The EAA: Website Accessibility, European legislation and you.
The EAA: Website Accessibility, European legislation and you: what the European Accessibility Act (EAA) means for UK businesses trading in the EU. – Published May 2025
What the European Accessibility Act (EAA) means for UK businesses trading in the EU
Surely you want anybody and everybody who is interested in your products and services to be able to access your website and find the information they want quickly and easily, right?
But, were you aware that basic web design errors and poor web build hamper large sections of your potential customer base from doing so?
Fundamental website accessibility fails, such as slow page load time, poor mobile responsiveness, unclear or unusable navigation, and bloated or irrelevant content, all prevent your website audience from doing what they want to do on your website, and drive them to your competitors instead.
You’re not alone in this.
Because, did you know that, “according to WebAim, in 2022, 96.8% of home pages tested had WCAG 2 failures, which makes them inaccessible and non-compliant. This improved slightly in 2023 with 96.3%, and again in 2024 with 95.9% of home pages with WCAG 2 failures. Fairly marginal improvements.”
(Source: Impact Media: What You Should Know About The European Accessibility Act 2025 – https://www.impactmedia.co.uk/insights/what-you-should-know-about-the-european-accessibility-act-2025/)
And, despite those marginal improvements, year-on-year, that percentage remains startlingly high! Basically, more than 9 out of 10 website homepages fail to meet the WCAG 2 specifications for accessibility!
Awareness of online accessibility issues and considerations are growing, which is great. In fact, website accessibility has been a thing for more than 25 years.
The MD of Bnode, Chris Naylor, was talking about it back in 1998 when graduating from University on the first UK course to deal with anything in web design and development. This was at a pivotal point in UX with the introduction of smartphones and similar devices.
Yet, despite this, there are still significant usability and accessibility barriers inherent in website design and build that prevent many people with disabilities from easily navigating around websites and finding the information they want or achieving the task or aim they’re there to do.
The European Commission has sought to address this through legislation, following on from the UK DDA and US ADA (UK Disability Discrimination Act and US Americans with Disabilities Act).
Known as the EAA (European Accessibility Act) and Directive 2019/882, scheduled to become law in late June 2025 in the EU.
It is described by the European Commission themselves on their website as “a landmark EU law which requires some everyday products and services to be accessible for persons with disabilities. It follows a commitment on accessibility made by the EU and all Member States upon ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”.
The European Commission goes on to say that:
“The European Accessibility Act will make life easier for at least 87 million people – almost one in five Europeans – who have disabilities, including many older people, and for those who have a temporary impairment. The new rules will facilitate these people’s access to public transport, banking services, computers, TVs, e-books, online shops, and much more. For persons with disabilities, accessibility is a precondition for participation in society on equal basis with others.”
(Source: European Commission: European Accessibility Act: Q&A – https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1202&intPageId=5581&langId=en)
And, according to TDMP, the Act “sets out new inclusivity [and accessibility] regulations aimed at combating the marginalisation of disabled individuals as we move towards an increasingly digitised future”
(Source: TDMP: The European Accessibility Act 2025: Everything you need to know – https://www.tdmp.co.uk/insights/european-accessibility-act-2025-everything-you-need-know).
Of course, post-Brexit, the UK is no longer part of the European Union (EU) so isn’t directly affected per se. The Act, as a piece of EU legislation, doesn’t strictly apply to a UK-based audience – although you should be considering accessibility issues anyway, regardless of that fact, as the old UK DDA and its replacement The Equality Act 2010 cover accessibility and discrimination…
However, if you operate and trade in an EU Member state or deal with people in the EU, then you are affected.
So, why does the EAA apply here in the UK and what is all the fuss about?
As AbilityNet says:
“The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is a landmark legal change that will improve the lives of disabled people by ensuring equal access to digital products and services for European Union (EU) consumers.”
And that the aim of the Act is “to improve the lives of disabled and older people in the EU by ensuring equal access to selected products and services within the EU. It also makes it easier for businesses to understand and adopt common standards for digital accessibility.”
“Unlike previous accessibility legislation, such as the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations (PSBAR), the EAA is mainly focused on private sector firms, including companies in the UK.
