WCAG 2.2 for marketing sites: the nine new criteria, in plain terms

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines sit behind most accessibility law and most procurement checklists. Version 2.2 became a W3C Recommendation on 5 October 2023. It keeps everything in 2.1, adds nine success criteria and removes one, 4.1.1 Parsing, which modern browsers had made obsolete.^{1 2} Most of the new criteria help people who use a keyboard, people with limited dexterity and people with cognitive disabilities, and most of the failures we find on marketing sites come from a handful of familiar components.

The six at levels A and AA

2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) · AA

When an element receives keyboard focus, it must not be entirely hidden by content the author created.³ The usual culprits are sticky headers, chat launchers and cookie banners sitting on top of the link a keyboard user just tabbed to. Scroll padding the height of the sticky header fixes most of it; banners should leave room for the content they would otherwise cover.

/* keep focused elements clear of a 72px sticky header and a cookie bar */
html {
  scroll-padding-top: 88px;
  scroll-padding-bottom: 120px;
}

2.5.7 Dragging Movements · AA

Anything that works by dragging needs a single-pointer alternative, unless dragging is essential.² Carousels that only swipe, sliders without buttons or an input, and drag-to-reorder lists all need a way to do the same thing with taps or clicks.

2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) · AA

Pointer targets must be at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels, or be spaced so that a 24-pixel circle centred on each does not touch another target. Links inside a sentence and controls the browser draws itself are exempt.⁴ Footer link lists, social icons and close buttons are where this usually fails. On our own sites we make standalone tap targets 44 pixels on phones, which clears the criterion with room to spare.

3.2.6 Consistent Help · A

If help is offered on several pages (a contact link, a phone number, a chat, a help centre) it must appear in the same relative order each time.² Put it in the shared header or footer and leave it there.

3.3.7 Redundant Entry · A

In a multi-step process, do not ask for information the person already gave in the same process. Fill it in or let them select it, unless re-entering it is essential, needed for security, or the earlier answer is no longer valid.² Shipping and billing addresses are the classic case.

3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (Minimum) · AA

Signing in must not depend on a cognitive function test, such as remembering a password, solving a puzzle or transcribing characters, unless there is an alternative, a mechanism that helps, or the test is recognising objects or the person’s own content.⁵ Allow paste and password managers in password and code fields, and offer passkeys or an emailed link where you can.

The three at AAA

• 2.4.12 Focus Not Obscured (Enhanced): no part of the focused element is hidden by author content.
• 2.4.13 Focus Appearance: the focus indicator meets a minimum size and contrast against its unfocused state.
• 3.3.9 Accessible Authentication (Enhanced): no cognitive function test at all, without the object-recognition and personal-content exceptions.

Why it matters beyond a checklist

Accessible sites are easier for everyone to use: bigger targets, focus you can see and forms that remember what you typed help people on a train with one hand free as much as anyone. The law is moving too. In the EU, the European Accessibility Act has applied since 28 June 2025 to many consumer-facing products and services, including e-commerce.⁶ Building to WCAG 2.2 AA from the first sprint costs far less than retrofitting a launched site.

• Tab through every template with the sticky header and the cookie banner showing.
• Measure footer links, icon buttons and close buttons against 24 by 24 pixels.
• Operate every carousel, slider and map with single clicks only.
• Fill each multi-step form and note anything you are asked twice.
• Sign in with a password manager, and paste a one-time code.

We build to WCAG 2.2 AA by default in Experience Design & Development, and audit existing sites against it in Audits & Assessments.