From 28 June 2025 entered into force European Accessibility Act (European Accessibility Act - EAA) - a new EU regulation that has changed the way websites and online shops must be built and maintained in Europe.
If you have website, online store or digital service, especially if they are based on WordPress, time to prepare.
🕒 Timeline
| Stage | What happens |
| 2019 г. | Adoption of the European Accessibility Act. |
| 2022 г. | EU Member States implement the Act in their national legislation. |
| 2025 (28 June) | All new products, websites and e-services must be available at launch. |
| 2030 (28 June) | Deadline for full alignment of existing services and sites. |
Any new product or service released after 28 June 2025, should be available as soon as they are commissioned.
For existing services already available before the deadline of 28 June 2025., the European Accessibility Act (EAA) provides transition period - they should be fully aligned by 28 June 2030.
💡 Briefly: the 2030 deadline is the final limit, not the point at which you need to start working. The law requires steady and demonstrable progress towards full accessibility - starting now.
⚠️ What are the consequences of non-compliance
- 🔸 Fines and administrative sanctionsdetermined by the national authorities.
- 🔸 Loss of trust and customers - especially with public institutions and European partners.
- 🔸 Poor SEO positioning - Google already considers accessibility as a quality factor.
- 🔸 Limited access to services - people with disabilities, the elderly and users with different devices may not be able to use your site.
✅ What accessibility includes according to the EAA
The European Act is based on the standard WCAG 2.1 AA (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) and requires:
- Alternative text for images
- Contrast between text and background
- Navigation via keyboard
- Four fonts and scalable text
- Accessible forms and buttons
- Video and audio content with subtitles / descriptions
- Semantic HTML structure
- Avoiding flashing or fast-changing items
🧭 Practical steps for WordPress website owners
Action is needed, but what does it look like in practice? The good news is that you can make significant progress by following a structured, step-by-step approach. Here are six practical steps every WordPress site owner should take:
1️⃣ Do an accessibility audit
- Use tools like WAVE, Lighthouse or axe DevTools.
- Check: contrasts, ALT tags, keyboard navigation, shapes and plugins.
2️⃣ Choose an accessible theme
- Search the WordPress themes directory with the tag "Accessibility Ready".
- Popular Solutions: Twenty Twenty-Four, Astra, GeneratePress, OceanWP.
3️⃣ Optimize content
- Add ALT texts to all images.
- Use clear headings (H1-H3).
- Provide descriptions of the links ("Read more about the project" instead of "Read more").
4️⃣ Use accessibility plugins
- Examples:
- 🧩 WP Accessibility
🧩 Accessibility Checker
🧩 One Click Accessibility
- 🧩 UserWay Accessibility Widget
- 🧩 WP Accessibility
5️⃣ Test with real users
- If possible, invite people with disabilities or limited vision to test the site.
- Their experience is the most valuable evidence of real affordability.
6️⃣ Create an accessibility statement
- Add page Accessibility Statementdescribing what you have done and how users can report a problem.
🧩 Our advice
👉 If your website is on WordPress, prepare now.
Alignment is not a one-time process, but part of long-term maintenance and SEO.
By making accessibility part of your routine, you move from a reactive problem-solving mode to a proactive problem-prevention mode. This is the key to long-term and sustainable compliance.
💡 How we can help
We from Studio D-Soft we offer: - Full accessibility audit on WordPress websites
- Update themes and plugins
- Technical and visual WCAG 2.1 optimization
- Preparation of an accessibility statement and instructions for the team