the same name and icon everywhere.
3.2.6 Consistent Help	A	New. Help (contact, chat, FAQ) is in the same place on every page that has it.
3.3.1 Error Identification	A	Form errors are described in text, not only shown in red.
3.3.2 Labels or Instructions	A	Every field has a visible label; required formats are explained.
3.3.3 Error Suggestion	AA	Error messages say how to fix the problem.
3.3.4 Error Prevention	AA	Purchases and legal or financial submissions can be reviewed, corrected or reversed.
3.3.7 Redundant Entry	A	New. People are not asked to type the same information twice in one process.
3.3.8 Accessible Authentication	AA	New. Log-in does not require remembering or transcribing codes or solving puzzles, and allows paste and password managers.

Robust: does it work with assistive technology?

Criterion	Level	Check
4.1.2 Name, Role, Value	A	Every control exposes what it is, what it is called and its state (expanded, selected, checked).
4.1.3 Status Messages	AA	Messages like “Added to cart” or “3 results” are announced without moving focus.

Where to start

Fifty-five checks is a lot for one afternoon. Do them in this order, because it follows where barriers stop people from finishing a task:

1. The keyboard checks (2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.4.3, 2.4.7, 2.4.11) on your main journey. A keyboard barrier stops the task completely.
2. The form checks (1.3.5, 3.3.1, 3.3.2, 3.3.3, 3.3.7) on checkout, sign-up and contact.
3. Contrast and zoom (1.4.3, 1.4.11, 1.4.4, 1.4.10) across the templates you reuse most.
4. Images and links (1.1.1, 2.4.4) on product and landing pages.
5. The rest, template by template.

Most sites are built from a handful of templates. Fixing a finding in the template fixes it on every page that uses it, which is why a good audit groups findings by component, not by URL.

What changed from WCAG 2.1

WCAG 2.2 became a W3C Recommendation in October 2023. It keeps everything from 2.1 except 4.1.1 Parsing, which was removed because modern browsers and assistive technology no longer depend on it. It adds nine criteria: the six at A and AA marked New above, and three at AAA (2.4.12 Focus Not Obscured Enhanced, 2.4.13 Focus Appearance and 3.3.9 Accessible Authentication Enhanced).

Because 2.2 is backwards compatible, there is no reason to build to 2.1 today. A site that passes this list passes 2.1 AA as well.