The EU Accessibility Act (EAA) Directive and new digital accessibility requirements are a must. How to avoid penalties? 12 practical tips.

What Is the EAA Directive and Who Does It Apply To?

Consequences of Ignoring the New Requirements

Failing to implement the new requirements isn’t just a “paperwork” issue. Non-compliance risks hefty fines and exclusion from public contracts, as well as the loss of customer trust.

On the flip side… if you adopt digital accessibility standards, you won’t just avoid penalties. You’ll open your business to millions of new customers – including people with disabilities and seniors – while building a positive brand image.

How to Prepare for the EAA Directive? We have prepared 12 practical tips.

1. Conduct an EAA and WCAG 2.2 Compliance Audit

Start with a thorough analysis: assess the status of your website, online store, or app. Use tools like Google Lighthouse, WAVE, or Axe DevTools, and perform manual tests (e.g., keyboard-only navigation, screen reader compatibility). This will help you identify the biggest barriers for users with disabilities or seniors.

If you need expert support to guide you through the entire process from “A to Z”… Contact us via the simple form on our website. We provide audits, implementation, and long-term support for digital accessibility and EAA compliance.

2. Align Your Service’s Structure and Design with WCAG 2.2 Standards

As of June 28, 2025, all new and existing solutions must comply with WCAG 2.2 at Level AA. This may sound technical, but in reality, it boils down to a few key areas that genuinely impact user experience. Below, you’ll find a detailed breakdown of the most critical changes you need to implement.

🔴 Text and background color contrast – ensure everything is legible

What’s this about?
Contrast is the difference in brightness between text and its background. If it’s too low, users with low vision, color blindness (e.g., daltonism), or seniors won’t be able to read the content.

✔️ What you need to do?

• Standard text: Must have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against the background.
• Large text: (18+ points or 14+ points bold) – here the requirement is lower at 3:1.
• Graphical elements and UI: Buttons, icons, and form field borders must also have at least 3:1 contrast against their surroundings for clear visibility.

How to check?

• Test elements in different modes (e.g., dark/light mode) to ensure readability for all users.
• Use free online tools like WebAIM Contrast Checker or Adobe Color. Just input the text and background color codes, and the tool will immediately show if you meet the standards.

🔴 Add alternative descriptions (alt text) to images – describe what’s in the photo

What’s this about?
Blind individuals use screen readers that read page content aloud. When a reader encounters an image, it reads its alternative text (the alt attribute). Without it, the user has no idea what the image represents – whether it’s a product photo, a critical chart, or just a decorative element.

✔️ What you need to do?

• Every informative image must have a concise yet descriptive alt attribute. Ask yourself: “How would I describe this image to someone over the phone?”.
• Example: Instead of alt=”photo123″ use alt=”Man in a suit sitting at a desk working on a laptop”.
• If the image is purely decorative and adds no meaningful content, the alt attribute should remain empty (alt=””). This ensures screen readers skip it, avoiding unnecessary clutter.

🔴 Ensure a logical heading structure – create a table of contents for the page

What’s this about?
Headings (H1, H2, H3, etc.) create a hierarchical content structure. For screen reader users, they act like a table of contents – enabling quick navigation between sections and understanding the page layout. For Google’s algorithms, they signal what’s most important in your article.

✔️ What you need to do?

• Use only one H1 heading per page – this is the main title, e.g., product name or article title.
• Maintain hierarchy: H1 should be followed by H2 (main sections), and within them H3 (subsections), etc. Never skip levels, e.g., from H2 to H4.
• Never use headings for styling. If you want to bold or enlarge text, use CSS styles, not heading tags.
• Lists and tables: Must use proper HTML tags (<ul>, <table>) to ensure clarity.

🔴 Create clear labels for links, buttons, and forms

What’s this about?
Users need to know what will happen before they click. Vague labels like “Click here” or “More” are meaningless, especially when a screen reader extracts a list of links. The same applies to forms – users must understand what data to enter in each field.

✔️ What you need to do?

• Every button should have a clear action description (e.g., “Submit” instead of “OK”, “Add to Cart” instead of “More”).
• Form labels: Every input field (<input>) must be linked to its label (<label>). This allows users to click the label to activate the field, and screen readers correctly announce what to enter (e.g., “Name, edit field”).
• Error messages: Must be specific and indicate where and why an error occurred (e.g., “The ‘Email’ field is required” instead of a generic “Form error”).
• Forms must signal errors unequivocally — e.g., using red color + description/icon/text message.

🔴 Keyboard-accessible navigation

What’s this about?
Not everyone uses a mouse. People with motor disabilities, and power users, navigate websites exclusively via keyboard (primarily the Tab key).

✔️ What you need to do?

• Test it yourself: Navigate your entire site – from menus to buttons to contact forms – using only the Tab key (forward), Shift+Tab (backward), and Enter (activation).
• Visible focus: The currently active element must always be clearly visible. Usually, this is the default browser outline. Ensure your developers haven’t removed it (outline: none; in CSS is a common mistake). The focus indicator should be clear and high-contrast, e.g., highlighted.
• Avoid keyboard traps: Users must never get stuck in an element (e.g., a popup) without a way to exit using the keyboard.

