Deadline: June 2025. Ignoring WCAG is No Longer an Option.
For years, 'digital accessibility' was a niche topic, mainly concerning public administration websites. That has just ended. Thanks to the European Accessibility Act (EAA), from June 2025, the rules of the game are changing for almost the entire private sector, especially e-commerce.
As a manager or business owner, you face a simple choice: either ignore the new law and expose yourself to hefty fines and reputational damage, or treat it as an opportunity to reach up to 20% of the population that may have had trouble making a purchase from you until now. This article is a pragmatic guide for decision-makers – what WCAG is, how to check it cheaply, and what mistakes to avoid.
WCAG: What is it in practice (for a manager, not a lawyer)?
Forget complex legal paragraphs for a moment. In simple terms:
- EAA (European Accessibility Act) is the law (an EU directive) that says *that* digital products and services (including online stores) must be accessible.
- WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is the technical standard (the 'how-to' manual) that says *how* to do it to be compliant.
The WCAG standard has three levels: A (minimum), AA (industry standard), AAA (highest, hard to achieve). The new EAA law makes Level AA the required standard for business. This means your site must be:
- Perceivable: Do your product images have `alt` descriptions for the blind (and for Google)? Is the text contrast on your banners sufficient for a senior to read?
- Operable: Can a customer buy a product using only the keyboard (e.g., the Tab key)? Can your animations and banners be stopped?
- Understandable: Is your shopping cart form logical? Are error messages (e.g., 'wrong zip code') clear and readable?
- Robust: Does your site 'break' on older phones, and does it work correctly with assistive technologies like screen readers?
Where Are You LikelyLosing Money Right Now? Common WCAG Errors
Before you start looking for expensive auditors, look at the list of the most common errors. They generate 80% of accessibility... and conversion rate problems.
| Problem (WCAG Error) | What it Means for Business |
|---|---|
| Low contrast (e.g., light gray text on a white background) | Your beautifully designed banner is unreadable for seniors and people with visual impairments. You are losing customers with money to spend. |
| No alt text for images | Blind people don't know what you're selling. Additionally, you're missing out on huge SEO potential in Google Images. |
| No keyboard navigation | People with motor disabilities (and also 'power-users') cannot complete a purchase. They will get stuck at the delivery selection step. |
| Forms without labels (`<label>`) | The most common reason for cart abandonment. The user doesn't know which field they filled out wrong, gets frustrated, and leaves. |
| Vague links (e.g., 'Click here') | Screen reader users don't know where the link goes. This breaks UX and reduces trust. |
How to Fix It? A Pragmatic Approach
Step 1: Do a Free 15-Minute Audit (Seriously)
You don't need to spend money right away. Use one of these three free methods:
- The Keyboard Test (Most Important): Put your mouse away. Open your store in a new incognito window and try to buy a product using only the Tab key to navigate and Enter to confirm. I guarantee you will get stuck – most likely on the cookie consent, a dropdown menu, or in the cart form. You've just found your critical errors.
- Google Lighthouse (Built into Chrome): Open your site, press F12 (Developer Tools), go to the 'Lighthouse' tab. Check only 'Accessibility' and click 'Analyze page'. You will get a hard percentage score and a list of errors to fix.
- Free Online Scanners: Tools like AccessibilityChecker.org (which you asked about) or the WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool (by WebAIM) will scan your page and visually show you errors, like missing 'alts' or contrast problems.
Step 2: Choose Your Repair Strategy
You have your error list. Now you have two paths – one is fast and seemingly cheap, the other is the right one.
Option 1: 'Magic' Widgets (The Shortcut)
You will find plenty of paid widgets on the market, such as EqualWeb or Eye-Able (which you mentioned). They promise 'instant WCAG compliance' by adding one line of code. You install the widget, and an icon appears on your site that lets the user change contrast, enlarge fonts, or turn on a text-to-speech reader.
Critical Note: This is a band-aid on a broken leg. These tools are only *aids* for accessibility, not a *guarantee* of it. Such a widget will not fix the fundamental flaw in your shopping cart that prevents keyboard navigation. Treat them as an add-on, but never as the main solution. Relying solely on them is asking for legal trouble, because the bugs in the code are still there.
Option 2: Fix the Fundamentals (The Right Way)
This is the solution I recommend. It costs nothing if your team has the skills, or it costs developer time. Instead of masking problems, you fix them at the source. This is the only method that also genuinely improves SEO and conversion.
- Assign to your developer: Give them the Lighthouse audit and 'Keyboard Test' results.
- The 'Must-Have' DIY Checklist (for now):
- Fix the `color-contrast` in the CSS files for key buttons and texts.
- Add `alt` attributes to all meaningful `<img>` tags (e.g., product photos).
- Ensure every link `<a>` and button `<button>` has a visible `:focus` style (like a blue outline) so keyboard users can see where they are.
- Correctly associate labels with form fields: `<label for="email">` must connect to `<input id="email">`.
- Use semantic HTML (H1, H2, H3 headers in logical order; `<nav>` for navigation, `<main>` for content). Google loves this.
Conclusion: An Investment That Pays Off
The June 2025 (EAA) deadline is the perfect motivator to finally deal with accessibility. Instead of frantically looking for 'quick fixes' in the form of overlay widgets, approach this strategically.
Run a free audit, identify critical errors (especially in the checkout process), and have your developer fix the fundamentals. This is the only action that will simultaneously protect you legally, improve your SEO, and open your e-commerce store to a new, large group of customers. This isn't a cost; it's an investment in conversion.