Does My Webshop Need to Comply With the European Accessibility Act (EAA)? — 2026 Checklist

Short answer. Do you sell to consumers in the EU through a webshop? Then your website is legally required to comply with the European Accessibility Act (EAA), in force since 28 June 2025. Only micro-enterprises (fewer than 10 employees and less than €2 million in turnover or balance sheet total) are partially exempt from active enforcement — and only within the EU. If you also sell outside it, supply larger businesses, or grow beyond that threshold, the bar applies all the same.

What is the European Accessibility Act (EAA)?

The European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882) is a European law requiring that digital products and services — including webshops — be accessible to people with disabilities. For websites, this means complying with EN 301 549, the European standard based on WCAG 2.1 level AA.

In concrete terms, this covers things like:

• sufficient colour contrast between text and background
• full operability with the keyboard alone
• clear labels on form fields
• alt text on images
• a logical, semantic page structure

The checklist in five questions

Work through the questions below. In most cases, you'll have clarity right after.

Do you sell to consumers in the EU?

The EAA explicitly targets products and services for consumers, and names e-commerce specifically. If you sell to consumers in the EU, your webshop falls under the law in principle — regardless of whether you're a sole proprietor or a large company.

Are you a micro-enterprise?

This is the only real exception in the law. You're a micro-enterprise if you have fewer than 10 employees and less than €2 million in turnover or balance sheet total. Note: it's and, not or — exceed either threshold and the exemption lapses. Many small webshops still fall under this now, but grow out of it quickly.

And, more importantly: exempt from active enforcement is not the same as free of risk. An inaccessible site still shuts out up to 1 in 6 visitors (WHO), and the exemption disappears the moment you grow. So it's more a postponement than a reprieve.

Do you also sell outside the EU?

The micro-exemption applies only within the EU. If you also sell to customers in, say, the United States, you'll be dealing with American ADA legislation. It has no size threshold at all, and small webshops are regularly sued under it. So a small business doesn't automatically mean low risk.

Do you (also) supply businesses or government?

A purely business-to-business (B2B) webshop formally falls outside consumer law — but "pure B2B" is rare. As soon as consumers can order, the law applies to that part. And through the supply chain it comes back to you anyway: governments and large companies — which do fall under the EAA themselves — increasingly require a WCAG 2.1 AA conformance statement in their procurement terms (RFPs), even where the EAA doesn't (yet) directly affect you legally. If you want to remain a reliable supplier, accessibility is contractually required.

What does "complying" mean in practice?

Complying with the EAA means complying with EN 301 549, based on WCAG 2.1 level AA — structural accessibility in your own code, no cosmetic solutions. Overlay widgets or "quick fixes" don't meet this bar: they don't repair the underlying code and don't protect you against claims.

Conclusion per situation

• B2C webshop in the EU: almost always required.
• Micro-enterprise (<10 employees / <€2M): partial exemption, only within the EU.
• Selling outside the EU: extra risk via the ADA — even for small shops.
• B2B, government, or large clients: often indirectly required via contracts.

In practice this means: for virtually every webshop that sells to consumers, WCAG conformance is no longer an option but a precondition for continued growth.

And if you fall under it?

The good news: accessibility is usually faster to fix than expected. Many problems appear on multiple pages at the same time and are fixable theme-wide — one fix in your theme often touches hundreds of pages. And it pays off regardless: roughly 1 in 6 people lives with a disability (WHO), and the WebAIM Million study shows that ~96% of homepages have measurable WCAG errors. An accessible site therefore means greater reach, higher conversion, and better SEO straight away.

The first step is knowing where you stand. Think of our free scan as a baseline measurement: no audit, no consultancy — just a clear view of your starting point. Within a minute you'll see which WCAG problems exist, why they pose a risk, how to fix them, and how many pages are likely affected. Most scans take under 60 seconds, no account.

When is this less relevant?

Only for internal tools without public users or sales. For virtually every public webshop, accessibility is relevant — and increasingly required.

Seviranta translates the legislation into concrete tools and clear information to help you get your site demonstrably in order. For your specific situation, consult a legal adviser.