What is WCAG?

What it is

WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines: guidelines for accessible web content. Since 1999 it has been the international standard for digital accessibility, managed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). WCAG was written for websites, but you can also apply the requirements to apps, software and documents.

WCAG is built up in layers:

• 4 principles: perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.
• 13 guidelines: goals under those principles, such as “Enough Time” and “Readable”.
• Success criteria: requirements you can test, each with a number. The first digit is the principle: 1.4.3 belongs to principle 1, perceivable.

How to read a requirement

Take 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum), the requirement for contrast: text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 with the background. The ratio runs from 1:1 (no difference) to 21:1 (black on white). There are exceptions: large text may have 3:1, and text that is only decoration or is part of a logo does not have to meet it. The Colour-blind view works out the ratio for two colours.

Each requirement also comes with techniques: ways to meet it. They are not required, because only the requirement itself counts.

Three levels

• A is the basis.
• AA means: you meet all the requirements of both level A and level AA. This is the usual standard, also in the Dutch rules.
• AAA is the highest level. Do not require it for a whole website, because for some content it is not possible.

WCAG 2.2 has 86 success criteria. For level AA you meet 55 of them: 31 at level A and 24 at level AA.

What conformance means

Conformance is about a whole page: you cannot leave out a part, and the version on a small screen counts too. Does a task consist of several pages, such as signing up in three steps? Then every one of the steps must conform.

WCAG 2.2

WCAG 2.2 was published on 5 October 2023, with an update on 12 December 2024. It added 9 success criteria and dropped one requirement: 4.1.1 Parsing, about correctly built code (see Robust). A website that conforms to WCAG 2.2 also conforms to 2.1 and 2.0.

Six of the new requirements are at level A or AA:

• Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) (2.4.11, AA). If you use the keyboard, the place where you are does not disappear completely behind, for example, a fixed bar.
• Dragging Movements (2.5.7, AA). Anything you do by dragging can also be done with a single click or tap.
• Target Size (Minimum) (2.5.8, AA). Buttons and links are at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels (the unit web developers use), or there is enough space around them.
• Consistent Help (3.2.6, A). Help that appears on several pages, such as a phone number, is always in the same place.
• Redundant Entry (3.3.7, A). What you entered earlier in the same process is already filled in, or you can select it.
• Accessible Authentication (Minimum) (3.3.8, AA). Logging in does not ask you to remember or retype something, unless there is another way or help is provided. For example, because you are allowed to paste your password, or let a password manager fill it in.

The last three mainly help people with a cognitive disability.

And WCAG 3?

There will be a WCAG 3, but it is still an unfinished draft. It is expected to take a few more years before it becomes a standard, and even after that WCAG 2 will still apply for years. So there is no need to wait for WCAG 3.

Why it matters

In the Netherlands, about 4.5 million people have a disability or chronic illness. WCAG gives requirements you can use to test whether your website is accessible to them. If you ask for “WCAG 2.2 level AA”, your web developer knows what you mean, and an auditor can check it.

The rules in the Netherlands

We do not give legal advice. This is the outline:

• Government. Government organisations and bodies governed by public law must make their websites and apps accessible. That is set out in the Besluit digitale toegankelijkheid overheid (the Dutch decree on digital accessibility for government), which refers to WCAG, level A and AA, through the European standard EN 301 549.
• Businesses. Since 28 June 2025, European rules have applied: the European Accessibility Act. They apply, among other things, to websites and apps where consumers buy, order or book something. They cover businesses with 10 or more employees, or more than 2 million euros in annual turnover.
• All service providers. They must gradually make what they offer more accessible, including what they offer digitally. That is set out in the Wet gelijke behandeling op grond van handicap of chronische ziekte (the Dutch act on equal treatment on the grounds of disability or chronic illness).

Which version of WCAG applies depends on the version of EN 301 549. The 2021 version refers to WCAG 2.1. On 2 September 2026 a new version was published, with WCAG 2.2. It counts from the moment the European Commission officially recognises it, which is expected on 16 December 2026. You can already work with WCAG 2.2 now, because then you also meet 2.1.

Example: two quotes for a client portal

You ask for quotes for a client portal for your team. One supplier writes: “Conforms to WCAG 2.1 level A.” The other writes: “Conforms to WCAG 2.2 level AA, audit report attached.”

Level A is only the basis. So the first supplier says nothing about contrast and zooming in, which are level AA requirements. And WCAG 2.1 does not yet have the requirements for logging in and for not entering things twice, while those matter for a portal. So ask the first supplier whether the portal also conforms to WCAG 2.2 level AA, and ask for a report. With the second, check in the report whether logging in and the whole sign-up process were tested too.

Points to watch

• Check which version someone means. Many texts are still about WCAG 2.0 or 2.1. The numbers of existing requirements stayed the same, but 2.2 has new requirements.
• Also test with real visitors. Even a website at level AAA does not work for everyone: people who have difficulty with thinking, language or learning in particular can get stuck.
• Not sure whether a law applies to your organisation? Read the explanations from Digitoegankelijk (the Dutch government’s information service on digital accessibility) and the Autoriteit Consument & Markt (ACM, the Dutch authority for consumers and markets). Then get legal advice.

Find out more

• Making your website accessible: the steps for your organisation.
• The four principles: perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.
• Accessible website checklist
• The text of WCAG 2.2 at W3C ↗
• Digitoegankelijk ↗ (in Dutch)