With the European Accessibility Act (EAA) deadline of June 2025, businesses must ensure their digital services are accessible. Whether you’re based inside or outside the EU, compliance is mandatory if you serve EU customers. The EAA covers various industries, from websites and apps to e-commerce, banking, telecommunications, and transportation. Fortunately, there are ways to manage compliance without overspending.
Read more about EAA compliance and strategies for your business in our European Accessibility Act guide.
We'll explore four smart strategies for meeting EAA standards, avoiding penalties, and managing costs effectively.
1. Get Your Internal Teams on the Same Page
The journey to EAA compliance starts with your internal teams. When everyone—designers, developers, compliance officers—understands their role in accessibility, it becomes easier to avoid last-minute fixes that can drive up costs.
Make sure your teams are working together efficiently:
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Design and UX should incorporate accessibility into their initial concepts so developers have a clear direction. Providing training and maintaining updated accessibility guidelines will help.
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Developers must stay up-to-date on WCAG 2.1 AA standards, which is critical to complying with EN 301 549. Regular training ensures accessibility is built into the code from the start.
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QA teams should integrate accessibility into their testing processes. Combining automated tools with manual testing will help uncover issues before your products go live.
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Compliance, management, and legal teams need to track and report accessibility progress to ensure your business meets the June 2025 deadline. Regular audits and clear documentation help avoid surprises later.
Also, remember that the EAA provides a general framework, but enforcement varies by country. If you operate in multiple EU markets, you’ll need to tailor your approach to meet the specific regulations in each region.
For a practical guide on how to navigate EAA compliance and make sure your business is ready, check out our EAA Compliance: A Practical Guide
2. Prioritize Key Areas for Testing and Remediation
You don’t need to tackle every page and feature of your site at once. Start by focusing on areas that will have the most significant impact on users and compliance.
For instance, begin with your high-traffic pages and features. Ensuring accessibility for your most visited content will have an immediate impact.
If your site uses templates—common in e-commerce—test and fix those templates first, as this will ensure compliance across multiple pages. Don’t forget to test interactive elements like payment systems and booking tools, which are often more complex but essential for providing a seamless, accessible user experience.
If your platform integrates with third-party tools or services, such as live chat or payment gateways, verify that they meet EAA standards. You are responsible for the full user experience, including any tools you use from outside vendors.
Ensure your digital content, such as images, videos, and PDFs, meets accessibility guidelines as well. If necessary, you can outsource these tasks, especially for large volumes of content.
While automated tools are helpful, they can’t catch everything. Manual testing and feedback from users with disabilities are crucial to achieving full compliance.
If you're curious about how non-EU companies can approach EAA compliance, read our blog on EAA compliance for non-EU companies
3. Stay Proactive to Avoid Last-Minute Fixes
Compliance with the EAA is not a one-time project. Even after you’ve met the June 2025 deadline, you’ll need to stay compliant as technology and standards evolve.
Build accessibility into your long-term development plans. Spread your efforts over time rather than waiting for last-minute audits, which can be costly and disruptive.
It’s also worth future-proofing your efforts by adopting WCAG 2.2 standards now. While EN 301 549 aligns with WCAG 2.1, it’s expected to be updated soon. By planning, you’ll avoid the need for further adjustments down the road.
And remember, compliance doesn’t end in June 2025. Accessibility is an ongoing process. Each time you update content or add new features, ensure they align with current accessibility standards.
4. Consider Bringing in an Accessibility Consultant
Managing EAA compliance can be overwhelming, especially if your digital footprint is large or spread across different platforms. If you’re unsure where to start or don’t have the resources internally, working with an accessibility consultant could be smart.
A consultant can help assess your current status, create a roadmap for compliance, and even provide training for your teams to ensure they can maintain accessibility moving forward.
This is especially helpful if your business operates across multiple EU markets or your digital presence includes complex systems.
For more details on how to manage the cost of compliance while accelerating compliance, explore our 9-step guide to optimizing your EAA compliance strategy
The Risk of Non-Compliance
Failing to meet EAA requirements can lead to significant penalties. Some countries may issue fines as high as 5% of your company’s annual revenue, while others could impose even stricter consequences, such as prison terms or exclusion from the EU market.
Additionally, if users file complaints about accessibility issues, non-compliance can disqualify your company from public procurement opportunities and damage your brand reputation.
The bottom line? It’s far less costly to proactively manage accessibility than to deal with the fallout of non-compliance.
Conclusion
Implementing these four strategies can reduce your EAA compliance costs while ensuring that your digital platforms meet EN 301 549 standards. With the June 2025 deadline approaching, now is the time to act. Plan, prioritize effectively, and stay proactive to avoid last-minute rushes and penalties.
Remember, compliance isn’t a one-and-done task. It requires ongoing effort to stay aligned with changing standards and regulations.
eady to learn more about how to efficiently manage EAA compliance? Join our upcoming webinar on the European Accessibility Act (EAA) to get expert guidance on ensuring compliance by the 2025 deadline. Register now and secure your spot!
