Did you get an email from your developer about the “European Accessibility Act” and now you are wondering whether your website needs changes? Since June 28, 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) has been in force across the EU, and it changes the rules for e-commerce websites and digital services. It is not a recommendation: it is binding legislation, with fines of up to €40,000, and it has been fully in effect for more than a year.
If you sell online or offer digital services, this article explains exactly what you need to do to comply, and why there is no longer a deadline to wait for.
What the European Accessibility Act is and why it affects your website
The European Accessibility Act is EU Directive 2019/882, which sets mandatory accessibility standards for digital products and services. Since June 28, 2025, every e-commerce website in the EU has had to meet specific accessibility criteria.
The law stems from a concrete fact: more than 87 million Europeans live with some form of disability. A significant share of the population cannot use many websites because of digital barriers that are entirely avoidable.
The EAA does not apply to every website across the board. It mainly covers:
- E-commerce websites and marketplaces
- Online banking and financial services
- Transport and mobility platforms
- Electronic communications services
- Audiovisual content and streaming
A company brochure website with no online sales features is not subject to the EAA, but it still benefits from being accessible, both for its image and, above all, for SEO: Google rewards well-structured, usable websites.
Not sure whether your website falls under the requirements?
We analyze your website’s home page for free and tell you whether there are serious accessibility issues and whether the European Accessibility Act applies to you. Report by email within 1 business hour.
What the mandatory technical requirements are
The EAA is based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 level AA, the harmonized reference standard. The latest version, WCAG 2.2, is now recommended as the up-to-date reference and includes a few additional usability criteria. In practice, your website must meet a set of success criteria grouped under four core principles.
Perceivable
Information must be presented in ways everyone can perceive. This includes alternative text for images, captions for videos and sufficient color contrast between text and background (a minimum ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text).
Operable
Every function must be usable from the keyboard. You cannot have interactive elements that work only with a mouse. Navigation menus, checkout forms and buttons must be reachable with the Tab and Enter keys.
Understandable
Content must be clear and predictable. Form errors must be clearly flagged, field labels must be explicit and navigation must follow a consistent logic.
Robust
The website must work with a range of assistive technologies, such as screen readers for blind users or screen magnification software.
In our experience, the most common issues we find on existing websites involve color contrast (present in about 70% of cases) and missing alternative text for images (more than 85% of the websites we check).
Penalties and enforcement: what you risk if you don’t comply
Italy transposed the directive with Legislative Decree No. 82 of May 27, 2022. Administrative fines range from €5,000 to €40,000, depending on the severity of the non-compliance, the number of services involved and the users affected, and they are imposed by the Agency for Digital Italy (Agenzia per l’Italia Digitale, AgID). Anyone who fails to respond to the authority’s requests risks a second fine, from €2,500 to €30,000. Only for companies with average revenue above €500 million can the fine reach up to 5% of revenue.
Enforcement is not automatic: it is mainly triggered by reports. Any citizen can report an inaccessible website through the AgID portal, and once a report is received, the agency has set deadlines to check compliance. Now that the law has been in effect for more than a year, reports are a real possibility, no longer a theoretical one.
Fines are not the only risk. An inaccessible website can also lead to:
- Compensation claims from users who have been harmed
- Exclusion from public tenders (for suppliers to the public administration)
- Reputational damage and lost customers
What we often see is an unexpected upside: websites that have been made accessible also improve the overall user experience, with conversion rates 10-15% higher on average.
How to check whether your website is already compliant
Before planning costly work, you can run a preliminary check of your website. There are free automated tools such as WAVE or axe DevTools that identify the most obvious problems. If you want a step-by-step guide, we explain the process in our article on how to check a website’s accessibility with WCAG tests.
Keep in mind, though, that these tools detect only 30-40% of accessibility issues. A complete assessment requires manual testing with real users and assistive technologies.
Quick checklist for an initial assessment
You can run these basic checks right away:
- Navigate the website using only the keyboard (Tab, Enter, arrow keys)
- Check that every image has meaningful alternative text
- Make sure the text has enough contrast against the background
- Test the forms: are the errors clear and specific?
- Try zooming the page to 200%: does everything stay visible and usable?
If even one of these tests fails, your website is almost certainly not EAA-compliant.
Costs and timelines for compliance
Costs depend on the complexity of the website and its current level of accessibility. For an average e-commerce site (50-100 product pages), full compliance generally requires:
- Initial audit: €800-1,500 (2-3 days of work)
- Technical fixes: €2,500-5,000 (1-2 weeks)
- Final verification testing: €500-800 (1 day)
Timelines range from 3 to 6 weeks, depending on the development team’s availability and whether design changes are needed.
A common mistake we see is putting off compliance in the belief that it is just a last-minute technical task. In reality, making a website accessible also involves design and content decisions, which are best planned in advance. Some work can be phased in, starting with the most critical fixes (color contrast, keyboard navigation) and then completing the more complex aspects.
A practical strategy for compliance
The law has been in effect for more than a year, so there is no longer a deadline to wait for: either you are compliant, or you are exposed. Getting compliant now, with a structured plan, protects you from fines and complaints. Here is how to go about it.
Phase 1: Assessment
Commission a professional audit of your current website. Don’t rely on automated tools alone: you need a human assessment to identify all the real usability problems.
Phase 2: Prioritization
Not all problems are equally serious. Start with the blockers that make the website completely unusable, then move on to progressive improvements.
Phase 3: Implementation
Work with a team experienced in digital accessibility that knows the WCAG. Adding a few alt texts to images is not enough: you need specific expertise to work on structure, code and design.
Phase 4: Testing and certification
Allow at least two weeks for in-depth testing with real users and assistive technologies. Many accessibility problems only surface during practical use in real-world scenarios.
The advice we always give: start with the assessment right away, even if you are not sure the requirements apply to you. The benefits of an accessible website go far beyond legal compliance.
Frequently asked questions
Do all websites have to comply with the European Accessibility Act?
No, the EAA mainly applies to e-commerce, online banking services, transport platforms and electronic communications services. Brochure websites without online sales are not required to comply, but improving accessibility is still an advantage for usability and SEO.
How much does it cost to bring a website into compliance with the European Accessibility Act?
For an average e-commerce site, total costs range from about €3,800 to €7,300, including the audit, technical fixes and final testing. The work takes 3-6 weeks, depending on the complexity of the website and its starting level of accessibility.
What are the penalties for not complying with the EAA?
Administrative fines range from €5,000 to €40,000 and are imposed by AgID following a report. Besides fines, you risk compensation claims from users and exclusion from public tenders if you are a supplier to the public administration.
How do I know whether my website is already compliant?
You can run preliminary tests with tools such as WAVE or by navigating the website using only the keyboard. For a reliable assessment, however, you need a professional audit based on WCAG 2.1 AA, because automated tools on their own catch only some of the issues.
Is the EAA already in force, or is there still time to comply?
It is already in force: the European Accessibility Act has applied since June 28, 2025, so the obligations have been fully active for more than a year. There is no future deadline left to wait for. If you are among the businesses covered and you are not compliant, you are already exposed to fines and complaints, so it makes sense to start with an audit right away.
Is your website compliant with the European Accessibility Act?
The law is in force: don’t risk fines of up to €40,000. We analyze your website’s home page for free and tell you whether there are serious issues. Report by email within 1 business hour, and no phone calls unless you ask for one.