– It applies to any business with at least 10 staff and a turnover above €2 million;
– It applies to any business that trades in the EU
– Companies with headquarters based outside the EU must also comply with the EAA if they sell relevant goods or services within the EU.”(Source: AbilityNet – Are you ready for the European Accessibility Act? – https://abilitynet.org.uk/european-accessibility-act)
AbilityNet also provides a handy summary of what the Act hopes to achieve and exactly who is affected here in the UK:
“The European Accessibility Act (EAA) becomes law in all EU member states on 28 June 2025 and applies to any organisation that provides products and services to consumers in the EU, including businesses and public bodies in the UK.“
“The European Accessibility Act (EAA) seeks to ensure equal access to digital products and services throughout Europe.
– It applies to any business that wishes to trade in the EU, wherever it is based.
– It covers a wide range of goods and services.
– It becomes law in all EU member states in June 2025.
– It will affect UK businesses directly, as well as suppliers to public and private sector organisations.”
(Source: AbilityNet – Your questions about the European Accessibility Act (EAA) https://abilitynet.org.uk/news-blogs/your-questions-about-european-accessibility-act-EAA)
The key things that you need to know if you’re a UK-based business that trades in the EU (or, indeed, a company that’s headquartered outside that sells the relevant goods or services covered by the Act within the EU) are:
– That you must comply with the Act
– That the directive comes into force on the 28th of June, 2025 (although it was first passed in 2019, member states are implementing it now, following a 5-year and counting transition period)
– It will affect UK businesses directly, as well as suppliers to public and private sector organisations
– That non-compliance with the European Accessibility Act (EAA) will result in various penalties, depending on the severity and context of the infringement – and also which individual country you are trading in – including fines and potential prison sentences, legal proceedings, subsequent reputational damage, loss of customers, business disruption, and exclusion from procurement processes – all as a consequence.(Source: AbilityNet – Your questions about the European Accessibility Act (EAA) https://abilitynet.org.uk/news-blogs/your-questions-about-european-accessibility-act-EAA)
Accessibility legislation and lawsuits
Accessibility legislation and lawsuits in the infamously litigious United States have been a thing since the early 2000s, so there is already a context and precedent for this, in the form of the Americans with the previously mentioned Disabilities Act (ADA).
The Vaimo blog on the European Accessibility Act (The European Accessibility Act 2025 – What businesses need to do) goes into more detail:
“Website accessibility has been a part of the ADA since the early 2000s and related lawsuits have increased significantly in recent years… AI tools and other third-party programs for accessibility scanning have not helped US companies as much as they might have hoped for. According to the UsableNET’s report, lawsuits have increased against companies using such services, too. So far, [the vast majority] of the website accessibility lawsuits have been filed against businesses in the ecommerce sector.”
(Source: Vaimo blog: The European Accessibility Act 2025 – What businesses need to do – https://www.vaimo.com/blog/the-european-accessibility-act-2025-what-businesses-need-to-do/)
Surely there must be an up-side to the Act?
So, there is legal precedent for ‘the stick’ in terms of penalising and punishing non-compliance, but what about ‘the carrot’ – surely there must be an up-side to the Act?
Well, yes – absolutely. Every cloud has a silver lining…
Businesses, and the wider population as a whole, will see the benefits of the compliance measures put in place, including here in the UK.
The European Commission again:
“Both companies and customers will benefit from the Act’s common accessibility requirements. On the one hand, companies (in particular SMEs) will find it easier to trade with other EU countries and gain certainty that they can sell their products and services throughout the EU. On the other hand, as the Act will drive innovation, customers will benefit from a wider and more socially inclusive offer at more competitive prices.”
(Source: European Commission: European Accessibility Act: Q&A – https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1202&intPageId=5581&langId=en)
As the Vaimo blog on the EAA says, “Accessibility benefits everyone”.
The blog continues, stating that:
“According to WHO there are an estimated 1.3 billion people experiencing significant disability. This represents 16% of the world’s population, or 1 in 6 of us! And so, in addition to simply making sense, improving accessibility increases a company’s reach immensely.”
Bnode and the EAA
With regards to what we’re all about here at Bnode, the Act covers services including e-commerce, websites, and mobile services.
We, as a UK-based SME ourselves, might not be directly affected, but our larger clients with operations in the EU certainly are going to be – and soon.
And, we take Website Accessibility and Usability very seriously indeed, regardless of whether we fall under the auspices of EU legislation or not.
