Before you start
How to use this without wasting a day
Do not start at 1.1.1 and work down. Start with the seven criteria that account for most real failures, then widen. Most of what follows needs only a keyboard, your browser and your eyes.
Test templates, not pages
A thousand product pages share one template. Pick one example of each distinct layout: home, listing, detail, form, cart or enquiry, account, article, search results and error pages.
Unplug your mouse first
The single most revealing test. Tab through a whole journey. If you cannot reach something, cannot see where you are, or get stuck, you have found a Level A failure before opening any tool.
Then zoom to 400 percent
Set the browser to 400 percent at a 1280 pixel width. Content should reflow into one column with no horizontal scrolling and nothing cut off. This finds a surprising number of layout failures quickly.
Automated tools last, not first
Run axe or WAVE after the manual pass, to catch what you missed. They reliably find about a third of failures, and a clean report on an unusable page is common.
The checklist
WCAG 2.2 Level AA, by principle
Open a section to see its criteria. Each entry gives the plain meaning, how to check it, and the failure I find most often in real audits.
Perceivable: 13 criteria
1.1.1 Non-text Content (A)
Every image, icon and control that is not text needs a text alternative that conveys the same information.
How to check: Turn images off, or read the alt attributes. Ask whether somebody hearing only the alt text would learn what the image tells a sighted reader.
Most common failure: Decorative images given long descriptions while meaningful product photos carry the SKU as alt text.
1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) (A)
Recorded video with sound needs synchronised captions.
How to check: Play each video and turn captions on. Auto-generated captions count only if they are accurate and punctuated.
Most common failure: Auto captions left uncorrected, so names and technical terms are wrong.
1.2.3 / 1.2.5 Audio Description (A and AA)
If the video shows information that is not spoken, it needs describing.
How to check: Watch with the screen off. If you lose information, it needs audio description.
Most common failure: Screen recordings and demos where everything important is shown but never said aloud.
1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A)
Structure conveyed visually must also exist in the markup: headings, lists, tables, labels, groups.
How to check: Inspect the HTML. Are headings real headings in order? Are lists real lists? Do tables use th with scope?
Most common failure: Text styled large and bold to look like a heading, but marked up as a paragraph.
1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence (A)
The reading order in the code must make sense.
How to check: Disable CSS, or tab through. Does the order still follow the meaning?
Most common failure: Columns that read correctly on screen but interleave when linearised.
1.3.4 Orientation (AA)
Do not lock content to portrait or landscape.
How to check: Rotate a phone or tablet on each key page.
Most common failure: A booking step that forces landscape.
1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose (AA)
Fields collecting personal data need the right autocomplete attribute.
How to check: Inspect name, email, address and phone fields for autocomplete values.
Most common failure: Autocomplete omitted entirely on checkout and contact forms.
1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (AA)
Text needs 4.5 to 1 against its background, or 3 to 1 if it is large.
How to check: Use a colour contrast analyser on body text, helper text, placeholders, buttons and text over images.
Most common failure: Grey helper text around 3 to 1, and white text on light sale badges.
1.4.4 Resize Text (AA)
Text must scale to 200 percent without loss of content or function.
How to check: Zoom to 200 percent and use the page.
Most common failure: Fixed-height containers that clip text once it grows.
1.4.10 Reflow (AA)
At 400 percent zoom, content reflows to one column with no two-dimensional scrolling.
How to check: Browser at 1280 pixels wide, zoom to 400 percent.
Most common failure: Wide data tables and code blocks that force horizontal scrolling of the whole page.
1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (AA)
Interface components and meaningful graphics need 3 to 1.
How to check: Check input borders, focus rings, toggle states, icon buttons and chart lines.
Most common failure: Pale grey input borders that vanish against white.
1.4.12 Text Spacing (AA)
Content must survive increased line, word and letter spacing.
How to check: Apply the standard text-spacing bookmarklet and look for clipping.
Most common failure: Buttons with fixed heights that cut off text once spacing increases.
1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus (AA)
Tooltips and popovers must be dismissible, hoverable and persistent.
How to check: Hover a tooltip, move the pointer onto it, then press Escape.
Most common failure: Tooltips that disappear the moment the pointer moves, so they cannot be read at magnification.
Operable: 13 criteria
2.1.1 Keyboard (A)
Everything usable with a mouse must work with a keyboard.
How to check: Unplug the mouse and complete a full journey.
Most common failure: Custom dropdowns and sliders built from divs with click handlers only.
