European Accessibility Act
EAA is a directive (Directive 2019/882) introduced by the European Union to improve accessibility across a wide range of products and services within its member states. Its main goal is to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to essential goods and services, fostering inclusivity and enabling their active participation in society and the economy.
The requirements will become fully enforceable starting June 28, 2025.
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Over 1.3 billion people worldwide live with some form of disability. That's 16% of the global population who benefit directly from accessible web design.
(WHO, 2023)
(WHO, 2023)
97.4% of websites have at least one accessibility failure. Common issues include low contrast text, missing alt attributes, and lack of keyboard navigation.
(WebAIM, 2023)
(WebAIM, 2023)
71% of users with disabilities leave a website immediately if it's not accessible. Poor design means lost engagement and potential revenue.
(Click-Away Pound, 2019)
(Click-Away Pound, 2019)
92% of consumers are more likely to support companies that are accessible and inclusive. Accessibility isn’t just compliance—it’s good business.
(Accenture, 2020)
(Accenture, 2020)
Only 2% of the top 1 million websites meet WCAG AA standards, the recommended level of accessibility. That leaves a huge gap in digital inclusivity.
(WebAIM, 2023)
(WebAIM, 2023)
Accessibility lawsuits in the U.S. increased by 183% over five years, highlighting the legal risks of ignoring web accessibility.
(UsableNet, 2023)
(UsableNet, 2023)
Automated tools catch only ~30-40% of issues – While tools like Lighthouse, axe, or Pa11y are great, manual testing and user feedback are essential to truly making a site accessible.
Accessible websites rank better on Google. Search engines favor clean, well-structured sites with semantic HTML, alt text, and readable content—many of the same principles that make a site accessible!
67% of accessibility experts say that overlays fail to fix critical issues and often create new problems.
(WebAIM Survey, 2021)
(WebAIM Survey, 2021)
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) deadline is June 28, 2025. After this date, non-compliant digital services in the EU can face fines or restrictions.