Target Size (Enhanced)
Interactive targets should be at least 44×44 CSS pixels. This is the AAA-level enhanced target-size requirement; the AA-level 2.5.8 floor is 24×24.
What it asks
Every interactive target must occupy a hit area of at least 44×44 CSS pixels. The same exemptions as the AA-level 2.5.8 apply: equivalent target available, inline text, user-agent control, essential, and conformant.
44×44 is the figure Apple, Google, and Microsoft converge on in their own design guidelines, so meeting this SC tends to align with platform UI norms rather than fight them.
How to meet it
- Set
min-width: 44px; min-height: 44pxon buttons, icon-only controls, form fields, and any tap target. - Use padding inside small-icon buttons to push the hit area to 44×44 even when the icon glyph is 16-24px.
- Audit pagination, breadcrumbs, mobile nav, table-row action icons, chip-remove buttons, and floating action buttons first.
- For controls that must be visually small, ensure 44×44 of clear space around them (no other targets within that radius).
Common failures
- 24×24 or 32×32 icon buttons in toolbars — pass AA but fail AAA.
- Pagination rows with 30-pixel boxes.
- Dense table-row actions where Edit / Duplicate / Delete sit shoulder-to-shoulder.
- Chip-remove × buttons styled at 12-20px.
Why it matters
The 44×44 floor is the threshold at which mis-taps fall to near zero for users with Parkinson’s, essential tremor, MS, and other motor conditions, and for everyone using a phone one-handed in motion. AAA-level SCs are not normally required for compliance, but many regulated sectors (banking, government, healthcare) target AAA in mobile UI specifically because of how disproportionately mobile fails for motor-impaired users. If you have already met 2.5.8, lifting from 24 to 44 is usually a Tailwind class change.