The EAA 2025 is pivotal legislation to standardise accessibility requirements for digital products across EU member states.
Set for full implementation in June 2025, the EAA aims to enhance digital inclusion by ensuring uniform accessibility standards, benefiting millions of individuals with disabilities across Europe.
It’s clear that this legislation signifies a genuine leap forward in our collective journey towards a more inclusive digital world
-Stuart Harland, Head of Front-end Development
Are your digital products, including your website, ready? Let us guide you through this upcoming law change, what is means for businesses, and the necessary steps you can take to be prepared.
What is Digital Accessibility?
Digital accessibility ensures that digital products are designed and developed to allow people with disabilities to perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with content effectively.
This is essential for promoting inclusivity, improving user experience, and ensuring equal access to information and services for everyone.
Various disabilities, including visual, hearing, motor, and cognitive impairments, can impact web usage. Addressing these needs ensures all users have equal access to online content.
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) 2025
What are the Key Requirements?
The EAA aims to standardise accessibility requirements across the EU, focusing on improving accessibility for those with disabilities. Some key requirements related to websites include:
- Standards: Adherence to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA, which provides internationally recognised standards for accessibility, is a recommended first step.
- Content Accessibility: Ensuring that all content, including text, images, and multimedia, is accessible to users with disabilities.
- User Interface & Navigation: Designing user interfaces and navigation structures that are intuitive and accessible.
- Compatibility with Assistive Technologies: Ensuring compatibility with technologies such as screen readers, magnifiers, and voice recognition software.
- User Feedback: Providing accessible channels for users to give feedback and report accessibility issues.
- Regular Audits and Monitoring: Conducting regular audits and monitoring to ensure ongoing compliance with accessibility standards.
- Internal Training and Awareness: Training staff to understand and implement accessibility best practices throughout the organisation.
What Digital Products will be Affected?
The EAA applies to several types of websites and digital services, including:
- E-commerce Platforms
- Banking and Financial Service Websites
- Transport Service Websites
- Hospitality and Tourism Websites
Essentially, it applies to all digital content offering products and services to the public.
What is the Timeline?
- June 2019: The EAA was adopted by the EU.
- June 2022: Each state needed to adopt the directive into their national laws.
- 28th June 2025: Companies must ensure that new products and services are accessible. Existing products and services have an additional five years to meet the EAA’s standards.
Many countries have laws or regulations that require websites and digital content to be accessible, protecting organisations from potential lawsuits and penalties.
Under the EAA, EU member states are required to adhere to this unified set of accessibility regulations and any organisation selling products and services within the EU need to comply with the regulations too.
Potential Penalties for Noncompliance:
- You could be fined and face financial penalties - member states oversee their own penalties for noncompliance, which should be “effective, proportionate, and dissuasive.”
- There is also the risk of reputational damage and loss of customer trust
Positive Impact of the EAA on Businesses
Improved User Experience
Compliance with the EAA means designing websites and digital services that are easier to navigate and use for everyone, including those with disabilities. This results in an improved overall user experience, leading to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Expanded Market Reach
The EAA encourages businesses to make their products and services accessible to all, including people with disabilities. By doing so, businesses can tap into a larger market segment that was previously underserved, thereby expanding their customer base and potentially increasing revenue.
Brand Reputation Enhancement
Businesses that prioritise accessibility demonstrate a commitment to inclusivity and social responsibility. This can enhance their brand reputation, positioning them as leaders in accessibility and earning the trust and loyalty of customers who value these principles.
Cost Savings Through Early Accessibility Implementation
Implementing accessibility features early can result in cost savings in the long term. By integrating accessibility into the initial design and development phases, businesses can avoid costly retrofits and legal expenses associated with non-compliance. Moreover, accessible design often leads to better usability for all users, reducing support costs and improving efficiency.
Steps You Can Take Today to Create an Accessible Website
- WCAG 2.2 AA: This is the recognised single standards for web accessibility. This comprehensive resource should be your main reference
- Clear and Concise Content: This improves accessibility and understanding for all users
- Effective Use of Headings and Lists: This enhances navigation and readability
- Descriptive Alt Text for Images: This ensures images are accessible to visually impaired users
- Sufficient Colour Contrast: This aids users with visual impairments in reading content
- Keyboard Navigation: This facilitates seamless access for users who do not use a mouse
- Accessible Forms: Clear labels and instructions benefit users using assistive technologies
- Regular Website Accessibility Audits: This can ensure compliance and identify areas for improvement. Accessibility compliance is an ongoing process
A New Era for Digital Inclusivity
By setting accessibility standards across digital platforms, the EAA will help break down the barriers that have long excluded people with disabilities.
The EAA is also going to make us better at developing and designing, encouraging us to be more creative and to continually improve our processes. By focusing on inclusivity in our design approach, we can create more engaging, intuitive, and user-friendly experiences for everyone.
Embracing this mindset is certainly not new to us in Zesty, but we welcome its broader adoption across our industry.
How can Zesty Help?
We take accessibility seriously at Zesty and are committed to supporting businesses in their accessibility efforts. There are several checks we offer, including:
- Run several manual and automated tests that check against the WCGAG 2.2 guidelines to show whether your website passes or fails technical compliance
- Check your website's colour/contrast ratios
- Check page structure and hierarchy validity
- Verify that keyboard-only navigation works
- Ensure your users can zoom in and still navigate the website
- Test your site on multiple browsers and devices
Accessibility Best Practice: Our Work with Dublin Bus
As the largest public transport provider in Dublin, Dublin Bus needed to ensure their digital services were inclusive for all users.
At Zesty, we focus on creating front-end builds as standalone packages. This approach enables isolated testing using industry leading accessibility tools and thorough internal manual testing.
After integrating the front-end with the CMS, we then conducted a second round of comprehensive testing on the entire website. This dual-phase method ensures our technical compliance remains robust throughout development.
Alongside our internal accessibility practices, we worked with Vially (formerly IA Labs) – a digital accessibility company – to carry out further manual accessibility testing. By providing Vially with up-to-date access to the front-end and development site, we facilitated continuous manual testing and feedback implementation. This process resulted in real user feedback that extended beyond WCAG guidelines, and significantly improved usability.
We were delighted our collaborative efforts won the Excellence in Digital Accessibility Award at the prestigious Digital Business Ireland Awards.
Next Steps
At Zesty, we are committed to aiding businesses in their accessibility initiatives.
Whether you are looking to conduct a comprehensive accessibility audit, consult on best practices, or improve user experience through accessibility enhancements, we are here to help.
With less than 12 months until the law comes into place, contact us today to learn more about our accessibility services and how we can help your business comply with the European Accessibility Act 2025.
Email our team at support@simplyzesty.com or call us on 028 9043 6655.