Website accessibility: WCAG and the new EU law

What is WCAG?

WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. They are international guidelines that describe when a website is accessible. They are built around four principles. A site must be:

• Perceivable: information must be visible or audible, even for people who use one of those senses less well. Think of alt text for images and subtitles for video.
• Operable: everything must work with just a keyboard, and visitors get enough time.
• Understandable: clear language, predictable navigation and clear error messages.
• Robust: the code is built so that assistive tools such as screen readers can read it properly.

There are three levels: A, AA and AAA. Level A is the absolute minimum, and AAA is so strict that almost no site meets it fully. Level AA is the common standard that laws and governments refer to. The guidelines are updated from time to time; newer versions build on the old ones, so what you get right now stays right.

European Accessibility Act: does it apply to you?

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is a European law that has been turned into national rules in the Netherlands. It applies to things like online shops and online services aimed at consumers, such as ordering, booking and paying online. There is an exemption for very small businesses that provide services.

Whether the law applies exactly to your business depends on what you sell, to whom and how big your business is. That is a legal question. Get advice on it from a lawyer. Apart from the law, an accessible website is simply smart: more people can buy from you or get in touch, and many improvements also help you get found.

Why digital accessibility is good for your business too

• More customers: people who give up now can place an order or book an appointment.
• Better SEO: clear headings, alt text and clean code help Google understand your pages.
• A better experience for everyone: good contrast and big buttons are also nice on a phone outdoors.
• Fewer questions: clear copy and forms lead to fewer phone calls and mistakes.
• Trust: a site that works properly feels more professional.

Making your website accessible: a checklist

You do not need to be an expert to find the biggest problems. Go through these points:

• Contrast: is text easy to read against the background? Light grey text on white is a common problem.
• Alt text: does every meaningful image have a short description? Decorative images get an empty alt text.
• Headings: is there one main heading per page, and do the subheadings follow a logical order?
• Keyboard: can you move through the whole site with the Tab key, and can you always see where you are?
• Link text: do links say where they go? 'Read more about our prices' is better than 'click here'.
• Forms: does every field have a visible label, and are error messages clear?
• Colour: do you avoid conveying information with colour alone, such as a red field without text?
• Zooming: does the site stay usable when you zoom in to 200 percent?
• Video and audio: are there subtitles or a transcript?
• Language: is the page language set correctly, so a screen reader uses the right pronunciation?

A quick test: put your mouse away and try to fill in a form using only your keyboard. If that does not work, you have a concrete point to start with.

There are also free testing tools that check your pages automatically, such as the accessibility check in your browser's developer tools. These tools mainly find technical errors, such as missing alt text or too little contrast. They do not find everything. Whether an alt text really describes what is shown, or whether copy is understandable, needs a human to judge. So use them as a starting point, not a final verdict.

Accessibility for online shops

In an online shop, most problems are in the steps towards the order. Think of filters that do not work with a keyboard, a basket that is not read out, or a payment step with unclear error messages. That is exactly where you do not want anyone to get stuck. Test the whole journey, from searching for a product to paying. Building a new shop? Then also read our article on having an online shop built.

Common accessibility mistakes

• Relying on an 'accessibility plugin' or overlay that claims to fix everything. It usually does not fix the underlying problems in the code.
• Putting text in images, so a screen reader cannot read it.
• Buttons that are not really buttons in the code, so they do not work with a keyboard.
• Pop-ups you cannot close without a mouse.
• Only thinking about accessibility at the end. From the start it is much cheaper.

Many organisations also put an accessibility statement on their site. It says which level you aim for, what is already in place, what is not yet, and how visitors can report a problem. Such a statement is honest towards visitors and makes you actually keep track of where things stand. Whether you are required to have one depends on your situation; check with a lawyer.

Accessibility is not a one-off job. Every new page, image or form can introduce a new problem. So make it part of your regular website maintenance.

Having an accessible website built

At Violexa we include accessibility from the very first design: good contrast, clean headings, alt text, forms with labels and a site you can use with a keyboard. That is part of our websites and apps. A design that works on every screen is also the foundation; read more about that in responsive website.

A custom website starts from €1,799 excl. VAT (€2,177 incl. VAT), including design, development, SEO basics, Google Analytics, CMS integration and a walkthrough.

Want to know how accessible your current site is and what to tackle first? Book a free quickscan. It is a 30-minute conversation, online or on site, followed by short written advice and a price estimate. No obligation.

Frequently asked questions