Website accessibility used to sit on the “someday” list for many small businesses, somewhere below rebranding the logo. That list is shrinking fast. Between ongoing ADA litigation in the U.S. and European Accessibility Act (EAA) requirements that took effect in June 2025, accessibility is both a good practice and a potential legal obligation.
The U.S. Picture: ADA Lawsuits Are Already Happening
The Americans with Disabilities Act doesn’t name websites specifically, and U.S. courts have not taken a uniform approach to every website. However, the Department of Justice says the ADA applies to the goods and services that businesses open to the public offer online. Its web accessibility guidance identifies the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as a helpful technical resource.
The absence of one universal technical standard for private businesses does not remove the obligation to provide accessible services. Many organizations use WCAG 2.2 at Level AA as a practical benchmark, but meeting that benchmark is not a substitute for legal advice about your specific obligations.
The European Rule Many U.S. Businesses Haven’t Heard Of
If you offer e-commerce services to consumers in the European Union, the EAA may apply even if your business is based elsewhere. Its requirements took effect on June 28, 2025, through laws adopted by individual EU member states, so obligations and enforcement procedures can vary by country.
The EAA text exempts microenterprises that provide services: businesses with fewer than 10 employees and either annual turnover or an annual balance sheet total of no more than €2 million. That exemption is narrower than a blanket small-business exception and does not cover every product-related role, so confirm your scope before assuming that you are exempt.
What “Compliant” Actually Looks Like
WCAG 2.2 Level AA covers areas such as sufficient color contrast, properly labeled forms, content that doesn’t rely on color alone to convey meaning, and keyboard navigation without a mouse. These aren’t exotic requirements — they’re part of building a usable website.
The EAA sets functional requirements and works through national laws, so WCAG conformance alone may not satisfy every obligation. WCAG 3.0 is still a draft and is not a reason to postpone work against the standards available today.
For the design patterns behind those rules, see our guide to how to design an accessible website.
A Practical Starting Checklist
- Run an automated audit: to identify common issues such as missing alternative text, contrast failures, and unlabeled inputs. Automated tools catch only some accessibility problems, so don’t treat a clean report as proof of compliance.
- Test key journeys with a keyboard only: including login, search, contact forms, and checkout. Then include people who use assistive technologies in manual testing when possible.
- Prepare accurate accessibility information: if the EAA applies to your service. The Act requires service providers to explain how the service meets applicable accessibility requirements in their terms and conditions or an equivalent document.
- Prioritize essential and high-traffic journeys first: while maintaining a plan to address the rest of the site.
Where This Leaves You
Accessibility work compounds: improvements made today make the next release cheaper and keep high-traffic journeys from becoming a legal problem later. If legal requirements may apply, have qualified counsel confirm your scope and review any public accessibility statement before you publish it.
The practical design work is the same whether or not a lawyer is involved: contrast, labels, keyboard paths, and content a screen reader can follow. That work lives on our UX and copywriting page. Fifteen minutes on the calendar is enough to walk checkout or contact and name the barriers that actually block people.
