01 / Accessible websites
Who this is for
Businesses that sell to consumers online, take bookings or sell subscriptions, and are therefore covered by the European Accessibility Act since 28 June 2025. Who is covered, how the microenterprise exemption works and what the penalties are is explained in our guide to the European Accessibility Act for websites.
And for everyone who is not legally required to but does not want to lose customers. People with visual, hearing, motor or cognitive impairments shop online like everyone else. A checkout that does not work by keyboard loses those orders every day.
02 / Accessible websites
What you get
WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA audit
Automated tests plus manual review: keyboard, screen readers (NVDA, VoiceOver), zoom up to 400 %, contrast, forms. Every issue with page, WCAG criterion, severity and fix.
Fixes in your code
We repair templates, components and the theme rather than single pages, so each fix applies to every product, post and future page.
Accessibility statement
The information your national law requires under Annex V of the Act, written honestly, with a contact route for reporting barriers.
Ongoing checks
After updates, new features or theme changes we retest the critical journeys, so compliance does not quietly disappear after three months.
03 / Accessible websites
How a project runs
- 01
Short call
We cover your platform, audience, the most important user journeys and whether the Act applies to you at all. You then get a fixed quote.
- 02
Audit of templates and journeys
We review every page template (home, category, product, cart, checkout, account, contact, blog) and the full purchase flow. You get a prioritised list: what blocks a purchase comes first.
- 03
Fixes
We implement the fixes directly in the code of your hand-coded website or in your Shopify theme. Where an app cannot be made accessible, we show you alternatives.
- 04
Retest and statement
Every issue is retested. Then we publish the accessibility statement and link it in the footer.
- 05
Handover and content rules
Your team gets a short guide on alt text, headings, link text, PDFs and video, so new content does not bring the barriers back.
04 / Accessible websites
What we check
| Area | Examples |
|---|---|
| Navigation and keyboard | Skip link, keyboard menus, visible focus, no focus traps in pop-ups and cookie banners |
| Content | Heading structure, alt text, link text, page language, captions, motion and animation |
| Colour and display | Contrast of text, buttons and focus outlines, 200 % and 400 % zoom, large system fonts |
| Forms | Labels, required fields, error messages with a fix, autocomplete on address fields |
| Shop features | Filters, variant pickers, cart notices, quantity fields, payment methods, login and account |
| Code | Semantic HTML, ARIA roles and states, announcements of dynamic changes for screen readers |
05 / Accessible websites
Platforms: what we audit and what we fix
Shopify: Shopify maintains the checkout; barriers almost always sit in the theme and apps. We fix the theme or, where it pays off, build a headless store with Shopify Hydrogen in which every component is accessible from the start.
WordPress and WooCommerce: Here the whole journey is yours, from the theme and page builder to the checkout, and plugins such as sliders, forms and cookie banners often cause the biggest problems. We audit WordPress sites too, but we do not implement the fixes there, because we do not maintain WordPress: either your current team works through the list, or we rebuild the site accessibly in our own code, with shops on Shopify.
Custom systems and static sites: We work directly in the code. On a new build, accessibility is part of our web development from day one.
06 / Accessible websites
What we deliberately do not do
- No overlay widgets as a fix. They hide problems instead of solving them.
- No “certificates” or badges. There is no official EAA seal; we document what was tested and fixed.
- No legal advice. We tell you what is technically needed. For legal questions, work with your lawyer.
08 / Accessible websites
What drives the price
What counts is the number of templates and special features, not the number of pages. A shop with 3,000 products on a clean theme is often done faster than a small site built with five different page builders. After the call you get a fixed quote for audit, fixes and statement; ongoing checks can be part of a care plan.
For a shop, accessibility belongs with the running costs, next to hosting and updates. Our article on what an online shop costs lists all of them.
FAQ
Common questions
01How much does it cost to make a website accessible?
It depends on the number of page templates, the plugins or apps in use and the state of the code. After a short call and a look at the site, you get a fixed quote for audit, fixes and statement.
02How long does it take?
For a typical small shop, expect a few weeks from audit to retest. The exact schedule comes with the quote.
03Do we need a new website?
Usually not. Most barriers can be fixed in the current code or Shopify theme. We only recommend a rebuild if the system does not allow the fixes or a redesign is planned anyway. On WordPress sites we do not carry out the fixes inside the system itself; we rebuild if you want us to.
04Do you test against WCAG 2.1 or 2.2?
We test against WCAG 2.1 AA, the current reference in EN 301 549, and also report the additional WCAG 2.2 AA criteria. The new version of the standard moves to 2.2, so it makes sense to cover both now.
05Do you write the accessibility statement?
Yes. We write it from the audit results, with an honest status and a contact route. The final legal check stays with you or your lawyer.