The European Accessibility Act (EAA): What product content teams need to know
The digital landscape is about to undergo a significant transformation. On June 28, 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) comes into full effect, marking a pivotal moment for businesses operating in the European Union. This legislation represents the EU's most comprehensive effort to harmonize accessibility standards across member states, extending beyond the public sector to encompass private companies and their digital products.
For product, marketing, and content teams, this isn't just another compliance checkbox—it's a fundamental shift toward inclusive design that will impact how you create, develop, and deliver digital experiences to millions of users across Europe.
Understanding the European Accessibility Act
The EAA aims to improve the functioning of the internal market by removing barriers created by divergent accessibility rules across EU member states. Unlike previous directives that primarily targeted public sector organizations, the EAA casts a much wider net, covering a range of products and services that are deemed most important for persons with disabilities.
The Act mandates that consumer electronics, websites, mobile applications, e-commerce platforms, ticketing systems, and various digital services comply with specific accessibility requirements. This comprehensive approach means that businesses can no longer treat accessibility as an optional feature or afterthought.
Who needs to comply?
The scope of the EAA is broader than many organizations initially realize. Any business that places products on the EU market or provides services to EU consumers after June 28, 2025, must ensure compliance. This includes:
E-commerce platforms and online retailers with at least 10 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet of at least 2 million euros must ensure their websites and mobile applications meet accessibility standards.
Digital service providers offering services like online banking, ticketing platforms, and consumer-facing applications must implement comprehensive accessibility measures.
International businesses operating outside the EU but selling products or services within EU countries are also required to comply with these accessibility standards.
The key date to remember is that any products placed on the market or services offered to consumers after June 28, 2025, must be compliant from day one.
The technical foundation: WCAG 2.1 and beyond
At the heart of EAA compliance lies adherence to established accessibility standards, primarily the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at Level AA, alongside the EN 301 549 standard. These guidelines are built around four fundamental principles, often abbreviated as POUR:
Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. This means providing text alternatives for images, captions for videos, and ensuring sufficient color contrast ratios.
Operable: User interface components and navigation must be operable by all users. This includes making all functionality available via keyboard navigation and providing users enough time to read and use content.
Understandable: Information and the operation of the user interface must be understandable. Content should be readable and predictable, with clear navigation patterns and helpful error messages.
Robust: Content must be robust enough to be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of assistive technologies, including screen readers, voice recognition software, and alternative input devices.
Immediate actions for product teams
Product teams need to start implementing accessibility considerations into their development workflows immediately. Begin by conducting comprehensive accessibility audits of existing products and services. This involves both automated testing tools and manual testing with actual assistive technologies.
Establish accessibility as a core requirement in your product roadmap rather than a post-launch consideration. This means involving accessibility experts in the earliest stages of product design and ensuring that user stories include accessibility acceptance criteria.
Create detailed documentation of accessibility features and limitations for each product. The EAA requires businesses to prepare publicly available accessibility statements that explain how their services meet accessibility requirements and provide information about any limitations or alternative accessible options.
Implement compatibility testing with assistive technologies like screen readers, voice recognition software, and alternative input devices. This testing should become a standard part of your quality assurance process, not an occasional check.
Strategic considerations for marketing teams
Marketing teams face unique challenges under the EAA, as they must ensure that promotional content, campaign materials, and customer communications are accessible across all channels. This extends beyond basic compliance to encompass the entire customer journey.
Review and update all marketing materials to ensure they meet accessibility standards. This includes providing alternative text for images in email campaigns, ensuring promotional videos include captions and audio descriptions, and making sure that marketing websites can be navigated entirely via keyboard.
Develop accessible content creation guidelines that marketing teams can follow consistently. These should cover everything from color contrast requirements for visual materials to plain language principles for written content.
Consider accessibility as a competitive advantage and brand differentiator. Organizations that proactively embrace accessibility often find that it improves usability for all users, not just those with disabilities, leading to better overall customer experiences and broader market reach.
Content strategy and accessibility
Content teams play a crucial role in EAA compliance, as much of the user experience depends on how information is structured, written, and presented. The shift toward accessible content creation requires both process changes and skill development.
Adopt plain language principles as a standard practice. This means writing in clear, concise language that's easy to understand, using familiar words instead of jargon, and structuring information logically with proper headings and bullet points.
Implement proper semantic markup in all digital content. This includes using heading tags correctly to create a logical document structure, providing meaningful link text that describes the destination or function, and ensuring that form labels are clearly associated with their corresponding input fields.
Develop alternative content formats as standard practice. This means creating text alternatives for visual content, providing transcripts for audio content, and ensuring that complex information is available in multiple formats to accommodate different user needs and preferences.
Building long-term compliance infrastructure
Successful EAA compliance requires more than just meeting minimum standards—it demands building accessibility into your organizational DNA. This means establishing processes, training programs, and monitoring systems that ensure ongoing compliance and continuous improvement.
Invest in accessibility training for all team members involved in content creation, product development, and customer experience design. This training should cover both technical requirements and the broader principles of inclusive design.
Establish regular accessibility testing schedules and incorporate accessibility metrics into your standard reporting and analytics frameworks. This helps identify issues before they reach users and demonstrates ongoing commitment to accessibility improvement.
Create feedback mechanisms that allow users to report accessibility issues and suggest improvements. The EAA requires businesses to have procedures in place for handling accessibility-related inquiries and complaints.
Preparing for enforcement and beyond
As enforcement mechanisms take effect across EU member states, organizations that fail to comply may face legal action, financial penalties, and reputational damage. However, the benefits of accessibility extend far beyond compliance.
Accessible design often leads to better overall user experiences, increased customer satisfaction, and expanded market reach. Many accessibility improvements, such as clearer navigation structures and more readable content, benefit all users regardless of their abilities.
The EAA represents a significant shift in how businesses approach digital accessibility, moving from voluntary best practices to mandatory requirements. Organizations that embrace this change proactively will be better positioned not only to meet compliance requirements but also to serve their customers more effectively in an increasingly digital world.
Moving forward
The European Accessibility Act is more than a regulatory requirement—it's an opportunity to create more inclusive, user-friendly products and services. By starting implementation now and building accessibility into your core processes, your organization can turn compliance into a competitive advantage while contributing to a more accessible digital future for everyone.
The time for preparation is now. Organizations must act decisively to ensure compliance while building sustainable accessibility practices for the long term. The investment you make in accessibility today will pay dividends in improved user experiences, reduced legal risk, and expanded market opportunities tomorrow.