Who this affects
Interactive targets are smaller than the 24×24 CSS pixel minimum, which makes them hard to hit for users with motor impairments and on touch screens.
How to fix it
Increase the clickable area to at least 24×24 px, or add spacing around it.
Effort Medium · ~1-2 h
Before and after
Fails
a.icon { width: 18px; height: 18px; }Passes
a.icon { width: 18px; height: 18px; }
/* keep the visual size, grow the hit area */
a.icon::before {
content: ""; position: absolute;
inset: -3px; min-width: 24px; min-height: 24px;
}Where this sits in the standard
| WCAG success criterion | Level | EN 301 549 clause |
|---|---|---|
| 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) | AA | — |
EN 301 549 clause 9 applies these criteria to web content. The published version referenced by the European Accessibility Act is V3.2.1, which incorporates WCAG 2.1 level A and AA. More on the standard.
How to check it by hand
Zoom the page to 200% and then 400%. Text must reflow and remain readable without horizontal scrolling. On a phone, check that you can pinch to zoom at all.
Automated testing settles roughly a third of the WCAG success criteria. This rule is one an automated tool detects reliably — but a clean automated result is not proof of conformance.
Reference
Deque's technical write-up for this rule: target-size
See whether your site trips this rule
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