How EU Accessibility Standards Impact Websites and Digital Products

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) introduces new EU-wide rules that require digital products and websites to be accessible to people with disabilities. Businesses selling or operating in the EU, or businesses outside of the EU wanting to sell into it, must understand these standards to ensure compliance and inclusivity.

For business owners, this means that if you offer digital products or online services in the EU, you likely need to make changes so your websites and apps can be used by all consumers, including people with disabilities.

Below, we break down the EAA, consequences of non-compliance and some of the steps you can take to comply.

Contents

• Understanding the European Accessibility Act (EAA)
• Consequences of Non-Compliance
• Actionable Steps to Start Meeting EU Accessibility Standards
• Summary
  

Understanding the European Accessibility Act (EAA)

The European Accessibility Act is a landmark EU law aimed at harmonizing accessibility requirements across member states. Before the EAA, different countries had different rules on digital accessibility, which created confusion and unequal experiences.

The EAA addresses this by setting common rules in the EU internal market to ensure products and services are accessible to people with disabilities.

Crucially, the EAA doesn’t just apply to EU-based companies. Any company “doing business in the EU” or offering products/services to EU consumers is in scope, regardless of where it’s headquartered

The Act was passed in 2019, and EU member states have since transposed it into national laws. Enforcement began on June 28, 2025, after which all new products and services covered by the Act must be accessible.

Consequences of Non-Compliance

You might be wondering: what if a company doesn’t comply with these accessibility requirements? The short answer is serious legal and financial risks.

EU Member States are establishing enforcement mechanisms and penalties for breaches of the EAA.

Here are some of the main consequences to be aware of:

• Fines and Penalties: Companies that fail to comply can face hefty fines. The exact amounts and rules vary by country (since each EU nation implements its own enforcement), but many have set maximum fines in the tens or hundreds of thousands of euros.
• Market Restrictions and Bans: Beyond fines, regulators have the authority to restrict or prohibit the sale of non-compliant products and the provision of non-compliant services. If your product doesn’t meet the EAA’s requirements, a country’s market surveillance authority could order that you stop selling it or withdraw it from the market until it’s fixed.
• Consumer Complaints and Lawsuits: The EAA implementation includes consumer protection mechanisms. While the EAA itself doesn’t directly create a lawsuit avenue like the ADA does in the U.S., there’s potential for legal action under other frameworks (e.g. anti-discrimination laws) if a company blatantly fails to accommodate people with disabilities.
• Ongoing Monitoring: The law also envisions a surveillance and compliance monitoring system. Businesses may be required to self-report or provide documentation of their accessibility. For instance, some countries require notifying an authority if your website or app is not fully accessible and you are claiming an exemption or facing a disproportionate burden.

In summary, non-compliance is a costly gamble. Fines can easily reach five or six figures, and in the worst case you could be barred from offering your product in the EU until you fix the issues.

The good news is that by taking action now, you can both avoid these penalties and potentially gain new customers (many companies find that improving accessibility also improves overall user experience – benefiting everyone and expanding your reach).

Actionable Steps to Start Meeting EU Accessibility Standards

Faced with these requirements, what should a business owner do next?

Here are some actionable steps to get started on the path to EAA compliance:

Audit Your Websites and Digital Products for Accessibility

Begin with finding out where you stand.

Conduct an accessibility audit of your website, mobile app, or other digital platforms.

This audit can combine automated testing tools (which scan for common issues like missing alt tags or poor color contrast) and manual testing by experts or users with disabilities.

Automated tools are a good start – they’ll catch many obvious errors – but they typically only detect about half of accessibility issues.

Manual testing is crucial to find things like keyboard navigation traps, screen reader misinterpretations, or unclear content.

Prioritize and Plan Fixes

A helpful approach is to focus on problems that:

• Completely block users from a core function (for example, if a “Buy Now” button is not accessible via keyboard, keyboard-only users simply can’t purchase your product – that’s a showstopper)
• Affect many users or pages (e.g., a header menu that isn’t accessible will trouble every page)
• Are relatively easy to fix quickly

Quick wins might include adding missing form labels or text descriptions, which can dramatically improve usability for little development effort.

Implement Accessible Design and Development Changes

With a plan in hand, start fixing the issues and enhancing your digital product’s accessibility. This likely involves your designers, developers, and content editors working together.

Key changes may include:

• Adding alternative text for all informative images
• Ensuring videos have captions and transcripts
• Adjusting color schemes to meet contrast ratios
• Enabling full keyboard navigation (and visible focus indicators) for all interactive elements
• Restructuring page layouts for screen reader logic (using headings, lists, landmarks appropriately)
• Testing forms for accessibility (labels, instructions, error handling).

Integrate Accessibility into Ongoing Processes

The best way to sustain accessibility is to embed it into your regular business processes.

This means training your team on accessibility basics: for example, content writers should know how to write good alt text for images, designers should understand not to rely on color alone and to check contrast, and developers should be familiar with accessible coding patterns.

By making accessibility “business as usual,” you reduce the chance of new features or updates reintroducing barriers.

Publish an Accessibility Statement and Engage Users

As you near compliance, prepare to publish an accessibility statement on your website or app, as required by the EAA.

This statement should outline the standard you’ve aimed to meet (e.g., “This website aims to comply with EN 301 549 / WCAG 2.1 AA”), describe the accessibility features or aids available, note any parts that might not fully comply yet (if applicable), and provide a way for users to contact you with difficulties or feedback.

Monitor, Maintain, and Update

Accessibility should be maintained as your digital products evolve. Monitor your websites and apps regularly for any new accessibility issues – for instance, if you add a new feature or a third-party plugin, test it for accessibility.

There are tools that can run automated scans on your site on an ongoing basis, which is useful for catching regressions (e.g., if someone adds an image without alt text, the tool can flag it). Keep an eye on updates to standards; WCAG guidelines do get updated over time (WCAG 2.2 and beyond), and new best practices emerge as technology changes.

Summary

With the 2025 EAA compliance deadline in force, if you haven’t already then now is the time to evaluate your websites, apps, and digital offerings and ensure they meet the EU’s accessibility requirements.

This means embracing practices that make your content usable for the broadest range of people – from adding alt texts and captions to restructuring your code for assistive tech compatibility.

The impact of these standards will be felt across design, development, and content management teams, requiring collaboration and possibly new skills and tools.

Ensuring your digital products are accessible goes beyond compliance. It’s about providing equal access for all users and creating a better digital experience that reflects well on your business.

Find out more about the European Accessibility Act in our free business guide.