# How WCAG 3 Will Change Accessibility Standards for Websites Source: https://prioritypixels.co.uk/insights/wcag-3-accessibility-standards-websites/ > WCAG 3 brings one conformance level, core requirements and reporting tiers. What the September 2026 draft means for UK websites. Web design icon WCAG 3 will change how websites are measured for accessibility by replacing the A, AA and AAA levels of WCAG 2 with a single level of conformance, backed by tags and reporting tiers that show progress below and above that level. It is still a draft, so the standard UK websites need to meet today is WCAG 2.2 AA, but anyone planning a new website or a redesign should know where the guidelines are heading, which is why accessibility sits at the centre of [web design for regulated organisations](https://prioritypixels.co.uk/services/web-design/). The direction of travel matters most for organisations that already work to formal accessibility requirements. The latest thinking comes from the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, whose director set out the stakes in [Crafting WCAG 3 for more accessible user experiences](https://www.w3.org/blog/2026/crafting-wcag-3-for-more-accessible-user-experiences/), published on 25 September 2026. The post explains that the September 2026 draft takes a fundamentally different approach to conformance from earlier drafts. It separates what a website must do to conform from the details that laws and policies can decide for themselves. ## What WCAG 3 Is WCAG 3 is the next major version of the accessibility guidelines published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Its full name has changed from Web Content Accessibility Guidelines to W3C Accessibility Guidelines, which reflects a scope that now reaches beyond web pages to apps, tools, publishing and emerging technologies. The W3C's [WCAG 3 Introduction](https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/wcag3-intro/) describes the guidelines as an incomplete draft that will change. It says WCAG 3 will have similar accessibility requirements to WCAG 2 but a different structure, a different conformance model and a broader scope. The goals are to make the guidelines easier to understand and to cover more user needs. The W3C names the needs of people with cognitive disabilities as one area it wants WCAG 3 to cover more fully than WCAG 2 does. ## Why WCAG 2.2 Still Applies Today WCAG 2.2 still applies because it is the published standard that UK regulations refer to, while WCAG 3 has no legal standing yet. The W3C published [WCAG 2.2 as a web standard](https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/new-in-22/) on 5 October 2023, adding 9 success criteria to those in WCAG 2.1. Government guidance on [accessibility requirements for public sector bodies](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/accessibility-requirements-for-public-sector-websites-and-apps) tells councils, NHS organisations and other public bodies to meet the WCAG 2.2 AA standard. The same guidance says at least 1 in 5 people in the UK have a long term illness, impairment or disability. Private businesses have duties too. The [Equality Act 2010](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/20) places a duty on service providers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. That duty covers the services a business offers through its website. Tip The W3C's own advice is to prepare for WCAG 3 by meeting WCAG 2.2 now. Work done to reach WCAG 2.2 AA carries forward into the new guidelines. None of this changes while WCAG 3 remains a draft. A website that meets WCAG 2.2 AA today is in the right place for the current rules and for whatever comes next. ## The Single Conformance Level in the September Draft The September 2026 draft replaces the three levels of WCAG 2 with a single level of conformance made up of core requirements. To conform to WCAG 3, content must meet all of them. The core requirements build on the WCAG 2.2 Level A and AA success criteria. They give policymakers a baseline to refer to in laws and regulations, in the same way that UK rules refer to WCAG 2.2 AA now. The aim is a simpler answer to the question of whether a website conforms. Under WCAG 2, organisations often had to explain which level they had reached and which criteria they had missed. A single level makes that easier to communicate to boards, procurement teams and regulators. ## How Tags and Reporting Tiers Work Tags and reporting tiers show how far a website has progressed towards conformance and beyond it. Every core requirement carries a tag that describes the harm caused when the requirement is not met. The tiers then group those requirements so an organisation can report progress in stages. The table below sets out the tags and the reporting tiers in the current draft. | Reporting tier | What it includes in the [WCAG 3 Working Draft](https://www.w3.org/TR/wcag-3.0/) | | --- | --- | | Tier 1 | Requirements tagged Physical harm or Risk | | Tier 2 | Requirements tagged Physical harm, Risk or Barrier | | Tier 3 (conformance) | All core requirements, including those tagged Friction | | Tier 4 | All core requirements plus a set number of supplemental requirements and assertions about content | | Tier 5 | All core requirements plus a greater number of supplemental requirements and assertions about content | | Tier 6 | All of the above plus assertions about the organisation | Physical harm covers failures that can cause a disabled person immediate physical harm. Risk covers failures that increase financial, medical, legal, privacy or security risk. Barrier covers failures that stop someone from going any further, while Friction covers failures that slow them down. For a website owner, the tiers give a way to prioritise fixes. Problems that create harm or risk come first, followed by barriers and then friction. ## Supplemental Requirements, Assertions and Recommended Practices Supplemental requirements, assertions and recommended practices cover the parts of accessibility that cannot be objectively measured or do not apply to every website. They sit outside the core requirements and encourage organisations to go further than conformance. Each one plays a different part in the draft. The three types work as follows. Beyond the core #### Supplemental requirements Requirements that suit some websites or situations but not all. Meeting more of them moves a website into the higher reporting tiers. Statements #### Assertions Statements an organisation makes about its content or the way it