The European Accessibility Act and online stores: what it requires and does it apply to you?
- In Finland the European Accessibility Act took effect for online stores selling to consumers on 28 June 2025.
- Microenterprises are generally exempt from the requirements for services.
- In practice the target is WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility: keyboard use, contrast, text alternatives and clear forms.
The European Accessibility Act requires many online stores that sell to consumers to make sure the store can also be used with assistive technologies. In Finland the requirements took effect on 28 June 2025. This article explains who the requirements apply to and what they mean in practice. It is not legal advice, so always check your own company’s situation.
Who do the accessibility requirements apply to?
The requirements apply to e-commerce services, meaning online stores that sell to consumers. Microenterprises with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet total of no more than 2 million euros are exempt from the requirements for services.
What does accessibility mean in practice?
The practical yardstick is level AA of the WCAG 2.1 guidelines. In an online store the most important things are:
In addition, the terms of service or a separate page explain how the service meets the accessibility requirements.
Where to start?
- Do an assessment: go through the purchase path with a keyboard and a screen reader, and run an automated check.
- Fix critical problems first: checkout, cart, search and forms.
- Check the theme and plugins: many problems come from ready-made components.
- Guide your content creators: alt texts and heading structure are created at publishing time.
- Document the accessibility information and update it when the store changes.
We carry out accessibility assessments and fixes for WooCommerce stores. Read more about our online stores or ask for an assessment of your store.
FAQ
When did the European Accessibility Act take effect?
In Finland the accessibility requirements for online stores took effect on 28 June 2025.
Does the Accessibility Act apply to a small online store?
Microenterprises with fewer than 10 employees and a turnover or balance sheet of no more than 2 million euros are exempt from the requirements for services. Check your own situation case by case.
Is an accessibility plugin enough?
No. Plugins that add a toolbar to the page do not fix the structural problems of the site. Accessibility comes from careful implementation.
