What are the WCAG and which version applies?
In short and in plain language
The WCAG are rules for accessible websites. They apply around the world. Content should be easy to see, to use and to understand. It should also work with many devices.
For the law, a European standard counts. It is based on the WCAG.
We advise testing against the newest version of the WCAG. It also adds new points, such as focus and touch targets.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the internationally authoritative standard for accessible web content, published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). They are organized around four principles: perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. The current version is WCAG 2.2, published in October 2023.
EN 301 549, the standard that matters for the BFSG, reflects WCAG 2.1 AA in its version V3.2.1. Version V4.1.1, published in September 2026, adopts WCAG 2.2; until it is cited in the Official Journal of the EU, V3.2.1 remains the reference point (Source: AccessibleEU). We therefore recommend WCAG 2.2 AA as the testing benchmark: it covers the requirements of WCAG 2.1 AA and adds new criteria, for example on focus visibility, target sizes for touch interaction and simplified authentication.
Those who adopt 2.2 today are thus already aligned with the new version of the EN standard. How we implement these criteria in practice, we show on the accessible web development page.