Is your website accessible? Soon it will become mandatory!

What does the European Accessibility Act entail?

The EAA ensures that 87 million people in Europe with a disability have access to products and services. This mainly involves digital services like websites, apps, and e‑commerce platforms. In simple terms: your webshop should be accessible to everyone, despite their disabilities. 

An accessible website has to comply with the four principles of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 level AA:

• Perceivable: Content must be accessible to different senses. This means, for example, that images are given text alternatives and videos are provided with subtitles or voice-overs.
• Operable: Your website must be usable without a computer mouse, so everything must be possible via the keyboard.
• Understandable: Make sure your website is clearly structured and that the language is simple enough for everyone to understand.
• Robust: Your site should work well with technologies like screen readers and other tools.

For e‑commerce businesses this means dedicating more attention to login- and registration forms, security, and payment processes. 

Why is this important for you?

The new regulation ensures that all rules and regulations inside the EU are streamlined and uniform, to make it easier to sell in multiple countries without the difficulties of local requirements. The most important part: an accessible webshop means you can reach more customers, for example, people with disabilities or the elderly. This could translate to higher conversion rates, and a broader public.

A website that isn’t accessible means you are excluding a part of the public. In a more and more evolving, digitalized world, you can’t afford that. Think of the following:

• Screenreaders for blind users.
• Subtitles for the deaf or hard of hearing.
• Clear structures for people with ADHD or autism.

By turning your website into something more accessible, you are contributing to an inclusive digital world, and you improve the user experience for all your customers.

Mandatory accessibility statement

From 2025 foreword, you must publish an EU declaration of conformity. By doing this, you show your webshop is complying to all legal accessibility requirements. If certain requirements pose difficulties to carry out immediately, you have to document this and specify.

Take action now, is the best way to avoid legal fees and to make your webshop more alluring to a broader public.