The Conformance Level Interviewers Actually Expect You to Name
An interviewer asks "what accessibility level do you design to?" One candidate answers "AAA — we want to be as accessible as possible for every user." WCAG's own conformance requirements note that AAA can't always be satisfied for every piece of content on a site.
Which conformance level is the correct real-world target for an entire product, per WCAG's own guidance?
The correct answer is "AA."
AA addresses the major, common barriers and is realistic to apply across an entire product — it's also the level virtually every legal standard (ADA-related litigation, EN 301 549, Section 508) cites by name. WCAG itself states AAA conformance isn't recommended as a general policy for whole sites, since some AAA criteria simply aren't achievable for every piece of content.
"AAA everywhere" signals reciting a word rather than understanding the standard. "A" alone is necessary but not sufficient — it still leaves a product inaccessible in most real-world contexts. Conformance claims applying automatically site-wide from one page check is also a distinct overclaim, not a level at all.
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