works. The highest tier includes assertions about the organisation itself. Guidance #### Recommended practices Good practice that improves the experience for disabled people. They are not needed to conform. The draft also introduces tags that regulators can use to include or exclude specific requirements in their own policies. The W3C gives the example of more requirements for essential government services and fewer for less important websites. That flexibility matters because accessibility depends on context. A barrier on a form to apply for medical treatment does far more harm than the same barrier on a form to pay a membership fee. For organisations that want to be recognised for going further, the higher tiers give them a way to show it. The draft treats conformance as a minimum to build on rather than a finish line. ## Why WCAG 3 Covers More Than Websites Checklist icon WCAG 3 covers more than websites because people with disabilities use a far wider range of digital products than when WCAG 2 was written. The draft applies to content on desktops, laptops, tablets, mobile devices and wearable devices, as well as virtual and augmented reality. It also addresses the tools used to create and view content. Browsers, assistive technologies, content management systems, authoring tools and testing tools all fall within its scope. For a business with a website, a customer portal and a mobile app, that means one set of guidelines for all three. For organisations that publish through a content management system such as WordPress, the attention on authoring tools could make it easier for editors to publish accessible content without specialist knowledge. The broader scope also reflects how disabled people use digital services in practice. A booking journey that starts on a website and finishes in an app needs to work from end to end. ## What WCAG 3 Means for UK Law WCAG 3 will not change UK law on its own, because the W3C writes the standard and governments decide which parts of it to require. The W3C blog describes WCAG as the ruler and laws as the rules. Under that model, a website conforms to WCAG when it meets the stated requirements. It complies with the law when it meets what the law requires. Laws and policies can include or exclude WCAG requirements as they see fit. UK regulations currently point to WCAG 2.2 AA. Any move to WCAG 3 would need the UK government to update its guidance once the standard is final. The W3C notes that most accessibility laws worldwide are based on WCAG 2. Our guide to [website accessibility law in the UK](https://prioritypixels.co.uk/insights/website-accessibility-law-uk/) covers the current duties under the Equality Act 2010 and the public sector accessibility regulations. Those duties are the ones that apply today. ## How Long Until WCAG 3 Is Final WCAG 3 is expected to take several more years before it becomes a W3C standard. The latest working draft states that it still has several years of work ahead, even though it has moved closer to completion. The draft labels each section with a status that runs from placeholder through exploratory, developing and refining to mature. Requirements still at the exploratory stage are left out of the working draft and appear only in the editor's draft. The W3C is asking for comments, mainly on the conformance model. It wants to hear whether the single level with reporting tiers improves on earlier drafts. It also asks how organisations would use the tiers in practice. The W3C also describes an alternative approach that would use the tags to produce a score above and below conformance. Which model survives will shape how organisations report accessibility for years to come. ## How to Prepare a Website for WCAG 3 Now The way to prepare a website for WCAG 3 is to meet WCAG 2.2 AA now and build the habits the new guidelines reward. The core requirements build on WCAG 2.2, so that work is not wasted. The steps below follow the order most organisations find practical. Each one supports the current standard as well as the draft. 1. 1 #### AUDIT Test the website against WCAG 2.2 AA with automated tools and manual checks. Record each issue with the page and template it affects. 2. 2 #### PRIORITISE Fix the issues that block or put people at risk before those that slow them down. This follows the order of the WCAG 3 tags. 3. 3 #### FIX AT SOURCE Correct problems in the code, templates and content process so they do not return. One template fix can clear the same issue across hundreds of pages. 4. 4 #### MONITOR Recheck the website after updates and keep the accessibility statement current. New content and plugins can bring new issues with them. Prioritising by harm and risk mirrors the way the WCAG 3 tags group requirements. A team that already sorts accessibility issues this way will find the new reporting tiers familiar. Our guide to [what an accessibility audit tests](https://prioritypixels.co.uk/insights/web-accessibility-audit-guide/) explains what the first step involves. Our guide to [acting on audit findings](https://prioritypixels.co.uk/insights/what-to-do-after-accessibility-audit/) covers the work that follows. Testing with disabled people adds what automated tools miss. The W3C stresses that meeting WCAG alone is not the end goal, because the aim is a website that disabled people can use in the real world. ## Building Accessibility Into Every Website Audit icon Building accessibility into every website from the start is the most reliable way to keep pace as standards change. Fixing problems after launch costs more and leaves gaps between audits. Priority Pixels designs and develops all WordPress websites to WCAG 2.2 AA standard as a minimum. Our accessibility audits combine automated scans in axe and WAVE with manual testing using screen readers and keyboard navigation, because many WCAG failures only show up when a person tries to use the page. More detail is on the [website accessibility](https://prioritypixels.co.uk/services/website-accessibility/) service page. The platform matters too. Bespoke [WordPress development](https://prioritypixels.co.uk/services/wordpress-development/) avoids many of the barriers that premade themes bring with them, so editors can publish without breaking the accessibility of the page. WCAG 3 will take time to arrive, but the direction is clear enough to plan for. Our guide to [common web accessibility mistakes](https://prioritypixels.co.uk/insights/common-web-accessibility-mistakes-and-why-big-brands-are-no-excuse/) shows where most websites fall short today.