What the EU Accessibility Act means for your website

What the EU Accessibility Act means for your website

For many of us, we never think about how products, webpages and software are designed. But, for those living with a disability, the lack of accommodation can be a real detriment. That’s why the European Union is making changes to help anyone with a disability enjoy the digital world more fully. As such, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) will come into effect from the 28th of June, 2025 and standardise accessibility requirements across individual member states. Today, we’ll talk about what the EU Accessibility Act means for your website. Learn how you can get prepared for the summer deadline.

Does the EAA affect my business?

If you want to do business with Europe, yes. Ability Net sets out the impacts quite clearly:

1. “It applies to any business that wishes to trade in the EU, wherever it is based.
2. It covers a wide range of goods and services.
3. It becomes law in all EU member states in June 2025.
4. It will affect UK businesses directly, as well as suppliers to public and private sector organisations.”

What is the EU Accessibility Act?

Osborne Clarke explains, “The EAA regulates a wide range of areas, from design requirements to product information, documentation obligations and even general terms and conditions. The implications for companies are immense […] making all businesses and organisations take positive actions to make products and services more accessible, rather than simply requiring them to be non-discriminatory under equality laws. At the same time, the new accessibility requirements are also an opportunity for companies to create more inclusive digital environments and reach new target groups. Compliance violations, however, are expensive and can result in significant enforcement action, as the Member States are obliged to set effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions.”

So, what does the EU Accessibility Act mean for your website?

If you are in e-commerce, streaming, telecoms, banking, ebooks or passenger transport; then your service and your apps & websites are impacted. They must be operable, perceivable, understandable and robust for all people, including those with disabilities. Next, if you make specific hardware like operating systems, devices for electronic communication, interactive consumer devices or self-service terminals then your web apps that interact with these products may be impacted as well. While there are some exceptions for microenterprises, disproportionate economic burden and similar; if you operate in these spaces, it’s best to talk to an expert before ignoring this new legislation.

What do the four EAA standards mean?

According to the new legislation, if affected, your website or app must be operable, perceivable, understandable and robust. This means, in short, that:

1. People with disabilities; including those with limited dexterity or who use assistive tech, must be able to operate your site.
2. UX and content must be presented so all users can interpret and comprehend it properly.
3. Content should work reliably across a variety of assistive tech and user agents.

Every website and app is different, so to ensure compliance, we recommend that you do a full audit or assessment. 

Don’t have the IT resources in-house? We can help you understand what the EU Accessibility Act means for your website or app. Just get in touch with our helpful team today.