Deque Systems congratulates the W3C Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (AGWG) members on the official release of the new Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2, which were released October 5 at 8:39 am EST. With more employees actively working to develop WCAG 2.2 within the W3C than any other business, we’re thrilled to see the guidelines continue to evolve and address long standing needs for people with disabilities. As businesses conform to these new standards, their websites and applications will become accessible to millions of additional users around the world.
The Nine new WCAG Success Criteria
WCAG 2.2 adds nine new Success Criteria. Here is a quick summary table of the names of the new requirements, the level and who will primarily benefits from each:
| # | ID | Success Criterion Name | Level | Benefits Cognitive | Benefits Fine Motor | Benefits Low Vision |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2.4.11 | Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) | AA | X | X | X |
| 2 | 2.4.12 | Focus Not Obscured (Enhanced) | AAA | X | X | X |
| 3 | 2.4.13 | Focus Appearance | AAA | X | X | X |
| 4 | 2.5.7 | Dragging Movements | AA | X | ||
| 5 | 2.5.8 | Target Size (Minimum) | AA | X | ||
| 6 | 3.2.6 | Consistent Help | A | X | ||
| 7 | 3.3.7 | Redundant Entry | A | X | ||
| 8 | 3.3.8 | Accessible Authentication (Minimum) | AA | X | ||
| 9 | 3.3.9 | Accessible Authentication (Enhanced) | AAA | X |
Progress for people with cognitive disabilities
Solving accessibility barriers for people with cognitive challenges was a primary focus of WCAG 2.2, and seven of the nine new success criteria help this disability type. Securely simpler authentication, reduction of redundant entry, consistent location for help, and clear focus indicators will allow more people with cognitive differences to have equal access. While this is a good step forward, there is still so much more work to be done. Deque is deeply committed to help the web and world transform neurodiversity into amazing accessibility and universal design opportunities.
Help for people with fine motor disabilities
Five of the new Success Criteria will benefit people with dexterity limitations. For people who can’t use a mouse and must rely on a keyboard or other alternative input device, the new focus indicator requirements will remove crucial accessibility barriers. Adding a minimum target size and a dragging movement requirement to AA will also help ensure that people with fine motor disabilities can independently interact with the digital world.
Removing barriers for low vision and color blind
People with low vision and/or color blindness will directly benefit from three of the new WCAG 2.2 Success Criteria one of which is at the A/AA level. Being able to see the focus indicator is critical to people who don’t have 20/20 vision and/or don’t have full perception of colors. How common is low vision and color blindness? Low vision impacts approximately 6 million people in the United States alone according to the Center for Disease Control’s Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System. And color blindness impacts around 300 million people around the world.
How can Deque help you with WCAG 2.2 conformance?
Deque accessibility experts have the knowledge and skills today to help you with WCAG 2.2 conformance. Because we helped build WCAG 2.2 and were actively involved in implementation testing, we’re among a small group of accessibility professionals ready to help you now. In fact, our own Deque University was one of the first test cases to showcase the ability to meet the new WCAG 2.2 standard.
Deque University listed among WCAG 2.2 implementation test sites.
Looking for training on the new standards? Deque University covers WCAG 2.2 Success Criteria in coursework today.
Deque’s commitment to ongoing WCAG standards support
Deque services, training, and tools are continually updated with the latest in WCAG requirements. With immediate support of WCAG 2.2 across our services and training and inclusion of automated rulesets in our accessibility testing library axe-core, we hope you share our excitement for this advancement of the accessibility industry. Contact us if you’d like help with WCAG 2.2 now.
About Deque Systems
Deque (pronounced dee-cue) is a digital accessibility software and services company, and our mission is Digital Equality. We believe everyone, regardless of their ability, should have equal access to the information, services, applications, and everything else on the web. We work with enterprise-level businesses and organizations to ensure that their sites and mobile apps are accessible. Installed in over 475,000 browsers and with over 5,000 audit projects completed, Deque is the industry standard.
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News Media Contacts
At Deque:
Ryan Bateman, +1-703-225-0380, marketing@deque.com
At Deque Europe:
Ron Beenen, +31 30 799 5009, ron.beenen@deque.com
At Deque APAC & MENA:
Abin Roy Choudhury, +91 9000189666, abin.choudhury@deque.com