2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap (A)
Focus must always be able to move away.
How to check: Tab into every widget, especially modals, video players and embeds, and try to tab out.
Most common failure: Modals that keep focus after closing, or embedded players that swallow Tab.
2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (A)
Provide a way past repeated navigation.
How to check: Load a page and press Tab once. A skip link should appear and work.
Most common failure: A skip link that is present but visually hidden even on focus, or that does not move focus.
2.4.2 Page Titled (A)
Each page needs a unique descriptive title.
How to check: Read the browser tab on ten pages.
Most common failure: Every page titled with the site name alone.
2.4.3 Focus Order (A)
Tab order must follow a meaningful sequence.
How to check: Tab through and watch where focus goes.
Most common failure: Focus jumping to the footer mid-page because of DOM order, or into hidden off-canvas menus.
2.4.4 Link Purpose (A)
Link text must make sense on its own.
How to check: List every link on the page and read them out of context.
Most common failure: Repeated “Read more” and “Click here” with no distinguishing text.
2.4.5 Multiple Ways (AA)
Offer more than one route to a page.
How to check: Check for search, a sitemap or navigation alternatives.
Most common failure: Search-only sites with no sitemap, or deep pages reachable only from one menu.
2.4.6 Headings and Labels (AA)
Headings and labels must describe what follows.
How to check: Read headings alone and ask whether they outline the page.
Most common failure: Headings used for styling, so the outline reads as nonsense.
2.4.7 Focus Visible (AA)
Keyboard focus must be clearly visible.
How to check: Tab through and watch for the focus indicator on every control.
Most common failure: outline:none applied globally for appearance, with nothing put back.
2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (AA, new in 2.2)
The focused element must not be completely hidden by other content.
How to check: Tab down a long page and watch for sticky headers, footers and cookie bars covering focus.
Most common failure: Sticky headers that hide the focused field on scroll.
2.5.3 Label in Name (A)
The accessible name must contain the visible label text.
How to check: Compare visible button text with its accessible name.
Most common failure: A button reading “Submit” with aria-label “Send form”, which breaks voice control.
2.5.7 Dragging Movements (AA, new in 2.2)
Anything using dragging needs a single-pointer alternative.
How to check: Find every drag interaction and look for buttons that do the same thing.
Most common failure: Sliders, reorderable lists and map panning with drag as the only option.
2.5.8 Target Size Minimum (AA, new in 2.2)
Targets should be at least 24 by 24 pixels, with exceptions.
How to check: Measure small icon buttons, close buttons and pagination.
Most common failure: Close buttons and social icons around 16 pixels, set close together.
Understandable: 9 criteria
3.1.1 / 3.1.2 Language of Page and Parts (A and AA)
Declare the page language, and mark passages in another language.
How to check: Check the lang attribute on html, and on any quoted foreign text.
Most common failure: lang missing entirely, so screen readers use the wrong pronunciation rules.
3.2.1 / 3.2.2 On Focus and On Input (A)
Focusing or changing a field must not trigger an unexpected change of context.
How to check: Tab into every control and change every select without pressing anything else.
Most common failure: A select that navigates to a new page the moment you change it with arrow keys.
3.2.3 / 3.2.4 Consistent Navigation and Identification (AA)
Navigation stays in the same order, and the same thing is named the same way everywhere.
How to check: Compare the header and footer across templates.
Most common failure: A search icon labelled “Search” on one template and “Find” on another.
3.2.6 Consistent Help (A, new in 2.2)
If help is offered, it appears in the same relative place on every page.
How to check: Look for contact links, chat and help across templates.
Most common failure: A chat launcher that appears only on some pages, in different positions.
3.3.1 Error Identification (A)
Errors must be identified in text and describe what is wrong.
How to check: Submit forms with bad data and read the messages.
Most common failure: A red border and nothing else, or a message saying only “invalid”.
3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (A)
Every field needs a visible label, and formats must be explained.
How to check: Look at every input for a persistent visible label.
Most common failure: Placeholder text used as the label, so the prompt disappears on typing.
3.3.3 Error Suggestion (AA)
If you know how to fix it, say so.
How to check: Trigger validation errors and see whether they tell you what to do.
Most common failure: “Invalid date” with no indication that it must be in the future.
3.3.4 Error Prevention (AA)
For legal, financial or data submissions, allow review, correction or reversal.
How to check: Walk through checkout and account deletion.
Most common failure: No confirmation step before an irreversible action.
3.3.7 Redundant Entry (A, new in 2.2)
Do not ask for the same information twice in one process.
