The clock is ticking. In just over two months, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) will become EU law, fundamentally changing how businesses approach digital accessibility, writes Lewis Sellers, group managing director – web & ecommerce at IDHL. Despite Brexit, this legislation will impact every UK business selling products or services to European audiences from June.
Yet surprisingly, many organisations are treating this the same way they approached GDPR – as tomorrow’s problem. This approach could prove costly, both financially and reputationally.
We’ve held clients’ hands through decades of digital evolution and seen how regulatory changes like this can create both challenges and opportunities for growth-focused organisations.
Why does this matter now?
The EAA is not just another regulatory hurdle – it represents a significant shift in how we must approach website design, development and content. At its core, the legislation requires websites to comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), making digital content perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for all users.
Unlike GDPR, where many businesses scrambled to implement changes just weeks before the deadline, the EAA requires fundamental structural changes that simply cannot be accomplished overnight. Trying to retrofit accessibility onto existing websites is like attempting to add a lift to a building that wasn’t designed for one – expensive, inefficient, and ultimately incomplete.
The real cost of non-compliance
The consequences for brands of ignoring these requirements extend far beyond potential legal penalties:
Market exclusion: By failing to accommodate users with disabilities, businesses are effectively shutting the door on a significant portion of potential customers. The ‘purple pound’ or collective spending power of disabled people and their households in the UK is an enormous £274 billion a year and businesses are losing around £17.1 billion of this due to consumers abandoning inaccessible websites.
In the North, where digital innovation hubs are driving growth, businesses have a particular opportunity to lead by example rather than follow.
Damaged reputation: In today’s socially conscious marketplace, inaccessible websites signal that your brand doesn’t value inclusivity – a message that resonates negatively with all customers, not just those with disabilities.
SEO penalties: Google already factors accessibility into its ranking algorithms, and this emphasis will only increase. Poor accessibility means poor visibility.
Retrofit expenses: Last-minute accessibility fixes cost substantially more than building accessibility in from the ground up.
Beyond box-ticking: A strategic approach
The most forward-thinking businesses are recognising that accessibility isn’t just about compliance but about providing better experiences for everyone and at IDHL we have created a free comprehensive guide to help clients navigate this.
Here’s how to take a strategic approach:
1. Start with a comprehensive audit
Rather than relying on quick-fix tools that might get you 80% of the way there, conduct a thorough assessment against WCAG guidelines. This means examining everything from keyboard navigation to colour contrast, alt text descriptions, and form labelling. At IDHL, we find truly integrated digital strategies that combine technical expertise with creative and UX insights delivers the most robust accessibility solutions.
2. Rebuild accessibility from the ground up
True accessibility requires changes at the code level. While tools like accessiBe can help, they shouldn’t be your entire solution. Accessibility must be woven into the fabric of your website, not applied as a surface-level patch.
3. Align SEO and accessibility efforts
Many accessibility requirements like proper heading structures, descriptive alt text, and logical navigation also benefit your search engine performance. By addressing both simultaneously, you can improve compliance as well as conversions. This alignment between accessibility and SEO has been a cornerstone of our approach since the early days of search engine optimisation.
4. Bring empathy into design
This is not simply a technical challenge, it’s a human one. Design teams need dedicated training to understand the diverse spectrum of disabilities. For example, what might seem like an intuitive checkout button to most users could be completely invisible to someone using a screen reader without proper labelling.
5. Balance brand aesthetics with accessibility
For luxury or minimalist brands, the challenge often lies in maintaining visual identity while adding the necessary context for accessibility. This tension requires creative solutions rather than compromise.
6. Use clear, concise language
The EAA requires content to be understandable by all users. This aligns perfectly with creating high-readability content that performs well for both users and search engines.
The competitive advantage of acting now
While many businesses will likely delay until the last possible moment, those that address accessibility now stand to gain significant advantages. Beyond compliance, accessible websites typically show improved user engagement metrics, higher conversion rates, and better search engine rankings.
Most importantly, this is not only the right thing to do but makes good business sense. By making your brand’s digital presence accessible to all, you expand your potential market while demonstrating your commitment to inclusivity – values that increasingly drive consumer loyalty in the UK.
It would be a mistake to view The European Accessibility Act as just another regulatory headache; it is an opportunity to create better digital experiences for everyone. The brands that recognise this will not only avoid the scramble of last-minute compliance but will reap the rewards of more inclusive, effective digital presences.
For ambitious businesses looking to accelerate their growth, accessibility is a fundamental component of every forward-thinking digital strategy – not a box to tick, but a pathway to sustainable success in an increasingly diverse digital economy.
