On 5 June 2018, WCAG 2.1 was published with a Recommendation status, which means it’s stable and ready for implementation. The new guidelines help fill gaps in WCAG 2.0 particularly in the areas of mobile, low vision, and cognitive disabilities.
The new guidelines are backwards compatible with 2.0 as the official W3C announcement by Andrew Kirkpatrick and Michael Cooper explains:
All the criteria from WCAG 2.0 are included in WCAG 2.1, so web sites that conform to WCAG 2.1 will also conform to WCAG 2.0.
Learn more in an upcoming A11Y Talks What’s New with WCAG 2.1 with Carie Fisher and Andrew Macpherson, 27 June 2018.
Summary
Here is a quick list of the new criteria:
- 1.3.4 Orientation – Level AA
- 1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose – Level AA
- 1.3.6 Identify Purpose – Level AAA
- 1.4.10 Reflow – Level AA
- 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast – Level AA
- 1.4.12 Text Spacing– Level AA
- 1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus – Level AA
- 2.1.4 Character Key Shortcuts – Level A
- 2.2.6 Timeouts – Level AAA
- 2.3.3 Animation from Interactions – Level AAA
- 2.5.1 Pointer Gestures – Level A
- 2.5.2 Pointer Cancellation – Level A
- 2.5.3 Label in Name – Level A
- 2.5.4 Motion Actuation – Level A
- 2.5.5 Target Size – Level AAA
- 2.5.6 Concurrent Input Mechanisms – Level AAA
- 4.1.3 Status Changes – Level AA
Further Reading
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 – Recommended by Nomensa.
- What’s New in WCAG 2.1? by Intopia.
- Welcome, WCAG 2.1! The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines get an update by Knowbility.
- Making Your Website Accessible Part 4: WCAG 2.1 by Learning (Lib)Tech.
- WCAG 2.1: What does it actually mean? by Frontside.
- W3C Updates Website Accessibility Standards by Lexology.
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 by The Paciello Group.
- Added: WCAG 2.1 and What the New Criteria Really Mean for Your Website by SiteImprove.