THE EUROPEAN ACCESSIBILITY ACT

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) made simple

Overwhelmed by technical jargon and acronyms? We're here for you. This guide will show you the way forward, so you achieve compliance in advance of the June 2025 deadline and then remain compliant. Rest assured: You're doing the right thing, both for your site visitors and for your business.

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The EAA’s goal is to build a world where everyone can easily use the internet, no matter their abilities.

Graphic showing accessibility statistics and a key date: 135 million people in the EU have disabilities, and the European Accessibility Act (EAA) goes into effect on June 28th, 2025.

How do I know if the EAA applies to my business?

Most businesses offering services to European consumers are required to be EAA-compliant, including those whose businesses are outside the EU. The 2016 EU Web Accessibility Directive primarily focused on public sector websites and apps, but the reach of the 2025 EAA is much wider.

Graphic showing three categories affected by the EAA: Manufacturers (e.g., makers of computers, smartphones, TVs, ATMs), Service providers (e.g., telephone, banking, e-commerce, transportation), and Distributors (e.g., retailers and wholesalers).

The four key areas you need to get right

Graphic showing WCAG accessibility issues, including missing page titles, table cell context, and skip links, with associated success criteria like non-text content and prerecorded captions.

Essential accessibility features

Think about how different people access information. You'll need to include features like text-to-speech so that written content can be read aloud. Keyboard navigation is also crucial, meaning people should be able to use all the features of your site without needing a mouse. And make sure your website and apps work well with screen readers (tools that people with visual impairments use to understand what's on the screen).

The importance of structure and presentation

How your website is built behind the scenes matters. Using a sound semantic structure requires using the correct HTML tags to define headings, paragraphs, lists, and other elements. This helps screen readers and other assistive technologies understand the content properly.

Color contrast between text and background is also important so that people with low vision can read it easily. And always use clear and descriptive page titles. These titles help users (and search engines) understand what each page is about.

Illustration of a browser window showing HTML code with a labeled input field for 'Username', emphasizing proper code structure for accessibility.

Graphic showing website content issues including misspellings like 'oppertunities' and 'accesssibility', along with broken links displaying 503 and 404 HTTP errors across multiple pages.

EAA and GDPR

The EAA indicates that things like General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) forms you use to collect data, password requirements, and two-factor authentication need to be accessible to everyone, including people who use screen readers or can only use a keyboard.

Mobile accessibility

If you have a mobile app, it needs to be accessible, too. Following the same principles as for websites and make sure your app works well with assistive technologies on phones and tablets.

Graphic showing a list of accessibility issues and an AI-generated HTML code suggestion to fix them, including a missing page title, table cell context, and skip link.

Ready to create inclusive content with Siteimprove?

Don't wait until the last minute. Start your journey to EAA and Web Accessibility Directive compliance today with Siteimprove’s tools. Request a demo or speak with an expert to learn how we can help you create a more accessible and inclusive digital presence for all.

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