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That 28th June 2025 EAA deadline is coming fast.
Some sites are so far from passing WCAG 2.1 with an AA rating that they really need to migrate to a new platform to get there, others need to simply re-template every page type.
With 28th June 2025 the deadline for sites selling in the EU to meet this level of accessibility, as part of the European Accessibility Act, that’s not long to plan and carry out a migration properly.
This is especially true for larger sites such as e-commerce sites, and for companies with limited Dev time available (there’s also a definite chance that Dev time from Dev agencies will be in short supply, at least with company’s preferred suppliers in the run up to the deadline).
Do people even realise that the European Accessibility Act (EAA) is a thing?
Despite this most clients I have spoken to as an SEO and mentioned Web Accessibility to in the last 6 months have no idea about this new act, the individual laws, or even what WCAG is.
So if you don’t know you’re not alone, to give a quick overview these are a series of tests that a web-page must pass (i.e. a website must have all public pages passing) to show that they are designed in an accessible way.
Which sites need to comply with the EAA?
As a rule of thumb if people in the EU can pay through your site for something you need to be compliant, though there’s exemptions for small businesses.
It doesn’t matter where you are based if you sell to any EU countries you need to be compliant, also expect similar laws coming in other countries. It applies to e-commerce sites, and some other online services such as digital communication tools and video streaming, but e-commerce doesn’t just mean physical goods, it could be services and digital products too sold through your site.
This WCAG 2.1 requirement will mainly benefit those website users with disabilities (16.1 million, nearly 1 in 4 people in the UK[1] and 135 million people in the EU[2] ) especially those with sight problems, but can also benefit those who don’t consider themselves disabled, such as those with less than 20:20 vision but also, for example, people who don’t use websites as often who will benefit from a well laid out, uncluttered, intuitive layout.
So there’s opportunity for having a big impact on engagement, reducing bounce rate and improving conversion rates, so great for all marketing channels. Yet SEOs, I feel, are going to have to be the ones who inform our bosses or our clients that this needs to be taken seriously now.
Why SEOs need to take responsibility for reaching WCAG 2.1 (AA)?
For a start who else would do it, Paid Search maybe but they tend not to be as technical and ‘user experience’, which this should fall under, isn’t a job function or department that exists in many (in my opinion enough) companies and too few companies regularly pay agencies for this.
Devs, many assume, should cover user experience and therefore accessibility but that may not work, either if the function is in-house or from a Dev Agency. Dev agencies tend to be bought in when a company needs something fixed or decides they want to migrate, so they would need to know first. (I assume some Dev Agencies are cashing in and informing clients their sites need to be improved, but maybe not if they designed the site and designed it recently).
The problem with internal Dev teams is they may not know this is coming either. Some will have heard about this if they are active in communities but Devs aren’t necessarily as active a community as SEOs, and there’s still some of us that have missed the news.
So it falls to us SEOs, firstly to make sure we publicise this enough in our own industry and make sure our fellow SEOs have the knowledge they need. Secondly for us to make sure that our bosses and clients have the knowledge they need and the knowledge, numbers stats, potential fines etc. to go to the key stakeholders who will make a decision on putting budget in to getting their sites audited and fixed.
EAA & WCAG 2.1 FAQs
Which websites and services need to comply to the European Accessibility Act?
• E-commerce platforms – e.g. digital services retailers, physical products retailers, e-learning and training sellers
• Computers and operating systems
• Payment terminals and self-service kiosks
• Mobile phones and other digital communication tools – e.g. core phone software and tools like Teams, Skype, zoom.
• Online video streaming and TV services e.g. live TV streaming and video sites, regardless of whether they are provided free or for a cost
• Banking services
• Telephone services
• Digital Services – e.g. web and mobile apps
•Online Publishing / eBooks – e.g. e-reading apps and online magazines
When does the European Accessibility Act come into force?
The act comes into force on 28th June 2025 and EU member states have until July 28th 2025 to to enact the laws in their own countries, but that is their deadline and many will come into place on the 28th June 2025 such as in France[3].
Are small businesses exempt from meeting WCAG 2.1?
Yes businesses with either 10 or fewer employees or less than €2 million turnover or balance sheet totals are exempt.
Can I apply for a EAA exemption for my website?
There’s also a chance you can apply for a disproportionate burden clause exemption. For this you will need to show that the cost is impractically high for the benefit.
This is unlikely to hold much sway for standard e-commerce sites though, you would need to show that you couldn’t simply move to a platform that can be made compliant easily out of the box.
This is more likely to be used by those who have invested a lot in bespoke software and web and mobile apps that can’t be easily replaced.
How much might the fines be for not complying with the European Accessibility Act?
Well they will vary by country but if you want to scare your client or boss in to action you could mention Spain where fines could range from €5,000 for small infringements to €300,000 for major violations by major companies or Germany where they could be up to €500,000.
If you’re selling to France it could be up to €250,000; and as officially it’s a separate law in each country if you sell to several EU countries you could get fined in each of them.[4]
[1] https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9602/
[2] https://www.who.int/europe/health-topics/disability#tab=tab_1
[3] https://blog.ipedis.com/evolution-de-lacte-europ%C3%A9en-sur-laccessibilit%C3%A9-%C3%A0-lhorizon-2025
[4] https://www.inclusiveweb.co/accessibility-resources/understanding-the-european-accessibility-act-and-its-penalties-for-non-compliance#:~:text=Spain%3A%20Fines%20in%20Spain%20can,of%20their%20non%2Dcompliance%20status.