Since June 2025, digital accessibility is no longer a good intention: it’s a legal obligation for a large part of European businesses. The European Accessibility Act (EAA) requires that e-commerce sites, banking services, transport, and many others be usable by people with disabilities. For many SMEs, it’s a new reality to integrate — under threat of penalties, but also, more simply, because it’s the right thing to do.
And beyond the law, accessibility is an investment with a double return: it opens your site to the 15-20% of the population living with a disability (visual, motor, auditory, cognitive), and it improves SEO and the experience of all users along the way. This guide explains what the EAA requires, what an accessible site concretely is, and how to bring WordPress into compliance. Target audience: businesses, e-merchants and web managers concerned by accessibility.
What web accessibility is
An accessible site can be used by everyone, including people navigating with a screen reader, by keyboard alone, or with specific needs. The international reference standard is WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines); in France, the RGAA is its official adaptation. They rest on four principles: content must be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.
The European Accessibility Act: who is concerned
The EAA has applied since 28 June 2025. Concerned in particular: e-commerce, banking services, electronic communications, e-books, transport services. Very small businesses benefit from certain exemptions, but the spirit of the text is clear: digital services intended for the public must be accessible. Non-compliance exposes you to penalties and, in an increasingly attentive market, to a reputational risk. Compliance is no longer optional for concerned players.
Why it’s also an opportunity
- A wider audience. Excluding 15-20% of potential users means excluding customers. An accessible site sells to more people.
- Better SEO. Many accessibility best practices (clear heading structure, alt text, clean code) are also SEO best practices. Google rewards well-structured sites.
- Better UX for everyone. Readable contrasts, clear navigation, well-designed forms benefit every visitor, disabled or not.
- A responsible image. Accessibility is a marker of seriousness and inclusion.
The WCAG principles, concretely
Here’s what an accessible site implements daily:
- Sufficient contrast between text and background, so everyone can read.
- Alt text on images, for screen readers (and it’s also good for SEO).
- Full keyboard navigation: everything done with a mouse must be possible by keyboard.
- A logical heading structure (a single H1, a clear hierarchy) that aids understanding and navigation.
- Properly labelled forms, with explicit error messages.
- Captions and transcripts for audio and video content.
- Independence from colour alone to convey information (don’t just say “click the red button”).
Frequent mistakes
Believing an “all-in-one” plugin is enough. Automatic accessibility widgets (floating toolbars) don’t make a site compliant and can even harm. Accessibility is worked on in the code and content, not with a gadget placed on top.
Forgetting the content. An accessible theme isn’t enough if your images have no alt text and your headings are poorly structured. Accessibility also concerns the writers.
Testing only with automatic tools. Tools detect some of the problems, but many criteria require a manual test (keyboard navigation, screen reader). A complete audit combines both.
How to audit your site
A serious accessibility audit combines:
- Automatic tools (contrast analysers, validators) to quickly spot some of the problems.
- Manual tests: keyboard navigation, journey with a screen reader, form verification.
- A criterion-by-criterion evaluation WCAG/RGAA, leading to a prioritised action plan.
The logic is the same as for a GDPR audit: identify the gaps, prioritise them, and fix in order of impact.
WordPress and accessibility
WordPress can perfectly produce accessible sites, provided you make the right choices: a theme designed for accessibility, plugins that don’t break keyboard navigation, and constant attention to content. Accessibility isn’t a feature you activate: it’s a cross-cutting requirement, from design to development to writing.
The compliance process
- Initial audit — state of affairs against WCAG/RGAA, prioritised action plan.
- Technical fixes — contrasts, keyboard navigation, structure, forms, ARIA if needed.
- Content fixes — alt text, heading hierarchy, captions.
- Accessibility statement — the required document setting out the compliance level.
- Maintenance over time — accessibility degrades if not monitored at every content addition.
In practice
Web accessibility has moved from “nice to have” to “must have”: it’s now a legal obligation for many, and a business opportunity for all. The good news is that it aligns with what we already seek — a clear, fast, well-structured site that also pleases Google. Better to get to it methodically than to suffer a call to order.
At Seganiko, we integrate accessibility into our website creation projects and conduct compliance audits (WCAG/RGAA, European Accessibility Act) with a compliance plan, as part of our maintenance services. The first audit is free.
Request a free accessibility audit
Need to improve your SEO?
We audit your site and implement a measurable SEO strategy.
See our SEO service →
