So, web accessibility has been a big deal lately, and it’s about to get even more important when the requirements of the new European Accessibility Act kicks in.
The EAA supposedly applies from June 28, 2025 – yeah, the date has passed! – and it’s all about making websites and other stuff more accessible for people with disabilities. We’ve been looking at what this means for Irish businesses and honestly, it can seem pretty overwhelming at first.
What’s this European Accessibility Act about anyway?
The EAA is basically trying to get everyone in the EU on the same page with accessibility standards. Makes sense, right? It covers loads of things
- Company websites and apps
- Online shopping
- Transport stuff (planes, buses, trains)
- Banking (websites, ATMs, the lot)
- TV services
What does your website need?
From our analysis, and further to discussions with clients, you’ll need to focus on:
- Following WCAG 2.1 guidelines at AA level (I know, another acronym – but it’s important)
- Making sure people can use your site with just a keyboard
- Getting your site to work with screen readers and other tech that helps people
- Adding text descriptions for images and videos
- Making sure your site works on phones, tablets, and computers
A client of ours panicked about this last month – turned out their site was actually pretty close to compliant already! Don’t assume it’ll be a massive job. Equally don’t assume your site complies because a lot of sites were built when these measures weren’t a requirement. Sorting it out will need a bit of teamwork but its all do-able.
Small business? There’s good news
The Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has put out some draft guidelines for small businesses. If you’ve got fewer than 10 employees and make less than €2 million a year, you get some breaks – the rules are a bit lighter for you.
The guidelines explain
- Which products need to follow the rules
- What you need to do if you make, import or distribute products
- How to actually meet the requirements
- Where you might get exceptions
How to get your website sorted
So what should you actually do? Here’s our take:
1. Check where you stand
First, figure out how accessible your site is right now. There are some good tools out there (I’ll mention them later), but nothing beats getting actual humans to test your site too.
2. Make a plan (but keep it simple)
Work out what needs fixing and when you’ll do it. Don’t try to tackle everything at once – that’s a recipe for disaster!
3. Fix your design and content
Your site needs to:
- Be easy to navigate (I’ve seen some confusing navigation menus lately)
- Have high contrast so text is easy to read
- Be flexible enough that people can zoom in if needed
- Have captions and transcripts for videos (this one’s often forgotten)
4. Sort out your code
This might be one for your developer, but make sure your site’s code is clean and follows good practices. The right HTML structure makes a massive difference.
5. Get your team on board
I’ve seen great websites become inaccessible within months because someone didn’t know why certain features were there, and edited them out. Make sure everyone knows the basics.
6. Ask for feedback
This might be obvious, but talk to people with disabilities! They’ll spot things you’d never think of. Someone who uses a screen reader in reality might easily find accessibility issues that automated tools won’t pick up.
7. Keep checking
Websites change all the time. Set a reminder to check accessibility whenever you add new stuff.
Some tools that might help
These tools are handy to use – check them out:
- WAVE – finds accessibility problems
- Colour Contrast Analysers – make sure people can read your text
- Screen readers like NVDA or JAWS – try using your site without looking at it!
- Accessibe – is an overlay tool that promises to make websites accessible with one line of code. Effectively it retro-fits accessibility however this is controversial in some communities as it is seen as avoiding implementing best practice for accessibility. You’ll need to make a judgement call on it!
The reality check
So, these tools are great – but having a human analyse your site still tops them all. Automated tools like these can only catch about 30% of accessibility issues. The other 70% need actual human testing and proper fixes in your website’s code. Many people with disabilities actively oppose certain tools because they often interfere with screen readers and assistive technologies.
The deadline was June 28th, but Plus, an accessible website isn’t just about following rules – it’s about making sure everyone can use your site. And that’s just good business, isn’t it?
Got questions about getting your site ready for the EAA? Drop us a line – we can help businesses just like yours get compliant without breaking the bank.
