WCAG 2.2 callout retirement

[Ciandelle]

Our team has comprehensively reviewed the Design System website as part of the continuous improvement work we do. As a result the team have now fully removed WCAG 2.2 callouts from component, patterns and style guidance across the Design System website.

Why have we done this?

Callouts were designed as a way of adding guidance to make teams aware of the changes and help them make necessary adjustments to their services before October 2024. This was the date that organisations needed to ensure that they were compliant with accessibility regulation. Now that this date has passed we are removing the callouts, and we have brought the WCAG 2.2 specific messages into our overall guidance where it’s useful.

You will still need to ensure that your service is compliant with accessibility standards. It is helpful to use W3C’s What’s new in WCAG 2.2 to understand the new criteria your service will need to comply with.

[Nooshu]

Just to share some feedback: I found the references to WCAG 2.2 in the Design System particularly valuable when working with teams at HMCTS. Many teams are still aiming for WCAG 2.1, so highlighting that GOV.UK Frontend is already working towards WCAG 2.2 support was a strong incentive to adopt the Design System. It helped make the case that using GOV.UK Frontend means key accessibility requirements are already being met.

While the Design System still includes accessibility guidance, not explicitly referencing WCAG 2.2 feels less impactful and may unintentionally undersell the work the team has done within other departments.

[kellylee-gds]

Thanks for the feedback Matt, that's really useful to know!

[selfthinker]

We had more feedback from a user back in June via our support email:

I recall that previously there was a WCAG 2.2 statement on the Check answers page (https://design-system.service.gov.uk/patterns/check-answers/) about it being a requirement to allow users to change their answers, but it is no longer there. That was really useful for me when explaining to team members why we include the option to do that.

I'm curious as to why the statement is no longer there - has anything changed?