How to Get Your Website WCAG 2.2 Compliant (Without Losing Your Mind)

Here's a stat that should make every developer pause: 96% of websites have detectable WCAG failures. Not some websites — nearly all of them.

And the #1 culprit? Missing alt text on images.

If your site is in that 96%, you're not just failing an accessibility audit — you're potentially exposed to ADA lawsuits, locking out 1 billion+ users with disabilities, and leaving SEO value on the table. The good news: WCAG compliance is way more achievable than it sounds, especially with the right tools.

What Actually Is WCAG 2.2?

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is the international standard for web accessibility, published by the W3C. Version 2.2, released in 2023, added 9 new success criteria to an already comprehensive spec.

There are three conformance levels:

Level	What it means	Required by?
A	Bare minimum — alt text, keyboard nav, no seizure content	Everyone
AA	Legal standard in most countries	ADA, EAA, EN 301 549
AAA	Best practice for government/public sector	Recommended only

If your site serves users in the US, EU, or UK, WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA is what you need to target.

The 4 Pillars Every Dev Needs to Know (POUR)

Every WCAG criterion maps to one of four principles:

• 🔍 Perceivable — Can users receive the content? (alt text, captions, color contrast)
• ⌨️ Operable — Can users interact with it? (keyboard navigation, focus indicators, no time traps)
• 💬 Understandable — Is it clear? (plain language, predictable UI, helpful error messages)
• 🛠️ Robust — Does it work with assistive tech? (valid HTML, proper ARIA, screen reader support)

The Most Common WCAG Failures (Fix These First)

You don't need to boil the ocean. Start with the issues that affect the most users:

1. 🖼️ Missing Alt Text (WCAG 1.1.1)

The single most common failure. Every meaningful image needs a descriptive alt attribute. Empty alt="" is correct only for decorative images.

<!-- Bad -->
<img src="team-photo.jpg">

<!-- Also bad -->
<img src="team-photo.jpg" alt="image">

<!-- Good -->
<img src="team-photo.jpg" alt="Five engineers collaborating around a whiteboard at Alt Audit HQ">

2. 🎨 Insufficient Color Contrast (WCAG 1.4.3)

Normal text must have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background. Large text (18pt+) needs 3:1.

3. 🖱️ Keyboard Inaccessibility (WCAG 2.1.1)

Every interactive element — buttons, links, dropdowns, modals — must be reachable and operable via keyboard alone. Tab through your site right now. Can you reach everything?

4. 🏷️ Missing Form Labels (WCAG 1.3.1)

Every <input>, <select>, and <textarea> needs a programmatically associated <label>. Placeholder text alone does not count.

5. 🔗 Non-Descriptive Links (WCAG 2.4.4)

Links that say "click here" or "read more" are useless to screen reader users who navigate by tab. Use descriptive text: "Read the WCAG 2.2 compliance guide."

How to Run a WCAG Compliance Check

Automated scanning (catches ~30–40% of issues)

Use these tools to get a baseline fast:

• Alt Audit — Scans your entire site for WCAG failures, with special focus on alt text (the #1 failure). Generates AI-powered fixes in bulk. Free plan available.
• axe DevTools — Browser extension that highlights violations in DevTools
• Lighthouse (Chrome) — Built-in audit with accessibility scoring
• WAVE — Visual overlay tool for accessibility errors

Manual testing (catches the other 60–70%)

• Tab through the entire page — can you reach everything?
• Use VoiceOver (Mac/iOS) or NVDA (Windows) for a real screen reader experience
• Test at 200% zoom — does content reflow without horizontal scrolling?
• Check every form for labels and error messages

A Practical WCAG 2.2 Compliance Checklist

Here's a quick checklist for WCAG 2.2 AA:

Images & Media

• [ ] All meaningful images have descriptive alt text
• [ ] Decorative images have alt=""
• [ ] Videos have captions and audio descriptions

Keyboard & Navigation

• [ ] All interactive elements are keyboard accessible
• [ ] Visible focus indicator on all focusable elements
• [ ] Skip navigation link at the top of the page
• [ ] No keyboard traps

Forms

• [ ] All inputs have associated labels
• [ ] Error messages are clear and descriptive
• [ ] Required fields are indicated

Visual

• [ ] Text contrast ratio ≥ 4.5:1 (normal text)
• [ ] Text contrast ratio ≥ 3:1 (large text)
• [ ] Text can be resized to 200% without loss of functionality

New in WCAG 2.2

• [ ] Dragging actions have pointer alternatives
• [ ] Target size ≥ 24×24 CSS pixels for interactive elements
• [ ] Focus not obscured by sticky headers/footers

The Alt Text Problem at Scale

Fixing one image is easy. Fixing 5,000? That's where most sites get stuck.

If you're running a WordPress site, a large content platform, or managing multiple client sites, you need automated alt text generation at scale. Tools like Alt Audit can scan your entire site, identify every image with missing or inadequate alt text, and generate WCAG-compliant descriptions using AI — all in one workflow.

The output? A full compliance report you can download and share with clients or stakeholders.

TL;DR — Start Here

1. Run an automated scan — Find out where you stand in minutes
2. Fix alt text first — It's the #1 failure and the easiest win
3. Fix keyboard navigation — Tab through your site and document every gap
4. Fix color contrast — Run your palette through a contrast checker
5. Manual test with a screen reader — Nothing replaces real assistive tech testing
6. Document and retest — Accessibility is ongoing, not a checkbox

The goal isn't perfection on day one. It's making meaningful progress, building accessible habits into your dev workflow, and not being the team that gets a lawsuit because nobody checked if the contact form had labels.

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This article was originally published on Alt Audit — WCAG Compliance Tool. Alt Audit helps developers and agencies run automated WCAG compliance checks and fix alt text at scale.