What's new in WCAG 2.2 | TetraLogical

A complete overview of the most recent WCAG 2.2 spec as it enters RC status, including quick overviews on the most common solutions to meet each new success criterion.

For the most part, WCAG 2.2 only introduces new success criteria, though it does also remove WCAG 2.1 4.1.1.

A quick thought: the new minimum target size has an interesting exception for inline text links, which feels suboptimal (though very understandable). I wonder if some kind of common pattern where double tapping on a text block would expand the text to meet minimum needs could be useful here? And how you would signpost such a thing so people know it's an option?

On what happens to the Parsing SC if you're still only targeting 2.1 AA:

While 4.1.1 Parsing is still in WCAG 2.1, the latest re-published version of the standard (which should coincide with the release of 2.2) will contain an advisory note for 4.1.1 Parsing, stating that the criterion should always be considered satisfied (for HTML and XML content), effectively deprecating the requirement.

On how to meet focus appearance requirements:

The simplest way to satisfy this requirement is to use an outline around the perimeter of a focused element that is at least 2 CSS pixels thick and has sufficient contrast (already covered by 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast).

On draggable interfaces, which now need multiple pointer-level options rather than just dragging:

Note that a keyboard alternative (already covered by 2.1.1 Keyboard) is not necessarily sufficient to pass this requirement. Users must be able to perform the action using mouse/touch, and can't be expected to switch to a keyboard instead.

On minimum target size versus inline links:

Inline: The target is in a sentence or its size is otherwise constrained by the line-height of non-target text;

On how to meet minimum target requirements:

Otherwise, at least provide sufficient spacing around each target: for each target, make sure that there at least a circular area with a diameter of 24 CSS pixels, centered on the target, that does not contain any other targets and does not intersect with any other spacing circles of adjacent targets.

On accessible authentication:

The simplest way to satisfy the criterion is not to have any cognitive function tests as part of an authentication process.
Remembering and entering a username and password also falls under the definition of a "cognitive function test". In these cases, the simplest way to meet the requirement is not to prevent copy/paste functionality on the login form fields, and allowing the use of password managers to autofill the fields, rather than having to manually type them in – this counts as a "mechanism". The same is true for passcodes (such as TOTP codes): a user must be able to copy/paste these, rather than having to manually transcribe them.

Explore Other Notes

  • <!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <title></title> </head> <body> <p>A complete overview of the most recent WCAG 2.2 spec as it enters RC status, including quick overviews on the most common solutions to meet each new success …</p> </body> </html>
  • Murray Adcock.
Journal permalink