As digital accessibility laws strengthen across Europe, many businesses are asking how the European Accessibility Act (EAA) will impact them. While the EAA primarily targets consumer-facing products and services, the line isn’t always clear for B2B organisations. If your company operates in the EU or serves EU-based clients, understanding how and when the EAA applies is essential. And not just for compliance, but for maintaining competitiveness, securing contracts, and building inclusive digital experiences.
This article explores what the EAA means for B2B businesses, including its requirements, risks, and the practical steps you can take to stay ahead.
What is the European Accessibility Act (EAA)?
The European Accessibility Act is a law created by the European Union to make products and services more accessible to people with disabilities. It sets common rules that must be followed across all EU countries, so businesses know exactly what’s required, no matter where they operate in Europe.
The EAA covers a wide range of everyday products and services, including websites, mobile apps, e-commerce platforms, smartphones, ATMs, ticketing machines, e-books, banking services, and more. The main goal is to ensure these are usable by everyone, including people with visual, hearing, physical, or cognitive disabilities.
For websites and digital content, the EAA requires businesses to follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at level AA. This means your website should be easy to navigate, readable, and usable for people who use screen readers, keyboards instead of a mouse, or need captions for videos.
What are the requirements for B2B organisations?
The European Accessibility Act applies to products and services made available on the EU market, including digital offerings like websites and apps. For B2B companies, the key factor is whether their platforms are accessible to the public or consumers. If a site is publicly available, even if aimed at business clients, it must meet EAA accessibility standards. However, private systems used only by other businesses or internal staff, such as intranets or restricted portals, are generally exempt.
Even if not legally required, B2B organisations may still face accessibility expectations from clients, especially in the public sector or large enterprises, who increasingly require accessible solutions as part of procurement. As a result, meeting EAA standards can be essential for maintaining competitiveness and securing contracts.
EAA exemptions
Smaller companies may also be excluded under the EAA’s micro-enterprise exemption, which applies to businesses with fewer than 10 employees and under €2 million in annual turnover. But once a company grows beyond that or serves external users in the EU, compliance becomes necessary.
What are the most common EAA violations for B2B websites?
B2B websites frequently run afoul of the European Accessibility Act by failing to meet basic WCAG accessibility standards on their website. But don’t worry, these accessibility issues are often easy to fix once identified. Here are some of the most common issues.
Missing or Incorrect Alternative Text
Many B2B sites omit meaningful alt attributes on images, leaving screen-reader users without essential context. Fix it by writing concise, descriptive alt text for every informative image; decorative images should use empty alt (alt=””) so assistive tools skip them.
Poor Colour Contrast
Text and interface elements often lack sufficient contrast against their backgrounds, making content unreadable for users with low vision or colour deficiencies. Fix it by ensuring a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text, using contrast-checking tools during design and development.
Inaccessible Form Controls and CAPTCHAs
Forms without proper <label> associations, focus indicators, or error messaging block users who rely on screen readers or keyboard navigation, while CAPTCHAs without alternatives lock out many users with disabilities. Fix it by explicitly linking labels to inputs, providing clear instructions and error feedback, and offering an accessible CAPTCHA alternative (e.g. audio challenge).
Keyboard Navigation Barriers
Interactive elements that can’t be reached or operated via keyboard create “traps” for users who cannot use a mouse. Fix it by ensuring all controls are tabbable in a logical order, visible focus indicators are present, and no element traps keyboard focus.
Unstructured or Missing Headings
Skipping heading levels or using headings purely for visual style leaves screen-reader users unable to navigate content efficiently. Fix it by using semantic <h1>–<h6> tags in proper sequence to reflect document structure and assistive-technology navigation.
Missing Captions and Transcripts for Media
Videos without captions and audio without transcripts prevent users with hearing impairments from accessing essential information. Fix it by adding synchronised captions to all video content and providing text transcripts for audio files.
Non-descriptive Link Text
Links labeled “click here” or generic URLs do not convey purpose out of context, confusing screen-reader users who scan link lists. Fix it by crafting link text that clearly describes the destination or action (e.g. “Download our product brochure” instead of “click here”).
Why should you make sure your Business to Business organisation is EAA compliant
Ensuring compliance with the EAA isn’t just about following the rules. It’s a smart business move that supports growth, reputation, and risk management for B2B organisations.
Expanded Market Access
Around 16% of the global population lives with a disability, and the EU alone has over 85 million people with disabilities. Making your products and services accessible opens the door to this significant user base, many of whom participate in business environments as employees, decision-makers, or stakeholders. Even in B2B, ensuring a seamless digital experience means you’re not unintentionally excluding part of your market or your clients’ workforce. Failing to do so could mean missing out on millions in potential revenue.
Competitive Advantage and Brand Reputation
Accessibility demonstrates a company’s commitment to inclusion and social responsibility. For B2B brands, this strengthens reputation and builds trust, especially during procurement processes where inclusivity can be a deciding factor. It also sets your business apart from competitors who have yet to prioritise accessibility. Conversely, inaccessible platforms can damage your image and credibility with partners and clients.
