WCAG 2.2 · Conformance level
Level A
Level A is the floor of WCAG, and its 31 criteria describe barriers rather than inconveniences. An image with no text alternative gives a blind reader nothing at all. A menu that only opens on hover shuts out anyone working from a keyboard. A form field with no label leaves a screen reader announcing "edit text" and nothing else. Each of these locks a group of people out of the page rather than slowing them down.
Every Level AA claim contains all 31 of these plus 24 more, so one Level A failure takes the AA claim down with it. The standard does leave one other route, a conforming alternate version of the page, and almost nobody builds one. Four of the criteria here work differently again. Audio that starts on its own, a keyboard trap, flashing content, and movement you cannot stop apply to everything on a page, including the parts you are not relying on for conformance. All four sit at Level A, which is the clearest sign of what this level is for.
- Level A rules
- 31
- Perceivable
- 9
- Operable
- 14
- Understandable
- 7
- Robust
- 1
14 of these 31 rules can only be verified by a person, on our own classification of what machines can and cannot check.
Perceivable9 Level A rules
- 1.1.1Level ANon-text ContentEvery piece of non-text content that carries meaning needs a text alternative serving the same purpose.Partly scannable39 fixes
- 1.2.1Level AAudio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded)A recording with only sound needs a text alternative carrying the same information.Human testing6 fixes
- 1.2.2Level ACaptions (Prerecorded)Every prerecorded video with sound needs synchronized captions.Partly scannable8 fixes
- 1.2.3Level AAudio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded)Where a video shows something that matters and never says it out loud, WCAG 1.2.3 gives you a choice.Human testing13 fixes
- 1.3.1Level AInfo and RelationshipsWhatever a sighted reader works out from the way a page looks has to be recoverable another way.Partly scannable52 fixes
- 1.3.2Level AMeaningful SequenceWhen the order content is presented in affects what it means, a correct reading order has to be recoverable from the code.Human testing12 fixes
- 1.3.3Level ASensory CharacteristicsInstructions for understanding or operating a page cannot lean only on how something looks, where it sits, which way it is turned, or what it sounds like.Human testing3 fixes
- 1.4.1Level AUse of ColorColor cannot be the only visual thing telling you something.Human testing9 fixes
- 1.4.2Level AAudio ControlIf any audio on a page plays by itself for more than three seconds, you owe the user one of two things.Partly scannable5 fixes
Operable14 Level A rules
- 2.1.1Level AKeyboardEvery function on the page has to be operable through a keyboard interface.Partly scannable13 fixes
- 2.1.2Level ANo Keyboard TrapFocus that can get into something has to be able to get back out of it, and the rule gives two ways to satisfy that.Partly scannable2 fixes
- 2.1.4Level ACharacter Key ShortcutsIf your site fires an action from a single printable character, one of three things has to be true.Human testing2 fixes
- 2.2.1Level ATiming AdjustableWhere the content sets a time limit, six things can satisfy this rule and any one of them is enough.Partly scannable11 fixes
- 2.2.2Level APause, Stop, HideMotion that starts on its own, runs longer than five seconds and sits alongside other content needs a way for the user to pause, stop or hide it.Partly scannable11 fixes
- 2.3.1Level AThree Flashes or Below ThresholdNothing on the page may flash more than three times in any one second, and the way past that is to keep the flash below the general flash and red flash thresholds.Partly scannable3 fixes
- 2.4.1Level ABypass BlocksA mechanism has to exist for getting past blocks of content that repeat from page to page, and that mechanism can take more than one shape.Partly scannable10 fixes
- 2.4.2Level APage TitledA page needs a title that describes its topic or its purpose.Partly scannable5 fixes
- 2.4.3Level AFocus OrderWhere a page can be tabbed through and the order changes what it means or how it works, focus has to move in an order that preserves both.Human testing8 fixes
- 2.4.4Level ALink Purpose (In Context)A link's purpose has to be clear from its own text, or from its text plus the context the code puts it in.Partly scannable22 fixes
- 2.5.1Level APointer GesturesAnything a multipoint or path-based gesture does has to be reachable with a single pointer that does not depend on the path, unless the gesture is genuinely essential.Human testing3 fixes
- 2.5.2Level APointer CancellationFor anything operated with a single pointer, one of four things has to be true.Human testing3 fixes
- 2.5.3Level ALabel in NameWhere a control has a visible label made of text, its accessible name has to contain that text.Partly scannable5 fixes
- 2.5.4Level AMotion ActuationTwo things are required together here, not one.Human testing2 fixes
Understandable7 Level A rules
- 3.1.1Level ALanguage of PageEvery page has to declare its main language in a way software can read, and on the web that means one attribute on the html element.Scanner-detectable4 fixes
- 3.2.1Level AOn FocusLanding focus on something must never change the context on its own.Human testing2 fixes
- 3.2.2Level AOn InputChanging a setting must not change the context on its own, unless you told the user it would before they touched the control.Human testing8 fixes
- 3.2.6Level ANew in 2.2Consistent HelpThis one is new in WCAG 2.2, and it is conditional.Human testing1 fixes
- 3.3.1Level AError IdentificationWhen a form rejects something, the page has to say which field is wrong and what is wrong with it, in text.Partly scannable13 fixes
- 3.3.2Level ALabels or InstructionsEvery field that takes input needs a label or an instruction, and the rule means every field rather than only the required ones.Partly scannable17 fixes
- 3.3.7Level ANew in 2.2Redundant EntryNew in WCAG 2.2, and it says you cannot make somebody type the same thing twice inside one process.Human testing1 fixes
Robust1 Level A rule
Level AA: the standard laws actually cite
AA conformance requires all 31 Level A rules plus 24 more, and it is the bar ADA cases and the European Accessibility Act measure against.
See how your site does against these rules.
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