European Accessibility Act: is your website compliant?

What the law asks

The European Accessibility Act is EU Directive 2019/882. Italy transposed it with Legislative Decree 82/2022, and it has applied across the EU since 28 June 2025. It requires digital services sold to consumers to be accessible: online shops, banking, transport, e-books. Microenterprises providing services are exempt. A microenterprise employs fewer than 10 people and has an annual turnover or an annual balance sheet total of no more than 2 million euros: both conditions must hold, and for the second it is enough that one of the two figures stays within 2 million. In Italy these are article 3(3) and article 2(1)(bb) of Legislative Decree 82/2022.

The technical reference is the EN 301 549 standard, which for the web points to WCAG 2.1 at level AA.

I handle the technical side. If you're unsure whether the obligation applies to you, ask a lawyer: I'm happy to tell you what the technical standard asks for, but it isn't legal advice.

What I check on your site

• that everything works with the keyboard alone, with your position on the page always visible;
• that a screen reader reads headings, buttons, forms and images in the right order;
• colour contrast, and text zoomed to 200% without anything cut off;
• form error messages, which need to say what to fix;
• if you sell online, every step from product page to payment, customer area included.

I test with a real screen reader as well as automated tools. On their own, automated tools find only some of the problems.

How the work goes

1. You send me the address and tell me which steps matter most, for example from product page to payment.
2. I check those pages and send you the list of problems, most serious first.
3. I fix the code: theme, forms, components. If another agency built the site, the list is useful to them too.
4. I draft the accessibility statement for you to publish.

What I can't promise

A site stays accessible only as long as whoever updates it keeps it that way: a new image without alt text or a new plugin can bring a problem back. With maintenance I keep an eye on that too. The full service is described in Accessibility.

If your shop is in Switzerland and sells to the EU, see Swiss online shop with EU customers.

Frequently asked questions

Does the law apply to my company?

It depends on what you sell online and on the size of the company. Microenterprises providing services are exempt: companies that employ fewer than 10 people and have an annual turnover or an annual balance sheet total of no more than 2 million euros. With 10 people or more there is no exemption, however small the turnover. I'm not a lawyer: for your exact case, check with a legal adviser or your trade association.

Is an accessibility plugin enough?

No. Plugins that add a button to enlarge text or change colours leave the page underneath as it was: a form without labels still has no labels for a screen reader.

Does a brochure site with no sales need to comply?

The EAA is mainly about services sold to consumers, like online shops, banking and transport. A site that simply presents a company usually falls outside it, but an accessible site is easier for everyone to use, and search engines like it too.

What do I get at the end?

A list of problems ranked by severity, the fixes in the code and an accessibility statement to publish on the site.

Read more

• The service: Accessibility
• More pages like this: New rules to comply with