WCAG 2.2 Reference
A practical index of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines principles, conformance levels, and testing responsibilities.
Updated 2026-08-12
Four Principles
| Principle | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| Perceivable | Can people perceive the information through the senses and adaptations available to them? |
| Operable | Can people operate controls and navigate using supported input methods without harmful timing or motion barriers? |
| Understandable | Is the content readable and is interface behavior predictable with useful error prevention and recovery? |
| Robust | Can browsers and assistive technologies determine the intended name, role, value, and relationships? |
Conformance Levels
| Level | Meaning |
|---|---|
| A | Addresses foundational barriers. A page that fails Level A cannot conform at AA or AAA. |
| AA | Includes every Level A and AA success criterion and is the common policy and procurement target. |
| AAA | Includes A, AA, and AAA criteria. WCAG does not recommend requiring AAA for an entire site as a general policy. |
Common Checks
| Area | Check |
|---|---|
| Text alternatives | Provide equivalent alternatives for meaningful non-text content and hide decorative content appropriately. |
| Keyboard | Complete every interaction without a pointing device, preserve visible focus, and avoid keyboard traps. |
| Structure | Use meaningful headings, landmarks, labels, instructions, relationships, and reading order. |
| Color and contrast | Meet applicable contrast requirements and do not rely on color alone to convey information. |
| Reflow and zoom | Keep content and controls usable when text is resized, zoomed, or displayed in a narrow viewport. |
| Forms and errors | Identify inputs and errors clearly, offer correction guidance, and protect important submissions from avoidable mistakes. |
| Motion and time | Allow users to pause applicable movement, avoid seizure risks, and provide control over time limits where required. |
| Names and roles | Expose accurate accessible names, roles, states, values, status messages, and relationships. |
Testing Strategy
Automated testing can detect certain missing names, invalid relationships, and measurable contrast failures, but it cannot establish complete WCAG conformance.
Combine automated checks with keyboard testing, zoom and reflow testing, screen-reader inspection, content review, and evaluation by people with disabilities. Record the browser, assistive technology, viewport, test procedure, and exact success criterion for reproducible findings.