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WCAG AA · 2.5.8Checked on every planEU · US

Tap targets are too small

How big should buttons and links be for WCAG?

Short answer

At least 24 by 24 pixels, or enough space around smaller ones (WCAG 2.5.8, new in 2.2). Links inside a sentence are exempt. On stores the usual misses are swatches, carousel dots and plus and minus buttons.

53%of 162 European shops had this (86)
No. 3most common accessibility issue in the study

Why it matters

Small targets that sit close together make people with tremors, limited dexterity or large fingers tap the wrong thing. On a product page that can mean the wrong size or color in the cart.

How to fix it

Shopify

  1. Swatch and variant picker apps often have a size setting; set swatches to at least 24 pixels.
  2. In Theme settings, Custom CSS, give small icon buttons a min-width and min-height of 24px (44px is better).
  3. Add space between carousel dots and pagination links rather than making the dots bigger.

WooCommerce

  1. Variation swatch plugins have a swatch size setting; raise it to 24 pixels or more.
  2. Use Additional CSS to set min-width and min-height on icon buttons and quantity controls.
  3. Check footer social icons and pagination, which themes often keep small.

In the code

  1. Make buttons and links at least 24×24 pixels, or leave enough space around them.
  2. Grow the clickable area with padding rather than the icon itself.

Automated tools measure the page at one screen size and only what is visible on load. Targets inside menus and drawers, or at other widths, aren’t measured. The 24-pixel minimum is a floor; 44 pixels is far more comfortable on phones.

The standard behind this rule

WCAGW3C, WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) (Level AA)WCAGW3C WAI, Understanding 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum)EUDirective (EU) 2019/882, the European Accessibility ActEUETSI, EN 301 549 V3.2.1 (2021-03), clause 9 covers web contentEUDeque, EN 301 549 v4.1.1 is final (WCAG 2.2 AA)

A plain summary, not legal advice.