A designer or a theme builder hands you the word “accessible” and nothing else. You are briefing someone to build or restyle a creator storefront, or you are picking a theme off a marketplace, and the brief, the sales page, or the support thread all say the same thing: accessible. None of them say to what standard, or how you would check.
The brief said ‘accessible.’ That word alone does not specify a standard
“Make it accessible” is not an instruction a designer can act on, any more than “make it fast” is. The word that usually sits behind “accessible” in practice is WCAG, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, published by the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Accessibility Initiative. WCAG is the technical document that says what a text alternative, a keyboard focus order, or a color contrast ratio actually has to do to count as accessible.
WCAG is not one fixed thing to point at. It comes in versions, 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2 are the current ones, and each version splits into three conformance levels, A, AA, and AAA. A complete reference names both: “WCAG 2.2 Level AA” is a specific, checkable target. “Accessible” is not.
The three levels, in the W3C’s own terms
The W3C’s own conformance page states it plainly: there are three levels of conformance. Level A is the minimum level, addressing the most basic barriers to access. Level AA is the mid range, and the same page notes that “many organizations strive to meet Level AA.” AA is also the level that most legal and procurement standards reference, since it covers major and common barriers without requiring every possible accommodation.
Level AAA is the highest level, and it is the one most likely to be cited wrong. WCAG 2.2’s conformance section states, verbatim: “It is not recommended that Level AAA conformance be required as a general policy for entire sites because it is not possible to satisfy all Level AAA success criteria for some content.” That is the standards body that wrote AAA telling site owners not to make it a blanket policy.
The levels are cumulative by design. WCAG’s conformance model defines Level AA conformance as satisfying a version’s Level A criteria plus its Level AA criteria. AAA conformance means satisfying A, AA, and AAA together. There is no “AA except for the A stuff.” AA includes A.
What changes between the levels, concretely
The abstract definitions above do not tell you what changes in an actual build. The table below pulls one success criterion from each level, directly from the WCAG 2.2 specification’s normative text.
| Level | Success criterion | What it actually requires |
|---|---|---|
| A | 1.1.1 Non-text Content | “All non-text content that is presented to the user has a text alternative that serves the equivalent purpose,” with listed exceptions. In practice: every product photo, icon button, and decorative graphic on the storefront needs alt text that does the same job the image does, not a filename or a placeholder. |
| AA | 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) | “The visual presentation of text and images of text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1,” with an exception for large scale text. In practice: the pale gray price text a lot of storefront themes ship by default often fails this on a white background and has to be darkened. |
| AAA | 1.4.6 Contrast (Enhanced) | The same kind of requirement as 1.4.3, but raised to “a contrast ratio of at least 7:1.” A ratio that comfortably passes AA at 4.5:1 can still fail this stricter AAA version, which is one concrete reason the W3C does not recommend requiring AAA across an entire site: some brand color palettes and image-based layouts cannot hit 7:1 everywhere without changing the design. |
Which level government guidance actually points to
ADA.gov’s own web accessibility guidance page, in the version live as of this writing, does not commit to one WCAG version and level as a blanket requirement for all covered entities. Its language is: “Existing technical standards provide helpful guidance concerning how to ensure accessibility of website features. These include the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the Section 508 Standards, which the federal government uses for its own websites.” It names WCAG as a reference point, not a single pinned version and level, and the page is explicit elsewhere that businesses and state and local governments currently have flexibility in how they meet the ADA’s general nondiscrimination requirements.
The Department of Justice has gone further, but only for one category of site. Its 2024 rule under ADA Title II states directly: “The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2.1, Level AA is the technical standard for state and local governments’ web content and mobile apps.” That is a named version and level, with a compliance timeline running to 2027 or 2028 depending on population size. It is also scoped narrowly: it binds state and local government websites and apps, not private businesses, and not a creator’s own storefront.
So the two sources say different things. ADA.gov’s general guidance references WCAG without naming a specific version and level as a universal requirement. The DOJ’s 2024 rule names WCAG 2.1 Level AA, but only as a requirement for government entities. Neither states that a private creator storefront must legally meet a specific WCAG level. What both point to, when either gets specific, is the AA level, not AAA.
