The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is quickly approaching, and for many small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs), it feels like a looming deadline with expensive implications. By June 28, 2025, businesses offering digital products and services in the EU must ensure their websites, mobile apps, and digital content meet strict accessibility standards—or face legal and financial consequences.
But here’s the good news: complying with the EAA doesn’t have to be prohibitively expensive or overly complex. With smart planning, the right tools, and a phased approach, SMEs can bring their digital experiences in line with the EAA—without draining their budget.
What Is the EAA and Why Should SMEs Care?
The European Accessibility Act is a landmark directive aimed at ensuring equal access to digital products and services for people with disabilities across the EU. It applies to a wide range of services and industries—e-commerce platforms, banking apps, online publications, ticketing services, and more.
If your company offers any digital services to EU consumers, even if you’re not based in the EU, you’re likely covered under the EAA. Non-compliance may lead to:
- Regulatory fines
- Mandatory service changes
- Complaints and litigation from consumers
- Damage to your brand reputation
Many SMEs assume they’re too small to be affected or believe compliance is something only large corporations need to worry about. But the truth is, the EAA applies to businesses of all sizes—and failing to act in time can be a costly mistake.
Step 1: Get a Free EAA-Focused Audit
Before you invest anything, start with a free digital accessibility audit to understand where your website stands in relation to the EAA’s technical requirements. Several tools can help identify obvious gaps, such as:
- Inaccessible navigation
- Missing image descriptions
- Poor color contrast
- Broken keyboard functionality
Automated tools like axe DevTools or WAVE can flag some of these, but a manual EAA-specific review will provide deeper insights. Some service providers, including Reguweb, offer free consultations or baseline audits tailored specifically to EAA requirements. This gives you clarity without committing resources up front.
Step 2: Fix the EAA “Quick Wins”
Once you have your audit results, prioritize the updates that are required by law and relatively easy to implement. These include:
- Adding alternative text to images
- Correcting contrast between text and background
- Ensuring all interactive elements (buttons, forms, menus) are keyboard-accessible and labeled properly
- Providing clear headings and structured content
- Avoiding flashing content or time-limited interactions
These small updates can be done by your existing web or marketing team and go a long way in bringing you closer to EAA compliance. They’re also part of the mandatory technical standards in the EN 301 549 specification—the benchmark for digital accessibility in the EU.
Step 3: Use EAA-Compliant Templates and Tools
If your website is built on platforms like WordPress, Webflow, or Shopify, you’re in luck. These platforms offer themes and templates that are built with accessibility in mind—often following the WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines, which the EAA adopts.
Using an accessibility-ready theme can help you avoid the need for expensive retrofits later. For SMEs planning a site redesign or new product launch, starting with compliant tools saves time and money. Look for themes with:
- Semantic HTML structure
- Keyboard navigation built in
- ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) support
- Contrast-friendly design settings
Think of this as future-proofing your digital presence.
Step 4: Work with Experts—Not Big Agencies
Hiring a large digital agency might sound appealing, but it’s often unnecessary—and expensive. Instead, look for independent consultants or small firms specializing in EAA compliance.
Boutique providers, such as Reguweb, offer targeted, modular services at a fraction of the cost of traditional agencies. You might hire someone just to fix technical code, someone else to train your content team, and another to handle your final compliance documentation.
These experts understand the legal obligations of the EAA and can help you focus on what’s required rather than nice-to-haves. Plus, they’re usually more flexible and affordable for smaller businesses.
Step 5: Phase Your EAA Compliance Over Time
You don’t need to become fully compliant overnight. In fact, a phased roadmap is often the smartest (and most realistic) approach for SMEs.
The key is to show measurable progress before June 2025. This demonstrates a “good faith effort” and could protect you from enforcement action while you complete the remaining work.
Here’s how to spread the effort across 6–12 months:
- Months 1–2: Conduct your initial audit and fix the quick wins.
- Months 3–4: Update or rebuild any templates or pages with major issues.
- Months 5–6: Remediate PDFs, videos, and other non-HTML content.
- Months 7–8: Train your internal content and design team.
- Months 9–10: Perform accessibility testing on mobile and responsive views.
- Months 11–12: Document compliance efforts and prepare for final review.
This approach allows you to budget gradually while making consistent progress—and it keeps your team from burning out trying to do everything at once.
The Long-Term Business Benefits
Complying with the EAA isn’t just about avoiding fines. It’s about opening your digital doors to more users, boosting customer satisfaction, and improving performance across the board.
Accessible websites tend to rank better in search engines, have higher conversion rates, and reduce user frustration—especially on mobile devices or for aging populations. And with over 87 million people in the EU living with a disability, creating inclusive digital services isn’t just ethical—it’s also a smart business move.
In short: EAA compliance drives both legal security and competitive advantage.
Compliance Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive—Just Strategic
The European Accessibility Act may seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to derail your business. SMEs can get ahead of the deadline by taking practical, budget-friendly steps today.
Start with a free audit. Fix the quick wins. Leverage the right tools. And bring in expert help only where you need it. With a clear roadmap, you can make steady progress toward compliance—without overspending or overcomplicating the process.
Need Help Getting Started?
Book a free EAA-readiness consultation with our accessibility team. We’ll help you assess where you are, where you need to go, and how to get there affordably. Let’s make accessibility work for your business, your users, and your future.