Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2

The main changes in the success criteria, and what applying them means for user experience (UX). Why accessibility matters for private companies and for the public sector.

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The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are shared international guidelines that define the criteria online content should meet in order to be accessible. The aim is to make websites, applications and digital services usable by anyone, regardless of their sensory, motor or cognitive characteristics, or of the presence of more than one disability.

It is worth remembering that digital accessibility concerns everyone, not only people with disabilities — think of older people, or of anyone who finds themselves temporarily with reduced ability.

These guidelines are recommendations of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and are part of the web standards developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), which since 1998 has worked on several versions of the WCAG, up to version 2.2, released on 5 October 2023.

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Basic principles, levels and success criteria of the WCAG

Here is a brief summary of how the WCAG are organised and how they work. They rest on four fundamental principles for accessible web content:

• Perceivable — The content must be presented so that it can be perceived by anyone, including people with visual or hearing disabilities.
• Operable — People must be able to interact with content and user interfaces, including with different input devices.
• Understandable — The content must be understandable even for less experienced users, and complex operations must be simplified.
• Robust — The content must work consistently across a variety of technologies, including assistive devices and software.

The current 13 guidelines are organised on the basis of these principles. For each guideline, there are also success criteria: testable requirements used to check whether content conforms.

There are three conformance levels for the WCAG: A (minimum), AA (medium) and AAA (maximum). For example, a web page can have conformance level A if it meets all the success criteria indicated for that level. Not every aspect of a website needs to reach the same conformance level.

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A further step forward for web accessibility

WCAG 2.2 is the latest version of the guidelines for the accessibility of web content, developed between 2020 and 2023.

Personas and examples to make things clearer

The new version aims to be more thorough and concrete: examples and quotations based on personas are provided for each success criterion, to help explain certain aspects; and additional documents have been prepared in which the requirements are explained in more detail and with more examples.

New success criteria for greater accessibility

Nine new success criteria were introduced, added to address specific accessibility challenges in mobile applications and websites. Among the most relevant:

Focus not obscured: elements that receive focus during keyboard navigation should not be completely hidden by other content on the page. People who rely on keyboard navigation need to see clearly which element is currently focused.

Dragging movements: functions that require dragging must also be accessible to people with motor difficulties, which means offering alternatives that do not require dragging movements.

Target size: the size and spacing of clickable elements must be adequate, to reduce the likelihood of accidental selections and improve the user experience.

Consistent help: when help is present on more than one page, it should be placed in the same position on each page. People who need help will find it more easily.

Accessible authentication: authentication processes must be accessible to people with cognitive disabilities, by offering alternative methods or assistance mechanisms.

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Why WCAG 2.2 matters for the public administration and for private companies

The WCAG have been adopted as a reference by several laws around the world, to guarantee everyone’s right to access the internet and digital services.

In Italy, law no. 4 of 9 January 2004 (also known as the Stanca Law) guarantees digital accessibility to services and information without discrimination, including for “those who, because of disability, need assistive technologies or particular configurations”. In particular, the law requires that public administration websites be accessible to everyone and that they conform to the WCAG.

In addition, Directive (EU) 2016/2102 establishes that public administrations and other addressees (for example public bodies or private companies running public services under concession) must apply the WCAG to mobile applications as well.

To conform, public administrations and public bodies must carry out a conformance check of the mobile application against the European technical standard EN 301 549 v. 2.1.2 and prepare an accessibility statement. The accessibility statement must be made available to users, preferably on the website of the public body or the company.

As for private organisations, at the time of writing not all of them have a legal obligation to meet accessibility requirements. However, the European Accessibility Act (EAA), Directive (EU) 2019/882, implemented in Italy by Legislative Decree No. 82 of 27 May 2022, has since 28 June 2025 required providers of the products and services within its scope — for example e-commerce, consumer banking and certain transport services — to bring those products and services into line with accessibility requirements. It does not cover every private company’s website or app. Microenterprises that provide services — fewer than ten people and annual turnover or balance-sheet total not exceeding two million euros — are exempt from the obligations on services.

In any case, it is worth remembering that accessible websites and applications are a competitive advantage for companies, because they widen the number of people who can be reached and make it simpler to sell products and services, as well as improving the user experience in general.

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The user experience design process and the application of the WCAG

User experience and accessibility are closely related. To offer satisfying and intuitive experiences for everyone, you have to design solutions that are also accessible to as many people as possible and that take their characteristics and limitations into account — not only in terms of accessibility, but also of usability and inclusion.

To reach these goals, it is essential that access to content is integrated into the user experience design process from its earliest stages. In this way, the design team can identify and resolve accessibility issues in time, or design accessibly from the start.

Accessibility audit

In agencies such as Conflux, accessibility specialists carry out careful audits of clients’ websites, portals and mobile applications, checking conformance with the success criteria set out in the WCAG through an in-depth analysis.

Accessibility audits are useful for:

• giving the design team guidance for building accessible solutions;
• checking that changes and updates made to an app or a website meet the success criteria.

Accessibility audits use both automated tools and manual checks. During the accessibility review, it is important to consider several aspects, such as the user interface, keyboard navigation, accessibility for screen readers and interoperability with assistive technology. The aim is to identify any obstacles to accessibility.

Tests with people with disabilities

Testing a website or an app with people with disabilities offers an important perspective and makes it possible to identify accessibility problems that automated tools might miss.

By involving directly the people who may have difficulty accessing and using the content, we can check the impact of the solutions designed and obtain new insights to improve accessibility further.

Knowing the people who use the product

Understanding what different limitations imply helps prevent design errors and break down digital barriers.

Simulations can be a good way of getting a concrete sense of these limitations: navigating with a keyboard and using screen readers help the designer put themselves in the other person’s place, and create more accessible products.

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To sum up

The guidance in WCAG 2.2 is an important instrument for guaranteeing the accessibility of mobile applications and websites to everyone, including people with visual, hearing, motor or cognitive disabilities.

For public administrations and private companies, adopting WCAG 2.2 is a fundamental step, not only in order to comply with the law, but also to improve people’s experience of their products and services.

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Does your site conform to WCAG 2.2? With the European Accessibility Act in force from 28 June 2025, checking is no longer something that can be postponed: request an accessibility audit aligned with the European Accessibility Act — a WCAG 2.2 AA conformance report, prioritised issues and a remediation roadmap.

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