Animation from Interactions
Tier 1 · The normative floor
Baseline compliance
What the normative text of WCAG 2.2 requires, and nothing more. Only a failure of this tier is a WCAG failure.
The bare minimum
Motion animation triggered by interaction can be disabled, unless the animation is essential to the functionality or the information conveyed.
Normative text
Verbatim from WCAG 2.2, W3C Recommendation 12 December 2024. Underlined terms are defined below.
Motion animation triggered by interaction can be disabled, unless the animation is essential to the functionality or the information being conveyed.
Not required by the normative text
Common claims that this criterion does not support. Don't log these as WCAG failures.
- Honoring prefers-reduced-motion specifically. Any way to disable the animation works.
- Covering animation that starts automatically. That's 2.2.2.
Definitions used (2)
Glossary definitions are normative. Their notes are informative.
- motion animation
-
addition of steps between conditions to create the illusion of movement or to give a sense of a smooth transition
- essential
-
if removed, would fundamentally change the information or functionality of the content, and information and functionality cannot be achieved in another way that would conform
Tier 2 · The gap
Usability & user impact
Where content can meet this criterion and still make things harder for people with disabilities. These are not failures of SC 2.3.3, so raise them as usability defects. Known failures, including failures of related criteria, are listed in Tier 1.
A site-level toggle that users must find before they feel ill doesn't help on first visit.
Tier 3 · The golden path
Recommended best practice
The pattern that meets the floor, closes the gap, and avoids audit disputes. A recommendation, not a requirement.
Honor the OS reduced-motion setting by default, and keep transitions subtle.
W3C's Understanding document and techniques for SC 2.3.3 ↗ are informative: sufficient techniques show ways to pass, and documented failures show common ways to fail, but neither changes what the criterion requires.
How SC 2.3.3 maps to the WCAG 3 draft
From this site's reviewed map to the WCAG 3 editor's draft. It's an interpretation: W3C has not published a mapping.
No provision in the current draft is specific to animation triggered by interaction.
Related, not a successor
From WCAG 2.2, section 5.1: “The main content of WCAG 2.2 is normative and defines requirements that impact conformance claims. Introductory material, appendices, sections marked as "non-normative", diagrams, examples, and notes are informative (non-normative). Non-normative material provides advisory information to help interpret the guidelines but does not create requirements that impact a conformance claim.”