W3C Publishes WCAG 2.1 & 2.2: Evolving Standards for Digital Accessibility

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), overseen by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), are technical standards for creating an equal user experience for people with disabilities.

The W3C WAI has been actively updating the WCAGs by adding new success criteria, which are specific, testable requirements ensuring web content is accessible to people with disabilities and organized under the principles of Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. Below is an overview of WCAG 2.1 and WCAG 2.2 updates:

WCAG 2.1

WCAG 2.1 was published on June 5, 2018, and is an official W3C recommendation. WCAG 2.1 extends on WCAG 2.0 by adding criteria to address mobile accessibility, low vision, and cognitive disabilities. The additional success criteria are to improve accessibility for more users.

WCAG 2.2

WCAG 2.2 was published on December 14, 2022, and is an official W3C recommendation. WCAG 2.2 builds upon WCAG 2.1 by introducing nine new success criteria to the existing guidelines.

Following these new guidelines continues to improve digital access regarding mobile accessibility, low vision, and cognitive and learning disabilities.

For the most current and detailed information, it’s always best to refer to the official W3C WCAG Overview page.