Website Accessibility (WCAG, Equality Act, EAA)

The Equality Act 2010 places a duty on service providers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. The Equality and Human Rights Commission's Code of Practice for services, in force since 5 August 2026, describes this duty as anticipatory: you must think about the barriers disabled people could face in advance rather than wait for a complaint, and the duty applies whether or not you know that you have disabled customers. The Code states that the obligation also covers services provided on a website, and gives the example of a site whose text is embedded in images, so visually impaired visitors cannot enlarge it or have it read aloud.

The duty is limited by what is reasonable. The Code lists factors such as how effective and practicable a step is, its cost, the disruption it would cause and the resources of your organisation. That is why we start with a short assessment of what your site does, rather than a blanket checklist. The Act forms part of the law of England, Wales and Scotland; only a few of its provisions extend to Northern Ireland.

The European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882) has applied in EU member states since 28 June 2025 and covers e-commerce services among others. If you sell to consumers in the EU, the national law of that country may apply to you even though you are based in Britain. The Directive exempts microenterprises that provide services, meaning businesses with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet total of no more than €2 million, but each member state applies the Directive through its own law, so the details have to be checked country by country. We tell you plainly which of your markets are in scope and which are not. We do not give legal advice, and for a binding view you should involve a solicitor.

WCAG 2.1 is organised around four principles: content must be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. It defines three conformance levels, A, AA and AAA. Level AA is the one that matters in practice: for websites, EN 301 549 refers to the level A and AA success criteria of WCAG 2.1, and the UK government requires public sector websites to meet WCAG 2.2 AA. In practice that means:

• every interactive element reachable and usable by keyboard, with a visible focus state;
• meaningful text alternatives for images, and labelled form fields with clear error messages;
• sufficient colour contrast and text that can be enlarged without breaking the layout;
• a logical heading structure and landmarks so screen-reader users can navigate;
• captions or transcripts for video and audio you publish.

For a new site, accessibility is part of design: colour palette, component library and content templates are checked before a single page is published. For an existing site we run an audit first, then fix the issues in order of impact. If you only need the findings and a plan, see our services overview for the separate audit. Where a template or plugin is the root cause, we say so and propose a replacement rather than patching around it.

We draft an accessibility statement that describes what has been tested, what is known to fall short and how users can reach you. Accessibility is not a one-off event: every new page, banner or plugin can introduce a barrier. For that reason we can fold regular checks into an ongoing maintenance arrangement. Entry-level websites start from 300 € excl. VAT, and accessibility work is quoted on request after we have seen the site. Details are on the pricing page, or request a quote and we will reply with a scoped proposal.

Does the BFSG apply to my UK company?

The BFSG is a German law. It can matter if you sell to consumers in Germany. In Great Britain, the Equality Act 2010 is the relevant law. We can help you work out which markets are in scope.

Is WCAG 2.1 AA legally required in the UK?

The Equality Act 2010 requires reasonable adjustments rather than naming a technical standard. WCAG 2.1 AA is the level EN 301 549 refers to for websites. Public sector bodies have separate accessibility regulations, and the government expects their sites to meet WCAG 2.2 AA.

Can you fix my existing website?

Usually yes. We audit first, then fix by impact. If a theme or plugin is the root cause, we propose a replacement instead of patching around it.

Do you provide legal advice?

No. We implement accessibility and explain the published rules. For a binding opinion on your obligations, please consult a solicitor.

How much does it cost?

Accessibility work is quoted on request once we have seen the site. The entry price for a website is shown on our pricing page.