How accessible is your webshop? Prepare for the new legislation
Do you have a webshop, 2 million+ sales and more than 10 employees? Then the European Accessibility Act (EAA) is something you can't ignore from June 2025. From then on, every visitor, regardless of physical or mental limitations, must be able to navigate through your webshop without any problems. What does this mean for your e-commerce platform and what steps can you take to comply with the new regulations?
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) aims to remove digital barriers for people with physical or mental disabilities. From June 28, 2025, companies in the European Union must make their digital services, including web shops, accessible to everyone. This means that your webshop must be effortless to use, regardless of the user's disability, be it visual, hearing, motor or cognitive. The impact of this legislation goes beyond webshops; products such as smartphones, streaming services and financial platforms must also meet these requirements.
If you cannot use a mouse due to a motor or visual impairment, you cannot place an order with 8 of the 15 largest web shops in the Netherlands.
Web store accessibility survey 2023
Get the EAA on your calendar
The deadline for the EAA may seem far away, but the preparations required to update your web shop can be time-consuming. That's why it makes sense to take action now. These four steps will help you be ready on time:
1. Start with knowledge and awareness
Understand what the EAA means for your organization before diving into technical modifications. The guidelines are outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG ), an international standard for accessibility on the Web. Success criteria are labeled with different levels; in the Netherlands, level AA becomes mandatory. The WCAG AA guidelines are based on four core principles:
- Visible: Ensure that all content is recognizable, such as with support for screen readers and Braille.
- Operable: Users should be able to control interactive elements such as buttons and forms via both mouse and keyboard.
- Understandable: Your webshop must be logical and easy to navigate so that users can easily find what they are looking for.
- Robust: The functionality of your webshop must be stable, regardless of the technology or tools used.
2. Analyze your shop
Perform a comprehensive analysis to determine how accessible your shop currently is. Are your forms easy to fill out? Can screen readers properly interpret the content? And how accessible are your images and videos to people with visual impairments? This analysis helps you identify where you already score well and where improvements are needed.
3. Make a plan of action
After the analysis, you can prioritize changes. Which parts should be addressed first to comply with WCAG guidelines? And which technical adjustments are better done later? A detailed roadmap not only helps you to be compliant, but also ensures a step-by-step implementation of improvements that will make your shop more user-friendly in the long run.
4. Stay informed
Although the general guidelines for EAA are clear, the implementations vary by country. In the Netherlands, the exact implementation and enforcement are still evolving. It is therefore important to follow developments closely and adjust your strategy where necessary.
Get started
Investing in accessibility means investing in the future. An accessible webshop opens doors to a wider audience, increases customer satisfaction, usability and improves SEO results because search engines prioritize inclusive, accessible web pages. With the June 28, 2025 deadline in sight, now is the time to take action.
Stronger together
You are not alone, our e-commerce experts are happy to help with the necessary actions to comply with the European Accessibility Act (EAA). Our partners are also working hard to have their e-commerce platforms comply with the new guidelines. We are not only ready for the necessary technical support, but also think along strategically to make your webshop fully EAA-compliant.