Web Accessibility (WCAG 2.2): Building Inclusive Enterprise Applications

Web accessibility is not optional. In the US, ADA Title III applies to websites. In the EU, the European Accessibility Act mandates compliance by 2025. Beyond legal compliance, accessible applications reach more users and consistently score higher on usability metrics for all users.

WCAG 2.2: The Four Principles

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are organised around four principles:

Perceivable: Information must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive.

• All images have descriptive alt text
• Videos have captions and transcripts
• Minimum colour contrast ratio: 4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text

Operable: Interface components must be operable by all users.

• All functionality available via keyboard (no mouse required)
• No content that flashes more than 3 times per second
• Focus indicators are clearly visible (enhanced in WCAG 2.2)
• Sufficient time limits for time-based interactions

Understandable: Information and operation must be understandable.

• Language of the page is identified in HTML
• Error messages identify and describe the error clearly
• Consistent navigation and labelling throughout

Robust: Content must be interpretable by assistive technologies.

• Valid HTML semantics (landmarks, headings, ARIA where appropriate)
• Name, role, and value exposed for all UI components
• Status messages programmatically determinable

The Engineering Workflow

Integrate accessibility into your development process:

1. 1Component library: Build accessible primitives (Button, Input, Modal, Select) once
2. 2Automated testing: axe-core, Lighthouse, Playwright accessibility checks in CI/CD
3. 3Manual testing: Screen reader testing with NVDA/JAWS (Windows) and VoiceOver (macOS/iOS)
4. 4User testing: Include users with disabilities in your testing programme

The Business Case

Accessible applications reach 1.3 billion people with disabilities globally. They also perform better in SEO (semantic HTML), convert better on mobile, and reduce legal risk. Accessibility is not charity—it is good engineering.