What actually changed in 2025
The European Accessibility Act didn't introduce a new standard – it made an existing one, WCAG 2.1 AA, legally enforceable for a wide range of digital products sold to EU consumers, with real penalties for non-compliance in most member states.
Who this applies to
If you sell goods, services, e-commerce, or banking-adjacent products to consumers based in the EU – regardless of where your company is registered – the Act applies to you. A handful of micro-enterprise exemptions exist, but they're narrower than most founders assume.
WCAG 2.1 AA: what you actually need
Need help implementing this for your project?
Tell us about your project and we'll take it from there.
- Every interactive element reachable and operable by keyboard alone, no mouse required.
- Color contrast of at least 4.5:1 for body text, 3:1 for large text and UI components.
- Form fields with real labels, not just placeholder text that disappears on focus.
- Meaningful alt text on images that carry information, empty alt on purely decorative ones.
- No content that flashes more than three times per second.
An overlay widget bolted onto a non-compliant site doesn't fix the underlying markup – and regulators increasingly know the difference.
What to do next
Start with a real audit against the checklist above, not a scanner report alone – automated tools catch maybe a third of actual issues. Fix the structural ones (semantic HTML, keyboard flow, contrast) before touching anything cosmetic. That's also, not coincidentally, the same work that improves SEO and conversion.