Improved Usability for Everyone
Many accessibility features improve usability across the board. Clear navigation, well-structured content, keyboard-friendly controls, and captions all significantly improve the user experience for people with and without disabilities. These improvements are especially useful for older users, people working in challenging environments, or those using mobile devices. Investing in accessibility often leads to cleaner, more intuitive digital products.
Procurement and Partnership Opportunities
Public agencies and large enterprises increasingly require vendors to meet accessibility standards. If your digital services aren’t EAA compliant, you may be disqualified from bidding for contracts, regardless of your capabilities or pricing. In some EU jurisdictions, government bodies are legally restricted from purchasing non-accessible products. Compliance, therefore, isn’t just about legal safety, it’s a gateway to more business.
Legal and Financial Risk Reduction
After the EAA enforcement date, organisations that fail to comply risk complaints, audits, and penalties. Individuals and authorities will be able to report inaccessible services. Some EU countries are preparing significant fines, for example, up to €50,000 in France (plus additional penalties for missing documentation) and up to €150,000 in Spain, with the potential for higher penalties in cases of serious non-compliance. Legal fees, remediation costs, and reputational harm can be far more expensive than upfront compliance.
Easier Cross-Border Operations
One of the EAA’s core aims is to harmonise accessibility standards across Europe, allowing businesses to follow one consistent set of rules instead of navigating different national laws. Once your product or service meets the EAA’s requirements, you’re equipped to offer it across the EU. This simplifies expansion and cuts down on administrative burden.
Actionable steps toward B2B European Accessibility Act compliance
To meet the upcoming June 28, 2025 deadline and ensure your B2B website remains accessible under the EAA, follow a structured four-step process: start with a thorough audit, turn findings into prioritised fixes, build in regular re-assessments, and empower your team with targeted training.
1. Conduct an EAA accessibility audit of your website
Automated checks give you a rapid, consistent baseline, catching over 80% of common barriers, so you can prioritise fixes before moving on to more time-intensive manual reviews.
Our recommended approach is to point your site’s URL into our accessibility checker. This tool will:
- Crawls your domain at scale, scanning hundreds or thousands of pages in minutes to identify missing alt text, colour-contrast failures, unlabelled form fields and more.
- Generates an actionable report mapping each failure to specific WCAG success criteria, so you know exactly which elements to correct and why.
- You can download the report and track your accessibility performance over time as you begin implementing the necessary fixes.
2. Action recommendations from your audit
Once the audit report is in hand, translate findings into a prioritised remediation plan. Group issues by severity and impact (e.g., “critical: no keyboard access to payment forms” vs. “low: missing alt text on decorative images”). For each issue, specify:
- Technical solution (e.g., add <label> elements, correct ARIA roles, adjust CSS contrast ratios)
- Owner and timeline (assign to a developer or content author, with clear deadlines).
- Verification method (automated re-scan, manual retest, or user validation).
Address high-impact, easily fixed issues first (alt text, form labels, contrast), then schedule more complex UI or code refactors. Finally, publish an internal “Accessibility Action Plan” summarising what will be done and by when.
3. Schedule future audits to maintain compliance
Accessibility is not a one-off project. Embed periodic reviews into your release cycle to catch regressions and new content issues. To do this you can maintain an audit calendar, assign owners, and review results in leadership meetings to ensure accountability and ongoing compliance. Moreover, it is a good idea to schedule EAA audits if there are any major overhauls of your website, or if the legislation has any significant updates.
4. Provide EAA training to key members of staff
Sustainable accessibility requires awareness at every level. Develop role-based training programs covering:
- Developers and designers: WCAG fundamentals, semantic HTML, ARIA best practices, and use of automated tools.
- Content authors and marketers: writing effective alt text, structuring headings, creating accessible documents and multimedia.
- Product managers and QA: interpreting audit reports, prioritising fixes, and embedding accessibility in user stories and test plans
Conclusion: Ensure your B2B company is EAA complaint
Becoming EAA-compliant before the June 28, 2025 deadline is not just a legal formality, it’s a strategic necessity. Ensuring your B2B platforms meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards opens your services to millions of users, strengthens your brand in competitive tendering, and protects you from costly fines or lost contracts. By auditing now, remediating barriers, embedding accessibility into your workflows, and training your teams, you transform compliance from a one-time project into an ongoing advantage. The sooner you act, the smoother your path to full accessibility, and the more resilient, inclusive, and future-ready your business will be.
B2B European Accessibility Act FAQs
It depends. If your business offers products or services that are publicly available or accessible to end-users in the EU, even if those users work for another business, the EAA will apply. Unless your business is classified as a micro-enterprise, which is defined as businesses with fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover or balance sheet total under €2 million.
Digital products and services covered by the EAA must comply with WCAG 2.1 level AA. This means websites and applications must support screen readers, keyboard navigation, proper headings, text alternatives for images, and more.
The main compliance deadline is 28 June 2025. After this date, any new covered products or services placed on the EU market must meet accessibility requirements.