Website Accessibility (WCAG 2.2): A Guide for UK Businesses

Millions of people in the UK live with a disability, and many more have temporary or situational limitations — a broken arm, bright sunlight on a phone screen, or a slow connection. Website accessibility means designing so that everyone can use your site. It's the right thing to do, it widens your audience, and it often improves SEO and conversions too.

What is WCAG?

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the international standard for accessible websites, published by the W3C. The current version, WCAG 2.2, was published in October 2023. Most organisations aim for level AA. You can read the official WCAG 2.2 quick reference.

WCAG is organised around four principles — content must be:

• Perceivable — users can see or hear it (for example text alternatives for images, captions for video);
• Operable — it works with a keyboard, touch and assistive technology;
• Understandable — clear language, predictable navigation, helpful error messages;
• Robust — it works with current and future browsers and assistive tools.

Is accessibility a legal requirement in the UK?

Under the Equality Act 2010, service providers must make reasonable adjustments so disabled people aren't put at a substantial disadvantage — and that's widely understood to include websites and apps. Public sector bodies have specific legal duties under the 2018 accessibility regulations, including publishing an accessibility statement. Meeting WCAG 2.2 AA is the clearest way to show you've taken accessibility seriously. (This isn't legal advice — take advice for your specific situation.)

The most common accessibility problems

1. Low colour contrast — light grey text on white is hard to read for many people.
2. Missing alternative text on meaningful images.
3. Forms without proper labels, or errors that are only shown in red.
4. Keyboard traps and menus that can't be used without a mouse.
5. Invisible focus — users can't see which element is selected when tabbing.
6. Vague link text such as "click here" or "read more".
7. Poor heading structure — headings chosen for size rather than meaning.
8. Small touch targets that are hard to tap on mobile.

Quick wins you can make today

• Check text contrast — aim for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.
• Add descriptive alt text to informative images; use empty alt text for purely decorative ones.
• Make sure every form field has a visible label, and errors explain how to fix them.
• Use one H1 per page and a logical H2/H3 structure.
• Write descriptive link text that makes sense on its own.
• Never rely on colour alone to convey meaning.
• Add captions to videos.
• Make sure the site works when zoomed to 200%.

What's new in WCAG 2.2?

WCAG 2.2 added criteria that especially help people with motor, cognitive and visual impairments, including:

• Focus not obscured — sticky headers and banners mustn't hide the focused element.
• Target size (minimum) — interactive targets need to be large enough or well spaced.
• Dragging movements — anything that needs dragging must have a simple alternative.
• Accessible authentication — logins shouldn't rely on memory puzzles; allow password managers and copy-paste.
• Consistent help — help options appear in the same place across pages.
• Redundant entry — don't make users re-enter information they've already given.

How to test your website

1. Automated checks — tools such as Lighthouse or browser accessibility extensions catch many issues quickly.
2. Keyboard test — put the mouse away and use Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter and Space to complete key tasks.
3. Screen reader test — try NVDA (Windows) or VoiceOver (Mac and iPhone) on your main pages.
4. Zoom and mobile test — zoom to 200% and check nothing breaks.
5. Real users — testing with disabled users gives insights no tool can.

Automated tools find only part of the problems, so manual testing is essential.

Accessibility helps SEO and conversions

Many accessibility practices overlap with good SEO and UX: clear headings, descriptive links, alt text, fast pages and readable content. An accessible checkout or enquiry form is simply easier for everyone. See our technical SEO checklist for the overlap.

Make your website accessible

We design inclusive interfaces with user research, accessible design systems and prototypes tested against WCAG 2.2 AA — and audit and fix existing websites. Learn more about our UI/UX design service or request an accessibility review.