So which level should a creator storefront actually target
Level AA is the practical target for most creator storefronts, not because a law requires it for a private site, but because it is the level the DOJ’s rule names when it does get specific, and the level most theme and platform accessibility statements are written against. Building to a target other sources already converge on is a smaller lift than inventing your own bar.
Do not brief a designer to hit “AAA” or “full compliance” as a marketing line. The W3C does not recommend requiring AAA as a general policy for an entire site, and a storefront advertising AAA compliance is very likely overstating what it has verified, since AAA includes stricter criteria like the 7:1 contrast ratio that many ordinary layouts and brand palettes cannot meet without a redesign.
The one line to put in a design brief instead of “accessible”: name the version and the level. “Build this to WCAG 2.2 Level AA” is a sentence a designer can act on and a claim you can later check. “Make it accessible” is not.
followed is published by the team behind RecurPost
followed tracks tools and standards around running a social-facing storefront, including how vendors describe their own accessibility claims. followed is published by the team behind RecurPost, and RecurPost is covered under the same disclosure and verification rules as every other vendor in our directory.
How to check a claim yourself
- Look up the exact success criterion on the W3C’s own conformance and quick reference pages, not a vendor’s summary. WCAG 2.2’s conformance section states each criterion’s level directly next to its requirement text.
- Treat a vague “WCAG compliant” claim, with no version and no level named, as an open question. Ask which version (2.0, 2.1, or 2.2) and which level. A vendor or designer who has done the work can answer that in one sentence.
- If one criterion matters to your storefront, for example contrast on price text, measure it directly: compare the actual contrast ratio against the criterion’s number, 4.5:1 for AA or 7:1 for AAA.
FAQ
What is the difference between WCAG Level A, AA, and AAA?
Per the W3C’s own conformance documentation, Level A is the minimum level, addressing the most basic accessibility barriers. Level AA addresses major and common barriers and is the level most legal and procurement standards reference. Level AAA is the highest and most restrictive level, and the W3C’s own WCAG 2.2 specification states that requiring AAA as a general policy for an entire site is not recommended, because not all content can satisfy every AAA criterion.
Which WCAG level does the ADA require for a small business website?
ADA.gov’s general web accessibility guidance page references WCAG as one of the existing technical standards businesses can use, without naming one specific version and level as a universal requirement. The DOJ’s 2024 rule does name a specific standard, WCAG 2.1 Level AA, but that rule applies to state and local government web content and mobile apps, not to private business or creator sites. Neither source states a specific WCAG level as a legal requirement for a small business storefront.
Should a creator storefront aim for WCAG AAA compliance?
No. The W3C’s own conformance requirements state that requiring AAA site-wide is not recommended, since some content cannot meet every AAA criterion. Level AA, which is the level named in the DOJ’s 2024 rule and the level most theme and platform accessibility statements target, is the practical goal for a typical creator storefront.
What should I put in a design brief instead of just saying ‘accessible’?
Name the WCAG version and level directly: “WCAG 2.2 Level AA” is a specific, checkable instruction. “Accessible” on its own names no standard and gives a designer or theme nothing to be measured against.
Does WCAG AA compliance mean a site cannot be sued under the ADA?
No, and this is not legal advice. Meeting a technical standard describes what a site’s code and content do, not whether the site is immune from a legal claim. ADA.gov’s own guidance describes existing flexibility in how covered entities meet nondiscrimination obligations, rather than one pass or fail technical bar for every site, so AA conformance is evidence of accessibility work, not a guarantee against a demand letter.
Sources
- W3C, “Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2 Level AA Conformance”, checked 2026-09-09
- W3C, WCAG 2.2, section 5, Conformance Requirements, checked 2026-09-09
- ADA.gov, “Web Accessibility and the ADA”, checked 2026-09-09
- ADA.gov, “Fact Sheet: New Rule on the Accessibility of Web Content and Mobile Apps”, checked 2026-09-09
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