How to check: Complete a multi-step form and watch for repeated fields.
Most common failure: Shipping address re-typed as billing with no “same as” option.
Robust: 2 criteria
4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A)
Every control must expose its name, role and state to assistive technology.
How to check: Inspect the accessibility tree. Does each control announce what it is and its current state?
Most common failure: Buttons built from spans with no role, and accordions that never announce expanded or collapsed.
4.1.3 Status Messages (AA)
Status updates must be announced without moving focus.
How to check: Add to cart, filter results, submit a form, and listen.
Most common failure: A cart count that changes silently, and search results that update with no announcement.
Note: 4.1.1 Parsing was removed in WCAG 2.2. Valid markup still matters, but it is no longer a separate criterion.
Priority
The seven that fail most often
If you have one afternoon rather than one week, check these. In my audits they account for the large majority of what I find, and they are the items most often cited in demand letters.
- 1.1.1 Non-text content. Images without useful alternative text. The most cited item in demand letters, and usually the fastest to put right.
- 1.4.3 Contrast. Grey helper text, pale buttons, white text on light badges. Automated scanners find these first, which is why letters cite them first.
- 1.3.1 Info and relationships. Headings that are not headings, lists that are not lists, tables without header cells. Breaks navigation for screen reader users.
- 2.4.7 Focus visible. Focus outlines removed for appearance. Makes keyboard use guesswork on every page of the site.
- 4.1.2 Name, role, value. Custom components that announce nothing. The single biggest cause of unusable interfaces for screen reader users.
- 3.3.2 Labels or instructions. Placeholder text used instead of a real label, so the prompt vanishes the moment somebody types.
- 2.1.1 Keyboard. Controls that only respond to a mouse. A Level A failure, and it blocks people completely rather than inconveniencing them.
After the checklist
What a checklist cannot tell you
Working through this will find real problems, and that is worth doing. It is also worth being clear about the limits.
Whether an alternative is genuinely equivalent
A checklist confirms that alternative text exists. It cannot tell you whether “navy jacket” is adequate where the pattern is the reason somebody is buying. That judgement needs a person who understands both the content and the user.
Whether the experience actually works
Every criterion can pass while the page remains miserable to use. Conformance is the floor, not the goal. The only way to know is to watch the journey completed with a screen reader end to end.
How your components behave in real assistive technology
JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver and TalkBack interpret the same markup differently. Something that reads correctly in one can be silent in another, and no checklist captures that.
If you want to see what this produces in practice, the published case studies list the real findings from real sites.
FAQ
WCAG 2.2 checklist – frequently asked questions
How many success criteria are in WCAG 2.2 Level AA?
Fifty-five, counting Level A and Level AA together. WCAG 2.2 added nine new criteria over 2.1 and removed one, 4.1.1 Parsing, which was retired as obsolete. Meeting 2.2 AA means you also meet 2.1 AA and 2.0 AA.
Can I check all of these myself?
You can check a good number of them, and this page is arranged so you can work through the ones that need only a keyboard and your eyes. Some criteria need a screen reader and experience of how assistive technology behaves, and a few need judgement about whether an alternative is genuinely equivalent. Use the checklist to find obvious problems and to understand the standard, not as a substitute for testing.
Which criteria do sites fail most often?
In my audits the recurring failures are 1.1.1 non-text content, 1.4.3 contrast, 1.3.1 info and relationships, 2.4.7 focus visible, 4.1.2 name role value, 3.3.2 labels or instructions and 2.1.1 keyboard. Between them these account for most of what I find on a typical site.
What is new in WCAG 2.2?
Nine criteria. At Level AA the notable additions are 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured, 2.5.7 Dragging Movements, 2.5.8 Target Size Minimum, 3.2.6 Consistent Help and 3.3.7 Redundant Entry. Sticky headers covering the focused element and drag-only interfaces are the two that catch most sites.
Do I need AAA?
Almost never as a whole-site target. No law requires AAA, and some AAA criteria are impossible for certain content types. Meet AA properly, then adopt individual AAA criteria such as 1.4.6 enhanced contrast where they suit your audience.
Is a checklist enough to be compliant?
No, and it is worth being plain about that. A checklist tells you what to look for. Conformance is determined by testing each criterion against your actual pages, with the assistive technology real people use. The checklist is where you start, not where you finish.
Next step
Want the same checklist run against your site?
Send your website address and I will reply in writing within one working day with the criteria your site currently fails and what a full audit would cover.