Enhanced accessibility: level AAA

What level AAA is

WCAG 2.2 arranges 86 success criteria in three levels. A and AA (55 criteria) are the basis of the accessibility act and of the seal. AAA (31 criteria) is the highest level; the W3C itself writes that full AAA conformance cannot be required as a general policy for entire websites, because some criteria cannot be met for some content. AAA therefore makes sense as a selection: an operator meets the criteria that serve their audience and documents each one.

What the measurement decides

• 1.4.6 contrast 7:1: the measurement core measures every text; the value is in the report per location.
• 1.4.8 visual presentation: line length up to 80 characters, left-aligned, line spacing 1.5, no horizontal scrolling at 200 percent.
• 2.3.3 animation from interaction: the stylesheet honours the system setting "reduce motion".
• 2.4.8 location: breadcrumbs or a marked menu item per page.
• 2.4.9 link purpose from the link alone: "more", "here" and identical texts with different targets.
• 2.4.10 section headings: long stretches of text without a heading.
• 2.4.12 focus never obscured and 2.4.13 focus outline 2 pixels with contrast 3:1: from the tab-key measurement of level AA.
• 2.5.5 target size 44 pixels: the same measurement as the 24 pixels of level AA, in the report with width and height.

What the measurement finds and a person judges

• Images of text (1.4.9), purpose of icons and regions (1.3.6), keyboard without exception (2.1.3), concurrent input mechanisms (2.5.6): the measurement lists locations, an auditor decides whether the exception applies.
• Timing (2.2.3), interruptions (2.2.4), flashes (2.3.2), change on request (3.2.5): the measurement finds redirects, refreshes, animations and submit-on-change; the assessment is a human matter.
• Unusual words (3.1.3), abbreviations (3.1.4), reading level (3.1.5): frequency list, abbreviation patterns and readability formula give hints; whether a word is unusual for the audience is said by a person.
• Help at the field (3.3.5), error prevention for all forms (3.3.6), authentication without a memory test (3.3.9): fields without hints, missing input validation, blocked pasting and captchas are measurable; the process itself is walked through by a person.

What only a person judges

• 1.4.7 background sound 20 decibels lower: an audio analysis, not source code.
• 2.2.5 input after an expired session, 2.2.6 time limit stated beforehand: only shows when a session expires.
• 3.1.6 pronunciation: whether a word is ambiguous without its pronunciation is decided by the context.

What depends on the content

• 1.2.6 sign language, 1.2.7 extended audio description, 1.2.8 full transcript, 1.2.9 live audio with a transcript: production work per minute of media.
• The measurement finds the videos and audios and lists them. Whether a translation or description exists and is complete is documented by the operator; an auditor checks.

No seal for AAA

The accessibility seal documents levels A and AA because the law requires them and because they can be checked as a whole. A seal "AAA" would claim that all 31 criteria are met, which is rarely true for websites with video, audio or specialist texts. Therefore: the report names the measured value or the judgement per AAA criterion, and the operator can name the met criteria individually in their accessibility statement. That is verifiable; a blanket seal would not be.

Having an AAA version of the website generated

Part of level AAA can be derived from an existing website: a colour scheme with 7:1, controls of 44 pixels, a focus outline of 2 pixels, space below sticky bars, motion off, line width and line spacing. These are stylesheet rules laid over the page as an additional version, selectable like a contrast mode. A second part needs text work with approval: a glossary for technical terms, expanded abbreviations, meaningful link texts, subheadings, hints at form fields, a plain-language version. A language model provides drafts, a person approves them. The third part, sign language, audio description and transcripts, remains production work. A generator can therefore produce the measurable criteria itself, prepare the text criteria and only list the media criteria.