Improved accessibility requirements for online platforms in the EU

 

Don’t you find it irritating when something that’s supposed to make your life easier makes it harder instead? Say, when your laptop decides to reboot right in the middle of an important presentation? Or when your phone freezes exactly at the moment you’re supposed to show your boarding pass to an airline agent?

 

If that annoys you, imagine the hardships online marketplaces, government websites, etc. present for people living with disabilities. Indeed, a thing that’s supposed to make their life easier often comes with insurmountable challenges.

 

Luckily, with the introduction of the European Accessibility Act that upgrades and extends the existing Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), that may be about to end.

 

 

Accessibility of online platforms today

A recent study by German charitable organisation Aktion Mensch and Google revealed that only a fifth of online platforms available in Germany are somewhat accessible to people living with disabilities.

 

The study examined 71 popular German online platforms and discovered that only 15 of those (e.g. asos.com) could be navigated without using a mouse - down from 17 as found by the same study a year before. Regarding other accessibility features like adjustable text size and proper form labels, even those 15 showed a lack of progress.

 

 

Illustration of a person using a wheelchair

 

 

How to make online platforms more accessible

There are several features brands and sellers can use to make their platforms more accessible to customers living with disabilities. First of all, it’s really important to regularly train your web developers (or hire trained external collaborators) so they’re aware of accessibility standards and any new developments. (By the way, WCAG also has a classification system.) Similarly, conduct regular tests to see how your website measures up to accessibility requirements, build on user feedback to improve your functionalities, and make sure to use ARIA roles and attributes that enable your customers’ assistive technologies to work on your site, as well as feature an option to switch to a more simply worded text.

 

 

Accommodating customers with visual impairments

There are several features you can use to enhance the user experience of people living with visual impairments. For example, use high contrast colours to ensure that text on your website is visible and easily readable. (Whocanuse is a helpful tool that lets you know how good the colour contrast on your site is.) Clear, concise headlines and an intuitive menu structure helps users navigate your site.

 

Use resizable text that enables users to adjust the size of the words, and allow for a text-to-speech tool (e.g. software or browser extension) to operate on your site. In addition, use responsive design so your site displays well regardless of the device users may access it on.

 

Include descriptive text for images and transcripts for multimedia so people with low vision will be able to understand and enjoy these features of your site. In addition, feature buttons like “more info” for screen readers to read out loud and lead people to relevant sections of your website.

 

Allow for keyboard navigation so people could use your website without a mouse, and feature accessible forms (e.g. clearly label fields and error messages) that enable visually impaired customers to fill them out more easily.

 

 

Accommodating customers with hearing impairments

Customers with a hearing impairment may find it difficult to understand videos embedded on your site. Using closed captioning or subtitles in your multimedia content will help them overcome this barrier. In addition, you can provide transcripts for your videos, or even feature ones with sign language.

 

Disable autoplay on videos to avoid confusing people who access your site with the aid of a screen reader. Also, include written access to your customer service so people with a hearing impairment are able to reach you without having to give you a telephone call.

 

 

Accommodating customers with fine motor control challenges

Voice command options allow people with fine motor control challenges to navigate your site without having to click on links and hover over drop-down menus. Allowing keyboard navigation is helpful here too as it enables customers to avoid using a mouse.

 

Large text and sizable buttons can assist people to better navigate your site. In addition, don’t use timed interactions like coundowns on questions and forms as these may be too difficult for people with fine motor challenges to fill out in time.

 

Using countdowns on deals is part of a sales tactic called dark patterns. Find out all about them here!

 

 

Accommodating customers with memory issues

An intuitive and easy to follow design as well as simple, clear text also helps users with memory issues. In addition, you can add progress indicators to your checkout process to help users keep track of where they are.

 

Wishlists and saveable regular shopping lists are helpful to remind customers about products for future purchases. In this regard, using a shopping cart that remembers items even if a customer leaves the site without purchasing can also be useful.

 

 

The advantages for brands and sellers

If you think making your platform more accessible poses extra work for you with no rewards, think again. While it’s true that adding new features may take some time and effort, but thanks to this, you’ll be able to include a significant new customer group to your target market.

 

In Germany alone, 7.8 million people live with severe disabilities. 61% of them regularly shop online. Adding the new accessibility features will improve your access to this customer group, allowing you to widen your reach and win over new clients.

 

Accommodating the needs of people living with disabilities is a major step for improving your brand’s reputation and trust score, which could further increase the number of your customers.

 

Find out all about the importance of your brand’s reputation!

 

In addition, accessibility features boost user experience, which in turn improves your website’s Google ranking. Also, more accessibility means more users with disabilities can stay on your site for longer, thus reducing your bounce rates and the number of abandoned shopping carts.

 

And it goes without saying that since the new EU directive will make it compulsory for online platforms to add accessibility features, complying with the law will save you from paying hefty fines.

 

 

Related topics

EU tax transparency extended to online marketplaces

 

EU Digital Markets Act forces tech giants to play fair

 

The value in your brand’s reputation

 

 

What is the new European Accessibility Act

Directive (EU) 2019/882, or EAA for short aims to improve the accessibility of products and services in the EU internal market. The European Commission decided on the scope of the directive based on discussions with stakeholders and disability experts to pick the products and services that most affect the lives of people living with various disabilities.

 

Thus, the directive includes e-Commerce, transport, banking services and ATMs, as well as products like smartphones, e-books and computers.

 

Regarding e-Commerce, the directive introduces a threshold to avoid putting a disproportionately heavy burden on small enterprises. This means that platforms with less than ten employees and/or an annual turnover not exceeding 2 million euros are exempt from the EAA. All other actors will have to adhere to the new directive as of the end of June 2025, or face hefty fines up to 100,000 euros.

 

 

Accessibility and online brand protection

We at globaleyez welcome every effort to make e-Commerce more accessible to people living with disabilities, and less accessible to fraudsters.

 

This is why we developed our services and solutions: to catch fraudulent, IP infringing offers that harm your brand and to make the internet a safer space for all honest web users.

 

Our wide variety of monitoring services detect all kinds of infringing content online. We uncover fraudulent product listings on over 150 online marketplaces, detect stolen or copied images and find suspicious websites that may infringe on your IP rights.

 

Based on all this information, we often recommend a test purchase to learn as much about the products and the fraudulent sellers as possible. Finally, we can enforce your rights and ensure the swift removal of the infringing content from the internet.

 

 

Conclusion

People living with disabilities may have a hard time navigating the pitfalls of online commerce. The new EU directive is a step in the right direction to make e-Commerce more accessible. Look at this as an opportunity to strengthen your brand’s reputation!

 

If you’d like to know more about our services, or if you’re worried someone may be infringing on your IP rights, contact us and tell us how we can assist your brand!