🔴 Screen reader compatibility

What’s this about?
Modern websites are filled with interactive elements: dropdown menus (accordions), image carousels, modal windows. If not properly coded, screen readers interpret them as random, disconnected elements.

✔️ What you need to do?

• State awareness: The screen reader must know if an element is expanded, collapsed, active, or inactive. Use ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications), e.g., aria-expanded=”true”.
• Logical reading order: The content read by the screen reader must match the visual flow. Ensure the visual order of elements aligns with their order in the HTML code.

• Test with screen readers (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver) to confirm all critical content, messages, and descriptions (e.g., form errors) are announced correctly.
• Eliminate hidden navigational links, unrecognized graphics, or unlabeled buttons that screen readers can’t interpret.

🔴 Responsive design and mobile accessibility

What’s this about?
More users access the internet via mobile devices. Your website or app must be fully functional on smartphones and tablets – including for users with various disabilities.

✔️ What you need to do?

• Use responsive design: content and UI elements must adapt to any screen size. Verify functionality and display on smartphones and tablets.
• Clickable elements (buttons, links) must not be too small or too close together – recommended minimum height/size: 44×44 px.
• Ensure compatibility with touch gestures and built-in accessibility features (VoiceOver for iOS, TalkBack for Android).
• Ensure notifications, menus, and pop-ups are legible and easy to dismiss.

🔴 Translations and multilingual support

What’s this about?
Every language version of your service must provide the same level of digital accessibility – meaning all features, content, and messages must be understandable and easily translatable.

✔️ What you need to do?

• Translate and localize all labels, error messages, and instructions for each language version.
• Remember to localize alt text (discussed in point 2) for each language.
• Declare the page language using the lang attribute in the HTML code (e.g., <html lang=”en”>).

🔴 Multimedia – captions and audio description

What’s this about?

Videos, podcasts, webinars, and other multimedia must be accessible to users with hearing or visual impairments. This requires captions (for the deaf/hard of hearing) and audio descriptions (for the blind/low vision).

✔️ What you need to do?

• Add captions to all video content. Captions should include dialogue and relevant background sounds (e.g., “applause”, “dramatic music”, “street noise”).
• Live broadcasts must provide real-time captions or make recordings with captions available as soon as possible.
• Provide transcripts for audio and video materials. A transcript is a text version of everything heard, making content accessible to those who cannot or prefer not to use audio.
• Include audio descriptions for videos. This is a narrative track explaining visual elements – actions, facial expressions, scene changes, gestures, etc. You can record a separate audio track or use a player that supports alternative audio files.
• Do not rely solely on auto-generated captions. Tools like YouTube’s auto-captioning are useful but often inaccurate. Always review and correct automatically generated captions.

🔴 Accessibility Statement

What’s this about?

The EAA Directive requires publishing an accessibility statement – a clear document detailing how your service complies with digital accessibility standards and how users can report barriers.

✔️ What you need to do?

• Create a clear accessibility statement and update it with every significant change to the service.
• Make the statement easily accessible from every page (e.g., in the footer).
• Provide a simple contact form, email, or phone number for users to report accessibility issues.

🔴 Team training

What’s this about?
Digital accessibility is a team effort. Your developers, editors, and designers must understand accessibility principles and apply them consistently.

✔️ What you need to do?

• Organize training and workshops for your team – you can hire external experts, like Devqube.
• Implement checklists and procedures for content publishing and deployments.
• Regularly audit your service, testing changes manually (e.g., with keyboard or screen readers) in addition to automated tools.

Remember: The EAA Directive and digital accessibility are not a revolution – they are about removing barriers

If you implement these improvements, your website/application will not only comply with legal requirements but will genuinely become user-friendly for everyone, resulting in a better reputation, increased reach, loyalty, and… better Google rankings.

You don’t need to fear a complete system overhaul. The key is gradual implementation and openness to expert consultations.

Questions? Still feel overwhelmed? Contact Devqube – we’ll guide you through the process, explain the practical steps, conduct an audit, and prepare your service for the new regulations for you.

Frequently Asked Questions and our answers:

💡 Will I face penalties for non-compliance with the EAA Directive?
Yes. Failing to meet EAA requirements can result in heavy fines and market exclusion.

💡 Do I need to implement everything at once?
Start as soon as possible and roll out changes in phases – the sooner you act, the greater your competitive advantage.

💡 What if my team lacks the expertise to implement EAA guidelines?
Partner with Devqube – as an experienced tech partner, we’ll audit your service, plan the implementation, and train your team.

💡 Do I need to inform users about this?
Yes – publishing an accessibility statement and a contact form is mandatory under the EAA.

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Daria Szklarewicz

Projektantka UX/UI, specjalizująca się w tworzeniu intuicyjnych i użytecznych interfejsów dla aplikacji mobilnych oraz webowych. W swojej pracy biegle posługuje się narzędziami takimi jak Figma, Miro i Adobe XD, koncentrując się na całym procesie projektowym – od wireframe'ów po testy użyteczności. Szczególną wagę przykłada do dostępności cyfrowej, projektując zgodnie z wytycznymi WCAG. Stale rozwija swoje kompetencje, łącząc kreatywność z analitycznym podejściem do rozwiązywania problemów.

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