Framework for ensuring our digital services meet high standards of accessibility for all users.
W3C
The Standard
WCAG 2.2 is the global benchmark for accessible digital products — here's what the framework covers, including how the A, AA, and AAA compliance levels differ in practice.
WCAG 2.2 is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, published and maintained by the W3C — the body that governs web standards globally. It defines specific, testable criteria for making digital products usable by people with visual, motor, cognitive, and auditory differences. It is the most widely adopted accessibility standard in the world.
Level A covers the baseline — the criteria every accessible product must meet to avoid fundamentally locking users out. Level AA adds practical protections such as sufficient colour contrast, visible focus indicators, and consistent navigation. Level AAA goes further still, targeting specialist use cases and the highest attainable standard. Most contracts and regulations reference Level AA as the practical target.
WCAG has progressed through versions 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2 as interfaces have grown more complex. Version 2.2 added nine new criteria focused on mobile interaction, cognitive load, and focus management — reflecting how people actually use software today, not how they used it a decade ago.
Why It Matters
Accessibility is not a checkbox. The practical consequences of building to WCAG — or not — reach further than most buyers expect.
Accessibility requirements benefit far more people than those with a diagnosed disability. Accessible software is easier to use in low-bandwidth environments, on mobile devices, with a keyboard only, or under cognitive load. Building to WCAG is building for everyone — and that scope of usability is a commercial advantage, not a cost.
Public sector procurement, healthcare commissioning, and an increasing number of enterprise contracts specify WCAG AA conformance explicitly. Having a defined conformance level in scope from the outset removes procurement risk, protects against accessibility-related complaints, and gives your legal and compliance teams something concrete to point to.
An accessible product is a well-built product. Meeting WCAG criteria requires semantic HTML, keyboard operability, logical focus management, and thoughtful interface copy. Those properties are the same ones that make software fast, maintainable, and resilient — accessibility and quality are not competing goals.
How We Operate
Every engineer at Black Opal is required to follow WCAG 2.2 across all practice areas. Here is what that means in practice.
Every software development engagement includes WCAG 2.2 Level A conformance as standard, included at no additional cost. For clients who require Level AA — whether for regulatory compliance, public sector procurement, or a deeper commitment to inclusion — we scope that into the engagement upfront. The conformance level is agreed at the start, documented, and tested against before delivery is signed off.
WCAG is not optional for our team. Every Black Opal engineer working on software delivery, data products, or AI applications is required to follow the framework as part of standard delivery practice. Accessibility is reviewed in code review — not taped on like an afterthought in the final week of a project.
WCAG is not only a web development concern. We apply its principles to data dashboards, AI-generated interfaces, and any user-facing output we produce. Whether the deliverable is a customer-facing web application, an internal analytics tool, or an AI-assisted workflow, the same accessibility standards govern how it is built.
We don't build first and audit later. The target conformance level is agreed, scoped, and documented before development begins. That gives clients predictability — they know exactly what they are getting — and it gives our engineers a clear standard to design against from day one, rather than retrofitting accessibility onto a finished product.
Related Services
WCAG 2.2 applies across every practice area where we produce user-facing output — not just web development.
Where WCAG is applied most directly — every software engagement includes Level A conformance as standard, with Level AA available from the outset.
Dashboards and data products built to the same accessibility standards — because analytical tools are only useful if everyone on the team can use them.
AI-generated and AI-assisted interfaces held to the same WCAG standards as everything else we ship — accessibility does not stop at the boundary of traditional software.
Work With Us
When you commission software from Black Opal, WCAG 2.2 Level A conformance is included as standard — and Level AA is available for any engagement that requires it. If you'd like to understand what that means for your specific project, we're happy to talk it through.