Skip to content
WEB ACCESSIBILITY · WCAG 2.1 AA

European Accessibility Act 2025.
Is your website compliant?

As of 28 June 2025, web accessibility is mandatory across the EU. We audit, remediate, and certify your website according to WCAG 2.1 / 2.2 Level AA.

1B+

People with disabilities worldwide

100M

Europeans with a disability

98%

Websites with critical WCAG errors

20.000€

Average fine for EAA non-compliance

URGENT · EAA 2025 LEGISLATION

Web accessibility is no longer optional. It's mandatory.

Types of disability

We design for the four main groups

WCAG 2.1 AA covers four broad areas. Each requires specific techniques and validations.

Vision

Blindness, low vision, color blindness and light sensitivity. 285 million people worldwide live with a visual impairment.

Motor

Limited mobility, tremors, paralysis. These users need navigation that works 100% by keyboard or through assistive devices.

Cognitive

Dyslexia, ADHD, autism, cognitive impairment. These users need plain language, a predictable structure and a lower cognitive load.

Hearing

Deafness and hearing difficulties. These users need text alternatives for all audio and video content.

Audit categories

Six areas we evaluate in every audit

Over 150 control points per WCAG 2.1 AA audit, covering all success criteria for Levels A and AA.

We check that every interaction on your site works with the keyboard alone: logical tab order, visible focus, skip links, no focus traps and consistent shortcuts. Validated with NVDA, JAWS and VoiceOver.
We audit your HTML semantics, correct ARIA usage, accessible names and landmark navigation. Every form, modal and dynamic component is tested manually with the three main screen readers.
Automated and manual contrast analysis of every text and UI element. We find the critical spots and propose accessible palettes that keep your brand identity intact. Includes checks for color blindness (protanopia, deuteranopia, tritanopia).
A systematic audit of every image on the site: we separate decorative images (empty alt) from informative ones (descriptive alt) and complex ones (extended description). The criteria are documented so your content team can apply them going forward.
We review every form: associated labels, clear and accessible error messages, validation that doesn't rely on color alone, autocomplete and useful instructions. Forms are where accessibility problems cost the most conversion.
Downloadable PDFs have to meet WCAG too. We audit and remediate corporate PDFs: semantic structure, alt text, reading order, accessible tables and screen reader compatibility.
We approached ZDS because we feared EAA fines. We left with a better, faster website and more users. Accessibility was an excuse to make a better product.

Director Digital

European online bank

Our 5-phase remediation process

01

WCAG audit

Automated analysis (Axe, WAVE, Lighthouse) plus a manual review with NVDA, JAWS and VoiceOver. 150+ checkpoints, prioritized by impact and effort.

02

Executive report

A document with every finding, screenshots, the WCAG criteria affected, legal priority and an action plan. Written so both legal and technical teams can follow it.

03

Remediation

We work with your dev team, or take on the implementation ourselves, to fix every finding. Legal blockers first, improvements after that.

04

Retest

Every fix is validated with the same tools and the same screen readers. Before/after documentation for legal review.

05

Certification

A signed accessibility statement following EAA requirements, ready to publish on your site. Plus a continuous monitoring plan so you stay compliant.

Success story

Multinational e-commerce: EAA compliance in 8 weeks

How a European retailer avoided fines of up to €250,000 and increased its user base by 12%.

European retailer — 6 countries, 4 languages

European retailer — 6 countries, 4 languages

0 €

EAA fines

Avoided. WCAG 2.1 AA compliance certified before 28 June 2025.

+12%

New users

Growth in the user base once the critical flows became accessible to users with disabilities.

+8%

Organic traffic

SEO improvement driven by semantic HTML, better alt text and a clearer structure.

8

Weeks to compliance

Initial audit → remediation → retest → certification. Without pausing the business.

View more cases

Are you compliant with the European Accessibility Act 2025?
Check for free.

Request EAA audit

Our accessibility team

“Accessibility isn't a checklist at the end of a project. It's a way of thinking about design from the first wireframe. Our team combines technical expertise, legal knowledge of the EAA, and empathy for real users.”

Olesya Franiel

Olesya Franiel

Head of UX & Accessibility

Equipo ZDS
🇩🇪 Hamburgo
🇪🇸 Barcelona
🇨🇴 Bogotá

ACCESSIBILITY STACK

The tools we use in every audit

We combine automated analysis with manual validation using the same screen readers used by visually impaired people.

🪓
Axe DevTools
Automated WCAG 2.1 / 2.2 analysis
🌊
WAVE
Visualization of errors and warnings
💡
Lighthouse
Accessibility and performance audits
🔊
NVDA
Open-source screen reader for Windows
🍎
VoiceOver
Native macOS / iOS screen reader for validation
🎨
Stark / Colour Contrast
Contrast and color blindness analysis in Figma

Why it matters

Accessible vs. inaccessible website

Feature
Inaccessible website
Accessible website WCAG 2.1 AA
Legal compliance with the EAA 2025 (EU)
Access to 100M Europeans with a disability
Compatible with screen readers
NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver
Keyboard navigation
Parcial o rota
100% funcional
Risk of fines (up to 1M €)
Alto
Better SEO (semantic HTML, alt text)
Fewer support tickets
Brand image and CSR
Reputational risk
Real commitment

Concrete benefits

Three reasons beyond legal compliance

Accessibility is legally mandatory, but the real benefits go far beyond.

Legal compliance

Meeting the European Accessibility Act 2025 keeps you clear of fines that can exceed one million euros and of lawsuits from disability consumer associations.

Better SEO

Semantic HTML, descriptive alt text and a clear structure are WCAG requirements and Google ranking factors at the same time. Accessibility and SEO go hand in hand.

A wider audience

100 million Europeans live with a disability. An accessible website turns them into potential customers. It's one of the segments your competitors serve worst.

The cost of making a website accessible from the start is marginal. The cost of remediating an inaccessible website under legal pressure is enormous. Start now.

Olesya Franiel

Head of UX & Accessibility, ZDS

Frequently asked questions about accessibility and EAA

Are you EAA 2025 compliant?

Free initial audit. No obligation.

Manuel Riveiro

Manuel Riveiro

CEO & Digital Strategist

We reply within 24h.