Since 28 June 2025, digital accessibility is no longer just good practice for many businesses in the European Union: it is the law. The European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882), applied through each country’s own legislation (in Spain, Law 11/2023), requires certain websites and apps to be usable by everyone: people with low or no vision, people who cannot hear and people who cannot use a mouse.
Here is, in plain words, who it covers, what it asks for and how to run a first check of your website.
Who does it cover?
It applies to services offered to consumers in these sectors:
- E-commerce: any website or app where a consumer buys or signs up for something at a distance.
- Consumer banking: credit, payments, accounts, electronic money and some investment services.
- Passenger transport by air, bus, rail and water: websites, apps, e-tickets and travel information. For urban, suburban and regional transport, only interactive self-service terminals are covered.
- Electronic communications, access to audiovisual media services and e-books.
There is one important exception: microenterprises providing services are exempt. A microenterprise employs fewer than 10 people and has an annual turnover or balance sheet of no more than 2 million euros.
If your website only informs and does not sell or sign anyone up, the Act most likely does not reach it. Making it accessible is still worth it: it is also used by older people, by someone reading their phone in bright sunlight and by anyone browsing with one hand busy.
What it asks for in practice
The Act requires services to be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. For a website, the technical reference is the European standard EN 301 549, which includes the W3C’s international WCAG guidelines at level AA. Today the reference version is V3.2.1, which matches WCAG 2.1 AA; V4.1.1, with WCAG 2.2, was published in September 2026 and is not yet listed in the Official Journal of the EU. In concrete terms:
| What gets checked | Common failure |
|---|---|
| Text contrast | Light grey text on a white background |
| Alternative text | Product photos with no description |
| Keyboard use | A menu that only opens with a mouse |
| Visible focus | You cannot see which button you are on when tabbing |
| Forms | Fields without labels and errors that do not say what is wrong |
| Structure | Headings that are only large text, with no hierarchy |
| Zoom and mobile | Content cut off when zoomed to 200% |
| Video | Videos without captions |
| Motion | Animations that cannot be stopped |
The service provider must also explain how it meets the accessibility requirements in its general terms and conditions or an equivalent document, in an accessible format, and keep that information up to date.
Some content is excluded: pre-recorded video and audio and office documents published before 28 June 2025, online maps (if the essential information is provided accessibly), third-party content you neither fund, develop nor control, and archives not updated since that date. There is also a transition: until 28 June 2030, service providers may keep using products they lawfully used before 28 June 2025 (terminals or equipment, for example), and service contracts agreed before 28 June 2025 may continue unchanged until they expire, but no later than 28 June 2030 (national laws may set different cut-offs). Your website or online shop itself gets no grace period.
What happens if you do not comply?
Penalties are set by each member state. In Spain, for example, the supplementary regime allows fines from 301 to 1,000,000 euros depending on severity (Royal Legislative Decree 1/2013, article 83). Beyond fines, a website people cannot use loses sales: everyone who cannot finish a purchase is a customer who leaves.
A first check of your website in an afternoon
- Run an automated test. PageSpeed Insights or Chrome’s Lighthouse tab gives an accessibility score. It is a good start, but the Lighthouse report itself warns that some points cannot be checked by an automated tool.
- Browse with the keyboard only. Tab to move forward, Shift + Tab to go back and Enter to activate. Can you reach everything? Can you always see where you are?
- Zoom the page to 200% in your desktop browser. Nothing should be cut off or overlap.
- Try a screen reader. VoiceOver on Mac and iPhone, or TalkBack on Android, come built in. Listen to your product page and your form.
- Make mistakes in your forms on purpose. The error message should say what is wrong and how to fix it.
- Watch your videos muted. If they make no sense, captions are missing.
This quick check does not replace a full audit against EN 301 549. If you find problems, you rarely need a new website: most are fixed in the existing design and code.
How we do it at Vetro
In every website we build, accessibility is part of the standard from the first sketch: checked contrast, everything usable by keyboard, alternative text, clear forms and respect for people who prefer less motion. We work to WCAG 2.2 level AA, which goes beyond the WCAG 2.1 AA of the current standard, and verify it with Lighthouse and by hand before launch. Our own website scores 100 for accessibility on PageSpeed Insights.
Frequently asked questions
Does my corporate website have to comply? If you do not sell to or sign up consumers through it and you are not in the sectors above, probably not under this Act. Public bodies have their own rules (the Web Accessibility Directive).
Is an accessibility plugin enough? No. Those toolbars do not fix the underlying problems in the code or the content, and the Act is about the service itself.
How often should it be reviewed? Whenever you change the design, add features or publish important new content. Accessibility is maintained, just like security.
Sources
- Directive (EU) 2019/882, the European Accessibility Act: scope, the microenterprise exemption and transition periods (article 32).
- Spain’s Law 11/2023 (BOE) and Royal Legislative Decree 1/2013 (BOE): the Spanish implementation and its fines.
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 (W3C).
- How Lighthouse scores accessibility (Chrome for Developers).
This article is general information, not legal advice. To know whether the law applies to you, check your country’s implementing law or ask a lawyer.
