This article looks at what the EAA is, who it affects, and the practical steps you can take to build an accessible WordPress website that is better for users, search engines and your future self.
The European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882) is an EU directive that sets common accessibility rules for a wide range of products and services, including websites, software, e commerce, banking, transport ticketing and more.
Its aims include:
Removing barriers that stop disabled and older people using digital products and services
Harmonising accessibility requirements so that the same baseline applies across all EU member states
The EAA is not just about public sector bodies. It applies across a lot of private sector digital services too, especially where consumers are buying, booking or managing something online.
Because the EAA was adopted after Brexit, it does not directly apply in UK law.
However:
Any UK business that sells to or serves EU consumers online is expected to comply with EAA requirements for those products or services
UK organisations still have duties under the Equality Act 2010 and existing accessibility regulations, which require reasonable adjustments and accessible digital services for disabled people
In practice, most serious organisations are now treating WCAG based accessibility as a baseline, regardless of whether their primary market is the UK, the EU or both.
A couple of dates matter for websites and digital products that fall in scope:
From 28 June 2025: EU member states can enforce their national EAA laws for new in scope products and services that are placed on the market
By 28 June 2030: most existing services have to be brought into line, subject to some transitional provisions and exemptions
If you are planning a WordPress redesign or launching a new digital service for EU customers, it is far cheaper to design and develop for accessibility now than to retrofit everything in a few years time.
The EAA does not invent its own technical rules. Instead it points at standards such as EN 301 549, which in turn references the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
For websites and apps this essentially means:
Meeting WCAG 2.1 AA is the practical baseline for most web and app content today
Many organisations are already looking toward WCAG 2.2 AA as the next sensible target for accessible web development
For WordPress developers and agencies, the takeaway is simple. If your site is built against solid WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 AA criteria, you are aligning well with what the European Accessibility Act expects.
The legal side is important, but accessibility is also a business and SEO issue.
There are over 100 million people in the EU with some form of disability. That is a very large audience your website can either include or exclude
Better accessibility usually leads to cleaner information architecture, clearer copy and better performance, which in turn tends to improve conversion rates and organic search visibility
Performance studies have shown that faster, more efficient sites convert more users and lose fewer visitors to slow load times. Cleaner, more accessible templates usually go hand in hand with better Core Web Vitals and a better experience on slower devices or connections.
In other words, investing in accessible WordPress development is not just about avoiding enforcement action or complaints. It is about creating digital experiences that work better for everyone.
Here is a practical way to approach an accessibility upgrade or new build, particularly on WordPress.
Start by understanding where you are now:
Run automated scans with tools such as Lighthouse, Axe or WAVE to catch obvious WCAG issues
Test key user journeys with keyboard only navigation and at least one screen reader
Review templates, theme code, navigation structures and plugin output
This gives you a prioritised list of accessibility problems to fix inside your web development roadmap.
Accessibility starts with the foundations of the site.
Prefer WordPress themes that are advertised as accessibility ready and that use semantic HTML, skip links and a logical heading structure
Audit major plugins, especially for navigation menus, sliders, tabs, accordions and forms. Some popular WordPress plugins still ship with inaccessible patterns by default
Be cautious with design heavy page builder layouts that rely on many nested containers, as these can create complex DOM structures that are hard to navigate and slow to load
Both search engines and assistive technologies rely on the structure of your code.
Use a single H1 per page, then structure content with meaningful H2 and H3 headings
Use landmarks such as header, nav, main and footer so that screen reader users can move quickly around the page
Use the right element for the job: buttons for actions, links for navigation, lists for groups of items
Fixing semantics is one of the highest value tasks in any WordPress accessibility project, and often does not require large visual changes.
WCAG and EN 301 549 both require that users can operate sites without a mouse.
Check that:
You can move through the page in a logical tab order
Every interactive element has a clearly visible focus style
Menus, dropdowns, modals, carousels and custom components are fully operable with only the keyboard
A lot of accessibility issues in modern WordPress builds appear in custom JavaScript components, not the core templates, so this is an area worth focused testing.
Low contrast text is one of the most common accessibility failures in audits.
Aim for at least WCAG AA contrast: 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text
Do not rely on colour alone to convey meaning. Use icons, patterns or text labels as well
Make sure users can zoom text up to 200 percent without the layout breaking or essential content disappearing
Accessible typography and colour choices are also good brand practice, especially for organisations that want to be seen as clear and trustworthy.
Alternative text is a key part of web accessibility.
Give important images useful, concise alt text that explains their purpose in context
Mark purely decorative images with an empty alt attribute so that screen readers skip them
Provide captions for key video content and transcripts where necessary
In WordPress this means making consistent use of the Media Library alt fields, and ensuring that your templates output that alt text correctly rather than leaving it blank.
Forms are where a lot of users either convert or drop out, so they deserve special attention.
Every input must have an explicit label, correctly associated with the field
Error messages and success messages should be clearly worded, visually obvious and announced to assistive technologies
Group related fields and use fieldsets and legends where appropriate
Use clear, descriptive buttons such as “Send message” or “Complete purchase” instead of vague labels like “Submit”
Form plugins for WordPress vary widely in accessibility quality, so part of your development work may involve configuring or even swapping out form tools.
The EAA is especially focused on services where users buy, book or manage products and services online.
That means your accessibility work has to cover:
Product listing pages, filters and search results
Product detail pages with galleries, accordions and tabbed content
The full cart and checkout flow, including third party payment integrations
Login areas, account dashboards and any self service tools
Many organisations tidy up obvious issues on the homepage and a few templates but leave complex transaction flows untouched. That is where users and regulators are most likely to spot problems.
Mobile usage now dominates the web, and Google continues to operate mobile first indexing, meaning your mobile experience is effectively the primary version of your site for search.
Improving performance and mobile UX supports accessibility because:
Faster pages are easier to use on slow connections and older devices
Responsive layouts adapt better when users zoom text or use screen magnifiers
Cleaner, leaner markup reduces cognitive load and makes navigation simpler
Small reductions in page load time can deliver noticeable gains in conversions, especially on commerce and lead generation sites.
The EAA brings extra urgency, but the direction of travel has been clear for a long time. Accessible web design and WordPress development are simply part of doing digital properly.
For organisations in the UK and across Europe, Design Tribe can help by:
Auditing existing WordPress and other CMS websites for accessibility and UX issues
Creating accessible design systems and reusable components that embed good practice
Designing and building new accessible WordPress sites, aligned with WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 AA and informed by the expectations behind the European Accessibility Act
Supporting teams with content workflows, editor training and ongoing improvements so accessibility is maintained over time
The European Accessibility Act does not replace the work you should already be doing under UK and EU equality laws, but it does raise the stakes and sharpen expectations.
If your website or digital product reaches EU customers, now is the moment to:
Audit your current accessibility position
Prioritise fixes that support real user journeys
Build all new WordPress and web projects with accessibility as a core requirement, not an optional extra
You will reduce legal and reputational risk, support a much wider audience and create a faster, clearer and more effective digital presence for your organisation.
If you want to add a simple list of sources at the end of the blog, something like this works well:
Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the accessibility requirements for products and services
European Commission, European Accessibility Act overview
ETSI EN 301 549: Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services
W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and 2.2
UK Government, Equality Act 2010 and digital accessibility guidance
UK Government, Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018
Cloudflare, “How website performance affects conversion rates”
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