We’re waiting for W3C to announce they have released the new version of their WCAG guidelines, version 2.2. Currently the guidelines are available in draft format and are very likely to be final. The release has been pushed back from 2022 with WCAG commenting that it’s stable but could change. They are currently processing feedback to ensure the standard can be implemented.
Quick background on WCAG
WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. They are a set of guidelines for making web content more accessible for a wide range of abilities and disabilities. The first version 2.0 was published by W3C in 2008. 2.2 is the latest version of the guidelines that WCAG are planning to release in early 2023. There are three levels to WCAG, A, AA, AAA. With AAA being the strictest.
From 2018 The UK Government made it a legal requirement for most websites and mobile apps of public sector bodies to achieve WCAG 2.1 level AA and meet the government accessibility requirements.
Changes from 2.1 to 2.2 (AA)
The draft guidelines introduce 9 new success criteria from version 2.1. 7 of these are AA standard and the ones that will be important to transition our clients from 2.1 to 2.2. These changes address motor disabilities, low vision and cognitive disabilities.
1. Focus appearance
When navigating a website with a keyboard, the indicator to show where you are is more visible and stands out more against the page.
2. Focus not obscured
Ensures that any part of the page a user is focused on is not obscured. For example, by a pop-up or sticky navigation.
3. Dragging movements
Having an alternative to dragging something on a web page using a mouse click and drag. For example, introducing up and down arrows to click on.
4. Target size
All targets like icons and buttons are big enough to click on, especially on touch screens like mobile devices.
5. Consistent help
Where help is available it should be consistently in the same place throughout the website. For example, a live chat or support links are accessible from every web page.
6. Accessible authentication
Making sure there is an alternate way to log in that doesn’t require a cognitive test, such as remembering a password or solving a puzzle.
7. Redundant entry
When you need to re-enter information there is an autocomplete function, unless re-entering the information is essential.
Wrapping up
I hope this has helped to clarify in plainer English than the guidelines what we can expect when 2.2 is released. As soon as it's been released we'll be confirming the exact requirements to meet the guidelines.
