What Does the European Accessibility Act 2025 Mean for Your eCommerce Business?
Awareness around online accessibility and inclusivity has been steadily growing for some time, but there are still barriers that prevent many people with disabilities from reaping the full benefits of the digital world. The European Commission’s aim to reduce this usability gap is the EAA or European Accessibility Act, which is scheduled to come into effect in June 2025. But what does this mean for eCommerce businesses?
What is the European Accessibility Act 2025?
The EEA directive intends to provide fair access to a range of digital services and products, including websites, eCommerce sites, eBooks, banking apps, ticketing systems and more. EU businesses, and UK companies that trade in the EU in a way that is covered by the act, are required to update their accessibility measures to meet the new standards.
How long do businesses have to make these changes?
Companies need to make changes to upgrade their user experience and inclusivity by 28th June 2025. In some cases, these changes could be extensive, so it’s recommended that companies who are affected get started immediately.
Why is accessibility important for SEO?
Beyond the moral obligation to provide accessible digital products, there are commercial advantages to this legislation too. Naturally, it means you can reach a wider pool of potential customers, but it can also benefit your SEO strategy. The likes of alt tags and navigational elements help support assistive technology like screen readers, but they also help search engines crawl and index your site more accurately which has a positive knock-on effect for rankings.
What changes are required for the EAA 2025?
The first step is to see if your website falls within the remit of the EAA. If you’re an eCommerce business, for example, and you sell your products or services to European audiences, you will be required to make these changes. Next, you’ll need to carry out an audit of your site, services and products to check whether they adhere to the current accessibility standards. For eCommerce services, these include:
- Ensuring websites and mobile apps are accessible and understandable in a consistent way
- Using support services where they’re relevant, like call centres or help desks, to ensure the service is compatible with assistive technologies
- Providing detailed information on the accessibility of your products and services
- Making sure ID methods, electronic signatures and payment services are clearly visible and easy to navigate and use.
- Preparing a publicly available notice or statement in both written and oral formats that explain how the service or product you offer meets these accessibility requirements.
Some of the ways you can make your site more accessible is to improve colour contrast on web pages, to make them easier to read for people with visual impairments, allow full keyword navigation for those who navigate exclusively with their keyboard, and provide video captions and transcripts for deaf or hard-of-hearing users. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are internationally recognised standards for accessibility and provide advice on how to make your site inclusive.
What are the penalties for non-compliance?
While you may be tempted to put off making these upcoming changes, any company found to be non-compliant after the deadline could face a fine of up to €1,000,000, depending on how severe the violation, in addition to being ordered to immediately resolve the accessibility issues on their site or app. If your business faces legal action, it could also result in negative publicity and reputational damage.
For help in preparing your site to comply with the EAA 2025, contact our team today to arrange a consultation and we’d be happy to help.