Our Website Accessibility Standards are high – both for our own website and the fully accessible and inclusive websites we build for our clients too.
The EAA and e-commerce
Talking about e-commerce:
“The EAA applies to any provider that offers e-commerce services to consumers in the EU regardless of whether that provider is in the EU or not, and regardless of whether the services or products sold by the provider are otherwise within the scope of the EAA.
E-commerce services under the EAA broadly include online sales of any product or service, and cover not just retail businesses but any organisation that offers a product or service for sale online to an EU consumer.”
(Source: Bird & Bird – A guide to navigating the European Accessibility Act for online retailers, service providers and platforms –
https://www.twobirds.com/en/insights/2025/a-guide-to-navigating-the-european-accessibility-act-for-online-retailers-service-providers-and-plat)
The accessibility requirements for e-commerce services
“The accessibility requirements for e-commerce services include:
– making websites, including online and mobile apps, easily accessible in a consistent and adequate way by making them perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.
– using, where available, support services (e.g. help desks or call centres) to provide information on the accessibility of the service and its compatibility with assistive technologies.
– providing information on the accessibility of the products and services being sold (when this information is provided by the producer or provider of the product service).
– providing identification methods, electronic signatures, and payment services which are perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.”And:
“These requirements align with internationally recognised digital accessibility standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (‘WCAG’) and EN 301 549, the EU’s current harmonised digital accessibility standard (for example, requirements that digital experiences are “perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust”). The EAA, however, also introduces additional requirements (e.g. offline help desk support) not covered by these existing standards, and one must also remember that compliance is not optional, so care must be taken to map the obligations applicable to your business in each member state.”
(Source: Bird & Bird – A guide to navigating the European Accessibility Act for online retailers, service providers and platforms –
https://www.twobirds.com/en/insights/2025/a-guide-to-navigating-the-european-accessibility-act-for-online-retailers-service-providers-and-plat)
Microenterprises are exempted from the obligations of the Act, but...
However, as The European Commission page goes on to say:
“Microenterprises (i.e., a small business with fewer than 10 employees) which provide services…are exempted from the obligations of the Act. Nevertheless, all microenterprises are encouraged to make their products and services accessible to persons with disabilities.”
(Source: Vaimo blog: The European Accessibility Act 2025 – What businesses need to do – https://www.vaimo.com/blog/the-european-accessibility-act-2025-what-businesses-need-to-do/)
Even if you are a micro business or SME you can still take positive steps to improve things
We couldn’t agree more. So, even if you’re a micro business or SME, you can still take positive steps to improve things, including making your website fully accessible. Talk to us here at Bnode to find out how.
Referencing the Vaimo blog again, it sets out the key obligations businesses must meet in order to be compliant, including putting at number one what we consider to be our stock-in-trade – Web Accessibility (and Usability, too):
“Obligation #1: Web accessibility
“If your business has a digital presence, your website must comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). You will need to ensure that your digital storefront is open to all.
“Ecommerce websites must ensure that the user experience, from the visual layer through to the technical build, follows accessibility guidelines. Best practice for accessibility in these fields should be applied for pages to be navigable without a mouse and with voice-over.”
Further obligations in respect of web accessibility mentioned in the blog include educating staff and associates on web accessibility best practices and embedding it within the culture of your business, and conducting regular audits of your website to ensure compliance and continuous improvement, making sure that it meets evolving accessibility and usability standards.
(Source: Vaimo blog: The European Accessibility Act 2025 – What businesses need to do – https://www.vaimo.com/blog/the-european-accessibility-act-2025-what-businesses-need-to-do/)
Don't delay - the clock is ticking
Naturally, we thoroughly recommend this, and we are here to help you with those processes.
At time of publication, the 28th of June 2025 deadline for compliance is getting close. But, at least it is at the end of June and not the start of the month, so there is still time to get everything in place. Make sure you work out how all this applies to you and your business, and that you check the accessibility of your products and services (especially your website), as well as creating an action plan that addresses accessibility concerns.
So, don’t delay – the clock is ticking.
Get in touch with Bnode
Get in touch with us at Bnode now, and learn more about website accessibility and making your website European Accessibility Act 2025 and WCAG 2 compliant.
Give us a call or fill the form out below to get in touch with Bnode. We’re here to help.