The European Accessibility Act (EAA). What it means for your website.

From 28/06/2025, accessibility stopped being a “nice to have” for many consumer-facing websites and digital services sold into the EU.

If EU consumers can buy from you online, you need to be able to show your site is usable for people with disabilities. Not as a one-off project. As an owned, ongoing standard.

This article is practical guidance, not legal advice.

In this article, we’ll cover:

• What the EAA is (in plain English)
• Who it applies to (yes, even if you’re UK-based)
• What “compliance” looks like in real website terms
• A simple action plan to get moving quickly
• Why this matters beyond ticking a legal box

The European Accessibility Act is designed to remove barriers created by inconsistent accessibility rules across EU countries.

For most marketing teams, the bit that matters is e-commerce and consumer digital journeys. If someone can’t browse, understand, or complete an action or purchase because your site blocks them, you’ve got a problem.

If you sell or market to EU consumers online, your location doesn’t magically make you exempt.

The question is whether you’re providing an in-scope service to consumers in the EU. If you are, you need to treat accessibility as part of doing business in that market.

If your website includes consumer sign-up, customer portals, booking, buying, payments, or key service interactions, you should assume accessibility is now a compliance issue.

The EAA covers a set of products and services that are widely used and important day-to-day. That includes:

• e-commerce
• banking services
• e-books
• telephony services and related equipment
• access to audio-visual media services
• passenger transport services and the related ticketing/check-in journeys.

1) Make the service accessible
Your key journeys should be usable with assistive tech and common accessibility needs. A useful mental model is POUR: perceivable, operable, understandable, robust. Read more about making the web accessible to all.

2) Publish clear accessibility information
You’ll likely need a public accessibility statement that explains:

• what the service is
• how it works (in accessible formats)
• how it meets requirements
• what limitations exist (if any), and what you’re doing about them.

3) Keep it accessible over time
Accessibility isn’t a launch task. Every new template, content update, plugin change, product feature, form tweak, and redesign can re-break it.

4) Make support accessible too
If you provide helpdesk/contact/support, those routes also need to be usable and able to provide accessibility and compatibility information.

Most teams translate legal requirements into a practical standard and test against it.

In plain terms: you need a site that works properly for keyboard users, screen readers, and people with low vision, cognitive load issues, motor impairment, and more, across the journeys that matter (not just the homepage).

That means doing both:

• automated checks (fast, good at spotting repeats and basics)
• manual testing (essential for real-world usability).

Here’s the cleanest, fastest path to reduce risk without turning it into a never-ending project.

1) Audit the main pages and templates 
Start with the pages that drive journeys:

• Homepage
• product/service page template
• contact forms
• checkout/booking/account areas (if relevant).

That usually gets you the quickest meaningful coverage.

2) Fix blockers first (the stuff that stops people from completing tasks)
Prioritise issues like:

• keyboard traps / broken focus states
• missing form labels, unclear errors, and validation that can’t be understood
• contrast failures
• missing or meaningless alt text
• incorrect heading structure and page landmarks
• inaccessible menus, modals, carousels

If someone can’t complete a form or checkout, it’s not a “nice improvement”. It’s a hard failure.

3) Publish (and maintain) an accessibility statement
Be honest. Don’t overclaim. Don’t hide issues.
A good statement builds trust because it shows you’ve actually checked and you’re actively improving.

4) Put governance in place so it stays fixed
This is where most organisations fall down.

Decide who owns accessibility internally, and bake checks into your workflow with the agency:

• content publishing rules (especially around headings, links, images, embeds)
• design system components that are accessibility-safe by default
• periodic retesting (and retesting after any major change)
• a definition of done for development quality assurance.

Accessibility is good business. Full stop.

• Higher conversion (fewer form fails, clearer journeys, fewer rage clicks)
• Better foundations for SEO and AI discoverability (structure and semantics matter)
• Lower support load (fewer “I can’t submit / I can’t buy” tickets)
• A bigger addressable market (not excluding people using assistive tech, older users, temporary impairments)
• Reduced legal and reputational risk (you can show active, ongoing work)

When did the EAA start applying?
From 28/06/2025, requirements apply to in-scope products/services provided to consumers (via national laws across EU member states).

Do we need to make every page perfect?
No. Start with key journeys and templates. What matters is whether the service is accessible where it counts, and whether you have a credible process to keep improving.

Are there any exemptions?
There are some exemptions and edge cases (for example, certain micro-enterprises providing services). Don’t guess. If the EU is a serious market for you, get proper advice and treat accessibility as a standard either way.

If you want a clear plan, we can help you move quickly:

• Audit of key templates (Home, product/service, blog, contact/checkout)
• Prioritised remediation plan (what to fix, why it matters, effort level)
• Accessibility statement drafted in plain English
• Retesting after fixes + ongoing monitoring

Next step: Book an accessibility review, we’ll talk you through what matters, what doesn’t, and how to get your website up to scratch with minimum fuss.