Changes to the Design System to meet WCAG 2.2
W3C owns and manages the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2.
In 2023, the Design System team assessed and updated the GOV.UK Design System to comply with the new criteria and recommendations given in WCAG 2.2.
We included code changes in GOV.UK Frontend v5.0.0 to make it easier for services to make changes to comply with WCAG 2.2. We also added guidance to make teams aware of the changes and help them make necessary adjustments to their services.
Make sure your service meets the new WCAG 2.2 criteria
WCAG 2.2 was published in October 2023. You’ll need to comply with the new criteria no later than October 2024. See more about Meeting government accessibility requirements in the GOV.UK Service Manual.
What you need to do
- Revisit the Government Digital Service (GDS) guidance on what accessibility is and why your service needs to invest in it
- Read What’s new in WCAG 2.2 to understand the new criteria your service will need to comply with
- Ask your wider organisation for support to prepare for work needed to meet WCAG 2.2
- Update your service to use GOV.UK Frontend v5.0.0 or later, to make it easier to make changes in your service
- Review the lists on this page of affected components and patterns in the Design System
- Assess your service to see how many affected components and patterns are in use
- Plan and implement the changes needed to your service
Make sure there’s expertise within your organisation by advocating for people to receive training in accessibility. To provide some help with this, the Design System team is organising community events to help service teams share information with each other.
Components and patterns affected in the Design System
We’ve made changes to these components and patterns to comply with WCAG 2.2 level AA. You must check if your service needs amending to align with these changes.
See an explanation of every success criteria in WCAG 2.2 on the W3C website.
Images also includes guidance to help ensure icons and images in your service meet Target Size (minimum).
| Component | Relevant WCAG 2.2 criteria |
|---|---|
| Back link | Redundant entry Target size (minimum) |
| Breadcrumbs | Target size (minimum) |
| Button | Target size (minimum) |
| Cookie banner | Focus not obscured (minimum) Target size (minimum) |
| Error message | Redundant entry |
| File upload | Dragging movements Redundant entry |
| Footer | Consistent help |
| Header | Focus not obscured (Minimum) Consistent help |
| Phase banner | Focus not obscured (minimum) |
| Select | Dragging movements |
| Summary list | Redundant entry Target size (minimum) |
| Tag | Dragging movements |
| Ask users for… | Relevant WCAG 2.2 criteria |
|---|---|
| Addresses | Redundant entry |
| Bank details | Redundant entry |
| Email addresses | Redundant entry |
| Equality information | Redundant entry |
| Names | Redundant entry |
| National Insurance Numbers | Redundant entry |
| Passwords | Accessible authentication Consistent help Target size (minimum) |
| Payment card details | Target size (minimum) |
| Help users to… | Relevant WCAG 2.2 criteria |
|---|---|
| Check a service is suitable | Redundant entry |
| Check answers | Redundant entry |
| Complete multiple tasks | Dragging movements Redundant entry |
| Confirm a phone number | Consistent help |
| Confirm an email address | Accessible authentication |
| Contact a department or service team | Consistent help |
| Create accounts | Accessible authentication Redundant entry |
| Recover from validation errors | Redundant entry |
| Page | Relevant WCAG 2.2 criteria |
|---|---|
| Page not found pages | Consistent help |
| Question pages | Dragging movements Redundant entry |
| Service unavailable pages | Consistent help |
| There is a problem with the service pages | Consistent help Redundant entry |
Need help?
If you’ve got a question about the GOV.UK Design System, contact the team.