The journal
Accessibility Work Needs Owners and Verification, Not a One-Time Checklist
NEWS / SERVICE
WCAG’s testable criteria can become repeatable checkpoints in campaign and web operations.
What WCAG 2.2 offers
The W3C’s WCAG 2.2 Recommendation specifies success criteria for web accessibility across perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust principles. The standard includes criteria relevant to keyboard access, focus, labels, contrast, and target size.
WCAG is a technical standard, not a complete project-management method. A checklist mapped to selected criteria does not establish that an entire website or campaign conforms; scope and evaluation approach matter, and formal claims need evidence appropriate to the claim.
Put responsibilities into the workflow
Marketing operations can assign accessibility checks to design, copy, development, QA, and publishing roles. Define which components are checked at each stage, who owns remediation, and how a change to a shared template triggers a recheck of affected journeys.
Use acceptance criteria that can be verified, such as keyboard operation or clear labels, rather than an approval note that says only “looks accessible.” Include content teams in the process because images, captions, links, and plain-language instructions can affect the experience as much as code.
Keep governance proportional and current
Plan routine spot checks and a route for users or staff to report barriers. Prioritize by user impact and the task at stake, while engaging accessibility expertise when a formal evaluation or complex remediation is needed.
For Strategy & Operations, the practical reading of WCAG is that accessibility needs ownership and maintenance across the operating model. The W3C provides normative criteria; organizations decide how to scope assessment and should not claim conformance beyond what has actually been evaluated.