The European Accessibility Act and your small business website

What the act is

The European Accessibility Act is an EU law that sets common accessibility requirements for certain products and services, so that people with disabilities can use them. It has applied since 28 June 2025. For websites, the services most clearly in scope are things like online shops and other consumer services sold at a distance, along with banking, transport and communications services.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Are you exempt?

The act exempts microenterprises providing services from its service requirements. A microenterprise has fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding €2 million. If you are a sole trader, a small salon or a local trades business under those limits, the service requirements do not apply to you.

Three cautions apply. First, the exemption covers services; products have separate rules. Second, national laws implement the act and may add detail, so check your own country's version if you are close to the limits. Third, if you grow past the thresholds, the requirements apply from then on, and it is easier to build accessibly from the start than to retrofit later.

Why it is worth doing even if you are exempt

• More customers can use your site. People with low vision, colour blindness, tremors or temporary injuries are all potential customers.
• Older visitors benefit. Clear contrast and readable text sizes help anyone whose eyesight is not what it was.
• Search engines read the same signals. Image descriptions, clear headings and descriptive link text help search engines understand a page too.
• Mobile visitors benefit. Large tap targets and simple layouts help on a small screen in bright sunlight.

The practical checklist

Accessibility can sound technical, but for a typical small business site most of the work comes down to a handful of habits.

Text and colour

• Use enough contrast between text and background. Light grey text on white is the most common failure.
• Do not use colour alone to show meaning, such as red for required fields. Add a word or symbol.
• Keep body text at a comfortable size and let it resize without breaking the layout.

Images

• Give every meaningful image alt text that says what it shows, for example "Kitchen fitted with oak worktops".
• Leave decorative images with empty alt text so screen readers skip them.
• Avoid putting important words inside images, such as opening hours on a photo.

Structure

• Use one main heading per page, then headings in a logical order.
• Write link text that makes sense alone. "See our prices" beats "click here".
• Make sure the whole site works with a keyboard, including menus and forms.

Forms

• Give every field a visible label, not just placeholder text that disappears.
• Explain errors in words next to the field that caused them.
• Do not set short time limits for completing a form.

How to test your own site

1. Try to use your site with only the keyboard, using the Tab key to move between links and fields.
2. Zoom the browser to 200 percent and check nothing is cut off.
3. Run a free automated checker to catch missing alt text and low contrast.
4. Read your page headings on their own. Do they outline the page?
5. Ask someone who did not build the site to complete your enquiry form on a phone.

Automated tools catch only part of the picture, so the manual checks matter. If you also collect personal data through forms, combine this work with our GDPR checklist. If you are planning a new site, our guide to essential pages helps you keep the structure simple.

Accessibility checks before you publish

Our builder blocks publishing until your site passes checks for findability and accessibility, including page titles, descriptions, image alt text and colour contrast. One button fixes common gaps, including adding privacy and terms pages. You can change the logo, colours and fonts freely, and the contrast check tells you if a choice makes text hard to read. See the available designs or start with the builder.

Frequently asked