WCAG 2.2

WCAG 2.2 is delayed again and I’m ok with that

When are they releasing it? Why so many delays?

Photo by Chase Clark on Unsplash

What’s the holdup with WCAG 2.2?

What gives? WCAG 2.2 was supposed to come out in the summer of 2021. Then, it was the end of 2021. Then, it was the summer of 2022. Now (as of the writing of this article), it’s set to come out in the fall of 2022.

Don’t tease me, bro!

The Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (AGWG) has teased us quite a bit about WCAG 2.2 — but they say it still needs some work. And that’s true. It does need work. It is “mostly done. Mostly.” There is still some fine-tuning required and documentation left to complete.

I’ve been impatient, but I can’t be too hard on AGWG. After all, what they are about to release will be their recommendation for all web content. It will also (supposedly) be the last iteration of the WCAG 2.0 series. With WCAG 3.0 being a few years away, that’s a lot of pressure. They want to get it right.

Impediments to release

Having taken a look at some of the issues contributors bring up, I can understand why WCAG 2.2 keeps getting delayed. Everything is being criticized: the standards, the examples, the documentation, and even the terms.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It means that the feedback contributors are engaged and vocal. Of course, that can also lead to long, drawn-out debates and may slow down progress.

On top of that, since AGWG essentially releases WCAG standards in a waterfall method, any needed changes may have to wait for a long time. After all, WCAG 2.1 (the current WCAG recommendation) just turned four years old.

What’s worse: many corporations are legally or contractually obligated to adhere to the latest AGWG recommendation for WCAG. That means that AGWG essentially requires a zero-tolerance policy for malformed standards. It’s one thing to have an incomplete set of standards; it’s another to have incorrect standards, which would leave many companies vulnerable to litigation.

Wilco Fiers is a project manager for WCAG 3.0 and a facilitator for the Accessibility…