Understanding WCAG 2.2's Level A Success Criteria with Examples

You have gone through several articles on what is new in WCAG 2.2, trying to make sense of it and planning to incorporate the latest changes into your design system or applications.

This article will provide you with a clear understanding of two essential success criteria 3.2.6 Consistent Help (A) and 3.3.7 Redundant Entry (A) with examples.

What’s removed from WCAG 2.2?

Only one success criteria 4.1.1 Parcing is now obsolete and completely removed from WCAG 2.2. This is done because user agents are smarter and can identify and adjust the missing closing tags, helping the applications maintain other success criteria such as Info and Relationships (SC 1.3.1) or Name, Role, Value (S.C 4.1.2).

New additions to WCAG 2.2

Overall nine new success criteria are added to WCAG 2.2, two at Level A, four at Level AA, and three at Level AAA. For the scope of this article, we’ll focus on level A.

3.2.6 Consistent Help (A)

Think of a chat button or a “Contact Us” button. Where would you expect to find them consistently? Yes, you would love to see them at consistent places i.e. the bottom right corner for the “chat button” and the top menu section for the “Contact Us” button.

Regardless of their placement, you only need to ensure that if the help is provided, it MUST be consistently available in the same position across the application. “Same position” means the same place within a serialized page representation, not the visual position. For example, the top menu’s “Contact Us” link must be the last item.

// Following navigation order will fail to meet 3.2.6 consistent help criteria

<h1>Home - page 1</h1>

<h2>Table of Contents</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="#home">Home</a></li>
<li><a href="#discover">Discover</a></li>
<li><a href="#blog">Blog</a></li>
<li><a href="#aboutUs">About Us</a></li>
<li><a href="#contactUs">Contact Us</a></li>
</ul>

<h1>Discover - page 2</h1>

<h2>Table of Contents</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="#home">Home</a></li>
<li><a href="#discover">Discover</a></li>
<li><a href="#contactUs">Contact Us</a></li>
<li><a href="#blog">Blog</a></li>
<li><a href="#aboutUs">About Us</a></li>
</ul>

The following exceptions apply:

1. 3.2.6 consistent help is not applicable to contextual help such as notes or tooltips.
2. This success criteria is not applicable if the help mechanism is provided on one page only.

Image above highlights the consistent placement of help elements such as “Contact Us” and “Chat” button.

3.3.7 Redundant Entry:

How would you feel when asked to enter your address twice in the same form? It’s likely to be annoyed, right? This is what success criteria 3.3.7 Redundant Entry wants to eliminate by ensuring that the information entered earlier in the same process, usually when completing a multi-step process is either:

1. Auto-populated, or
2. Available for the user to select.

The following exceptions apply:

1. Re-entering the information is essential in the case of passwords.
2. The information is required to ensure the security of the content, or
3. The previously entered information is no longer valid.

Successfully implemented Redundant Entry success criteria will help reduce the cognitive overload and save both time and energy.

Image above demonstrates how providing same as shipping address checkbox, benefits the users to quickly complete the form, satisfying the 3.3.7 Redundant Entry success criteria.

Conclusion

Both 3.2.6 Consistent Help (A) and 3.3.7 Redundant Entry (A) are critical in enhancing the accessibility and usability of digital content, ensuring a more inclusive and equitable experience for all.

In our next article, we will explore level AA success criteria introduced in WCAG 2.2, helping you with a comprehensive understanding of the additional accessibility standards with examples.

Stay tuned for more insights and share your input in the form of “claps”, repost, or comments under the article.