European Accessibility Act 2025: What It Means for Your Website

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) came into force on 28 June 2025. If you sell products or services online to EU customers, your website must now meet accessibility standards — or face enforcement action.

This isn't future regulation. It's happening now.

What Is the European Accessibility Act?

The EAA (Directive 2019/882) is EU-wide legislation requiring that products and services be accessible to people with disabilities. It covers:

• E-commerce websites and apps — any online shop selling to EU customers
• Banking and financial services
• Transport services — ticketing, check-in, travel information
• Telecommunications
• E-books and digital publishing
• Consumer hardware — computers, phones, payment terminals

The technical standard is EN 301 549, which maps directly to WCAG 2.1 Level AA — the same standard used worldwide for web accessibility.

Does This Apply to UK Businesses?

Yes, if you sell to EU customers. Post-Brexit, the EAA doesn't apply to purely domestic UK trade. But if your e-commerce site accepts orders from EU countries, you're in scope.

Additionally, the UK has its own accessibility requirements under the Equality Act 2010, which requires "reasonable adjustments" for disabled users. Courts increasingly interpret this as requiring WCAG compliance for websites.

In practice, most UK online businesses need to meet WCAG 2.1 AA regardless of the EAA.

What Happens If You Don't Comply?

Each EU member state is responsible for enforcement. Penalties vary by country but include:

• Fines — proportionate to business size and severity
• Orders to make products/services accessible — with deadlines
• Market restrictions — non-compliant products can be pulled from sale
• Legal action — individuals can file complaints with national authorities

In the UK, under the Equality Act, individuals can bring claims for discrimination. Several high-profile cases have already established that inaccessible websites constitute discrimination.

The Most Common Website Accessibility Failures

Most websites fail on the same basic issues:

1. Missing alt text on images — screen readers can't describe images without it
2. Poor colour contrast — text that's hard to read for people with low vision
3. Missing form labels — input fields without labels are unusable with assistive technology
4. No keyboard navigation — some users can't use a mouse
5. Missing page language — screen readers need to know what language to use
6. Empty links and buttons — interactive elements with no accessible name

These are all detectable automatically. A quick scan can tell you exactly where your site stands.

How to Check Your Website Right Now

You can check your website's accessibility score in seconds:

1. Go to our free WCAG accessibility scanner
2. Enter your URL
3. Get an instant score (A to F) with specific issues identified

The scan checks against WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 standards — the same standards referenced by the EAA and the UK Equality Act.

For a complete breakdown with exactly how to fix each issue, the full PDF report is £4.99.

The Cost of Waiting

Accessibility fixes are almost always cheaper when done early. A simple alt text issue takes minutes to fix. A fundamental navigation problem discovered during enforcement can require a complete site rebuild.

The EAA is already in force. The UK Equality Act has been in force for 15 years. If your website isn't accessible, the question isn't whether you'll face consequences — it's when.

Check your website now →