WCAG 2.2 for online stores: 6 checks for your checkout

WCAG 2.2 is the current version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, and it is becoming the reference for online stores in Europe: version 4.1.1 of the harmonised standard EN 301 549, published by ETSI in September 2026, points to WCAG 2.2 Level AA instead of 2.1. The good news is that the new requirements are concrete, and most of them land on the pages that make you money: product pages, the cart and the checkout.

If you are starting from scratch, fix the accessibility basics first. The six checks below are what WCAG 2.2 adds at levels A and AA.

1. Tap targets of at least 24 × 24 pixels (2.5.8)

Quantity steppers, colour swatches, the "remove" cross in the cart and pagination arrows are often tiny. WCAG 2.2 asks for interactive targets of at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels, or enough empty space around a smaller target that a 24-pixel circle centred on it does not overlap another target. Links inside a sentence are exempt.

.qty-button, .swatch, .cart-remove {
  min-width: 24px;
  min-height: 24px;
}

2. Focus not hidden by sticky elements (2.4.11)

A sticky header, a cookie banner or a "free shipping" bar can cover the field or button a keyboard user just tabbed to. When an element receives focus, it must not be entirely hidden by content you added. scroll-padding-top set to your header height is often enough:

html { scroll-padding-top: 80px; }

3. An alternative to dragging (2.5.7)

Price-range sliders, before/after comparisons and drag-to-reorder lists must also work with a single tap or click. For a price filter, two number inputs (min and max) next to the slider solve it.

4. Help in the same place on every page (3.2.6)

If you offer help (a contact link, a phone number, a chat button, an FAQ), keep it in the same relative position across pages, so shoppers who need it during checkout can find it where they saw it on the product page.

5. Don't ask for the same thing twice (3.3.7)

Information already entered in the same process must be filled in automatically or offered as a choice. The classic case is the billing address: provide a "same as delivery address" checkbox rather than a second blank form. Exceptions exist for security, such as re-entering a password.

6. Logins without a memory test (3.3.8)

Sign-in and account creation must not rely on a cognitive test, such as remembering a password with paste blocked or solving a puzzle, unless an alternative exists. In practice: allow paste and password managers (autocomplete="current-password"), and offer email links or passkeys where you can. Object-recognition CAPTCHAs are allowed at this level, but a text-transcription CAPTCHA is not.

What else changed

WCAG 2.2 also removes success criterion 4.1.1 Parsing, now considered obsolete, and adds three AAA criteria that are optional for most stores. Everything required by WCAG 2.1 still applies, so these six checks come on top of it. For the legal side and who is exempt, see our guide to the European Accessibility Act for online stores.

How Averifly helps

Averifly's accessibility rules check what can be read from your pages' HTML: images without alt text, form fields without a label, empty or vague link text, a missing lang attribute and a missing main landmark. The WCAG 2.2 checks above need a manual pass with a keyboard and a phone. Start with a free scan to clear the HTML issues, and see the full list in our rules.