WCAG 2.2 Checklist for UK Small Businesses

Quick Answer

WCAG 2.2 Level AA is the practical benchmark for UK website accessibility compliance. For most small business websites, ten changes cover the majority of real-world risk: colour contrast, alt text, form labels, keyboard navigation, focus indicators, captions, resizable text, clear link text, no colour-only information, and a skip-to-content link. Meeting these first addresses the most common and most frequently cited accessibility failures.

The 10 Changes That Cover Most Real Risk

Colour contrast. Body text needs at least 4.5:1 contrast against its background. Large or bold text needs at least 3:1.
Alt text on images. Every meaningful image needs a text description a screen reader can announce.
Labelled form fields. Every input needs a clear, programmatically associated label, not just a placeholder.
Keyboard navigation. Every interactive element must be usable without a mouse, including menus and forms.
Visible focus indicators. Users tabbing through your site need a clear visual marker showing which element is currently focused.
Captions on video content. Auto-generated captions are now generally acceptable as a baseline.
Resizable text. Your site should remain usable when zoomed to 200%.
Descriptive link text. Avoid vague links like “click here” with no context on their own.
No information conveyed by colour alone. A required field marked only in red fails. Add an icon or text as well.
Skip-to-content link. A link at the top of every page letting screen reader and keyboard users bypass repeated navigation.

Why These Ten First

These cover the failures found most often in real-world testing, including the WebAIM Million study of one million home pages, which found that low contrast text, missing alt text, and unlabelled form inputs remain the most common accessibility failures on the web. Fixing these first addresses the bulk of practical risk before moving to more technical criteria.

What WCAG 2.2 Actually Added

WCAG 2.2 introduced nine new success criteria beyond WCAG 2.1, focused particularly on low vision, cognitive accessibility, and mobile touch-screen use. For most small business sites, the most relevant additions relate to focus visibility and avoiding accidental actions on touch interfaces, such as drag-only interactions without a simpler alternative.

Platform-Specific Notes

WordPress: Choose an accessibility-conscious theme as your foundation, since retrofitting a poorly built theme is harder than starting with a good one
Wix and Squarespace: Built-in accessibility features vary significantly between templates. Check contrast and alt text manually, since builder defaults are not guaranteed to meet WCAG 2.2 AA
Shopify: Pay particular attention to checkout accessibility, since this is the exact area EU Accessibility Act enforcement has focused on

A Simple Self-Test You Can Do Today

Unplug your mouse and try navigating your entire site using only the Tab and Enter keys
Turn on your device’s built-in screen reader (VoiceOver on Mac, Narrator on Windows) and listen to how your homepage reads
Zoom your browser to 200% and check nothing overlaps or becomes unusable
Check your primary buttons and links against a free online contrast checker

Full Reference List for Developers

For a developer working through complete WCAG 2.2 AA conformance, the full list covers all Level A and Level AA success criteria across the four POUR principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. The ten items above are the highest-impact starting point, not a substitute for full technical conformance where your risk profile requires it.

When to Bring in a Professional Audit

If you have completed the checklist above and want formal verification, or if you fall under the European Accessibility Act and need documented conformance evidence, a professional audit is the next step. See our website accessibility audit cost guide for realistic UK pricing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the easiest WCAG fixes to make first?
Colour contrast, alt text, form labels, and keyboard navigation cover the most common real-world failures.

Does WCAG 2.2 apply differently to WordPress, Wix, or Shopify sites?
The standard is the same across platforms, but the starting point differs depending on how accessible your theme or template is by default.

What is the minimum colour contrast ratio required?
4.5:1 for normal body text, and 3:1 for large or bold text, under WCAG 2.2 AA.

How many WCAG 2.2 AA success criteria are there in total?
Around 55, including inherited criteria from earlier WCAG versions plus new additions in 2.2.

Is an automated accessibility checker enough on its own?
Automated tools catch a meaningful share of issues but miss many real-world problems that only manual and assistive-technology testing reveals.