The European Accessibility Act: what it means for websites and shops

Since 28 June 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) applies across the EU. It turns accessibility from a nice-to-have into a requirement for many businesses that sell to consumers online. In Germany it’s in force as the Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG).

This post gives a calm overview: who it covers, what it asks for, and which points come up most often in practice.

This is an overview, not legal advice.

1. Scope: who it’s about

The EAA is mainly about businesses that sell products or services to consumers online, through a shop, a booking system or an app. Whether and how it applies to a specific business is a legal question, best answered by a lawyer. The good news: everything below makes a site better for its visitors either way.

2. The standard: WCAG in practice

The EAA itself names goals, not technical details. In practice, the European standard EN 301 549 fills that gap, and for websites it points to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, level AA. WCAG 2.2, the current version, adds a few more criteria and is the sensible target for anything new.

WCAG rests on four principles. Content has to be:

• Perceivable: text alternatives for images, captions for videos, enough contrast.
• Operable: everything works with a keyboard, nothing flashes, there’s enough time.
• Understandable: clear language, predictable navigation, helpful error messages.
• Robust: clean code that assistive technologies such as screen readers can interpret.

On top of that, covered services have to publish information about how they meet the requirements, usually as an accessibility statement.

3. Barriers: the ones that come up most

Audits keep finding the same problems:

• Low contrast: light grey text on white, or text on busy images. WCAG AA asks for a ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text.
• Missing alt text: images that carry information but have no text alternative, or decorative images that screen readers announce anyway.
• Keyboard traps: menus, sliders or pop-ups that can’t be reached or closed without a mouse, and focus that isn’t visible.
• Form fields without labels: a placeholder isn’t a label; it disappears as soon as someone types.
• Unclear errors: “Invalid input” without saying which field or what’s expected.
• Skipped headings: a page whose heading levels jump around, so a screen reader user can’t get an overview.
• Links that say “click here”: out of context, nobody knows where they lead.
• Videos without captions, and audio without a transcript.

4. Overlays: why a widget isn’t enough

Accessibility overlays, scripts that add a toolbar to a site and promise compliance with one line of code, are a common offer. They don’t fix the underlying code: a button without a label stays a button without a label. Disability organisations have criticised them for years, and some users find they get in the way of their own assistive technology.

Real accessibility lives in the design and the code: colours chosen with contrast in mind, components that work with a keyboard, and content written for everyone.

5. Beyond the law: who else benefits

Accessibility helps far more people than the law requires: older visitors, people with a broken arm, anyone reading a phone in bright sunlight. It also overlaps with SEO, since clean headings, alt text and descriptive links help search engines and AI assistants understand a page just as they help screen readers.

The short version

• The EAA applies since 28 June 2025; in Germany as the BFSG.
• It’s mainly about businesses selling to consumers online.
• The standard is WCAG 2.1 AA via EN 301 549; WCAG 2.2 is the sensible target.
• Common barriers: contrast, alt text, keyboard access, labels, error messages, headings.
• Overlays don’t fix the code underneath.

If you’d like your website or shop checked against WCAG, get in touch.