Since 28 June 2025 the European Accessibility Act has been law across the EU, and in 2026 the grace period feeling is over: market-surveillance bodies are now running automated scans of online shops. If your business sells to consumers online, your website is part of the product — and it is being checked.
Most small business owners I talk to have heard the name and assumed it is "for big companies". Sometimes that is true. Often it is not. This article is the short version: who is covered, what the law actually asks your website to do, and the handful of fixes that solve most of the problem.
Who the EAA actually applies to
The Act covers consumer-facing services — including e-commerce, banking, e-books, transport ticketing and electronic communications — and a list of products such as computers, smartphones and e-readers. If people can buy from your website, you are running an e-commerce service in the eyes of the law.
You are a microenterprise providing services: fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover or balance sheet of no more than €2 million. Both conditions at once.
You have 10+ staff, or you pass €2 million, or you place covered products on the market — the micro exemption covers services only. A line in your terms saying "B2B only" is not enough either.
What "accessible" means for your website
The benchmark is the European standard EN 301 549, which in practice means meeting WCAG 2.1 level AA. In plain words, a customer must be able to find, understand and buy on your site whether they use a mouse, only a keyboard, a screen reader, a zoomed-in phone or a screen in bright sunlight.
How most websites fail — the numbers
The yearly WebAIM Million audit tests the home pages of the top one million websites. Its 2026 edition is blunt:
That last number is the good news. You do not need a year-long project — the same six problems appear on almost every site, and each has a known fix.
The six fixes that solve most of it
Low-contrast text
Light grey on white looks elegant in Figma and is unreadable in sunlight. Body text needs a 4.5:1 contrast ratio.
Images without alt text
Every product photo needs a short description. It also helps Google Images send you traffic.
Form fields without labels
Placeholder text is not a label. Checkout and contact forms are where this costs you sales.
Empty links
Icon-only links (a cart, a social icon) with no text tell a screen reader nothing.
Empty buttons
The hamburger menu and the search magnifier need an accessible name.
No page language
One attribute — lang="bg" or lang="en" — so assistive tech pronounces your content correctly.
Beyond the checklist: what a compliant site also needs
- Everything works with the keyboard alone, with a clearly visible focus ring.
- Text can be zoomed to 200% without breaking the layout.
- Error messages in forms say what went wrong and how to fix it — not just a red border.
- Video has captions; animations can be reduced for people who get motion sickness.
- An accessibility statement page explains how the service meets the requirements.
Accessibility isn't a plugin you install. It's how the site is designed and built.— Why "one-click accessibility" overlays don't make you compliant
Overlay widgets promise instant compliance. They don't fix missing labels in your checkout or a menu the keyboard can't open — the problems live in the code and the design, so that's where they have to be fixed.
What it costs to ignore it
Penalties are set by each member state. Germany's implementing law, for example, allows fines of up to €100,000, and authorities can require corrective measures, up to restricting a non-compliant service. The quieter cost is bigger: Eurostat reports that nearly a quarter of people aged 16 and over in the EU had a disability in 2024, and an older, zooming, one-handed-on-the-phone audience is every shop's audience.
A 30-minute self-check you can do today
- Unplug your mouse and try to buy something using only Tab, Enter and the arrow keys.
- Zoom your browser to 200% and look at your header, menu and checkout.
- Open your site on your phone outside in daylight. Can you read everything?
- Run a free automated check (the WAVE browser extension or Lighthouse in Chrome) on your home page and checkout.
- Count how many problems belong to the six categories above. That's your to-do list.