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A WCAG 2.1 AA Audit, for When the Contract Names the Older Number

For the team whose contract, regulator, or settlement names WCAG 2.1 AA, and who wants that box ticked without pretending 2.2 does not exist.

What We Keep Finding

Plenty of paperwork still says 2.1, and it is not laziness. The two biggest US web accessibility rules both name it. The DOJ's Title II rule sets WCAG 2.1 Level AA for state and local government, and the HHS Section 504 rule sets WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA for recipients of federal health money. The European harmonised standard points at 2.1 as well. Meanwhile the living standard is 2.2. So which one do you audit against?

Both, in one pass, and it costs nothing extra to do it properly. W3C designed the versions to be backwards compatible and says so without qualification. Content that conforms to WCAG 2.2 also conforms to 2.1 and to 2.0, and 2.2 does not supersede 2.1. Underneath, 2.2 carries over every A and AA rule from 2.1 but one, the retired parsing rule, and that exception is the whole of the small print. Where a regulation rather than a contract names 2.1, the parsing rule comes with it, because a regulation freezes the text it cites. So we audit all 55 rules of 2.2, check parsing on top where a dated rule binds you, and tag each finding that sits inside 2.1 scope. Your report answers the contract's exact question, and it tells you what the newer standard adds, so nothing ambushes you at renewal.

What We Check

  • Audit all 55 WCAG 2.2 A and AA rules, with the 2.1 set riding inside
  • Tag every finding that falls in 2.1 AA scope, ready for the paperwork
  • Note what 2.2 adds beyond your named standard, so renewals hold no surprises
  • Test with a real blind screen-reader user, in the pairing your named standard is read against
  • Deliver rule-by-rule pass or fail your client or regulator can read cold

What You Get

Every service on this site runs the same three-pass engine: an automated scan, an expert review of all 55 WCAG 2.2 A and AA rules, and a hands-on session with a professional blind screen-reader user. You get one report with every finding screenshotted, ranked by user impact, and linked to its fix. Your team fixes, we verify: the re-audit is half price within 3 months.

The format is not a mystery either. Read the sample report before you spend anything.

The Honest Limit

One honest limit, and it turns on which copy of the standard your reviewer is holding. The rule 2.2 dropped is 4.1.1, and the current text of WCAG 2.1 deems it always satisfied, so on the living standard there is nothing left to test. US federal rules incorporate WCAG 2.1 at its dated June 2018 address, and that version has no always-satisfied note, so to a reviewer reading that text 4.1.1 is a live Level A rule. The answer is still in your favor, because what 4.1.1 failed on was duplicate IDs and badly nested markup, and every modern browser recovers from both, which is exactly why it was retired. The report gives you that explanation in writing rather than assuming which text you will be asked about.

What It Costs

Rapid Audit: $499, up to 10 pages you pick, report in 5 business days. Standard Audit: $1,499, up to 25 pages in 10 business days. Flat rates, no discovery calls, and a real blind screen-reader user on every engagement. Pick your pages. We bring the humans.

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