The New European Accessibility Act – What Do I Need to Know?

The European Accessibility Act went into effect today. I am going to try and keep this information super, super snappy for you. 

What is it?

It is an EU-wide directive that provides streamlined guidance for the different European Nations to implement their own laws around Accessibility.

That means that the rules and requirements across European nations will be very similar, but enforcement processes and fines (and in some cases other consequences) will differ from country to country.

Does this apply to my website?

If

• your business has 10+ employees
• and/or you make EUR 2.000.000 / year in revenue
• and your services are available to clients/end users in the European Union

… then yes, even if your business in located outside of the EU.

What accessibility standards should my website follow?

For businesses, WCAG 2.1 AA is widely accepted as the standard to aim for.

A higher standard is applied to government websites and some vital services such as bank and telecommunication websites.

Increasingly, websites also have an accessibility statement showing their commitment (whether they are legally obligated or not). For an example, you can have a look at our own accessibility statement here.

What are the benefits of a website that complies with accessibility standards?

1. The obvious one: reduced legal risk for the website owner
2. Wider range of potential clients as nobody is technically prevented access to your whole website
3. Better usability and readability which benefits all users, including those without accessibility challenges
4. Sets you ahead of your competitors website that may be less accessible

What is the additional cost of improved website accessibility?

When we build a new website from scratch, we can build accessibility improvements right into your website – this is the most cost-effective way to approach it and you start out with a website that is already 3 steps ahead.

For fixing issues on an existing website, it really depends on the size of the site and other factors.

How do I keep up with these changes?

If you’re on a maintenance plan with a good web agency, check with them to see if keeping up to date with these changes and notifying you is part of their maintenance plan.

At Almostronaut Creative, this is my job – I read the relevant newsletters, attend the seminars, and I’m networked with other agency owners all over the world to make sure that I don’t miss any new developments. This way my clients focus on their own core business!

Is there anything else I need to know?

Owning a website is a journey. Legal requirements (like privacy laws), user expectations (like common screen sizes) and best practices will always evolve. Luckily, websites are living documents so we can continually aim to improve them over time as required.