12/02/2025

Digital accessibility: an opportunity for companies

Authors: Cathleen Eberhardt, Christian Stadler

Imagine you want to book a ticket online – but the font is too small, the contrast is too weak and the button cannot be clicked without a mouse. This is everyday life for many people. From June 2025, companies in the EU will therefore be obliged to make digital products accessible. But digital accessibility is more than just an obligation – it creates real added value for every-one.

Digital accessibility ensures that all people – regardless of limitations such as visual impairment, deafness, cognitive or motor impairments – can use digital products and services without difficulty and without outside help. This applies not only to people with permanent disabilities, but also to temporary or situational restrictions, such as an arm injury or a noisy environment. Accessible design is often more intuitive and user-friendly, and enables a more inclusive digital world in which no one is excluded. This results in important competitive advantages for companies.

Demographic change, among other reasons, will lead to an increasing demand for accessible products:

7.8 Mio.

people in Germany are severely disabled – almost one in ten (9.4%).

Worldwide, the rate is even higher at 15%.

45%

of people with severe disabilities are 55 to 74 years old.

Age and disability are closely linked.

By 2030

around 29% of the population will be 65+ years old.

The number of people with disabilities will increase.

94%

of all disabilities are acquired in the course of life.

Source: Statistisches Bundesamt, 2022

Digital accessibility: legal requirements from 2025

According to the European Union’s regulations on accessibility (European Accessibility Act / EAA (Directive 2019/882)), from 2025, digital solutions for end customers must be designed in such a way that they can also be used by people with various disabilities such as epilepsy, red-green weakness, blindness, etc. This applies, for example, to websites, online shops, customer portals and apps. In the past, digital accessibility was primarily a public sector issue due to the legal situation. Now the private sector is also required to ensure the accessibility of products and services.

With the enactment of the Ordinance to the Accessibility Reinforcement Act (BFSG), Germany is fulfilling its obligation to implement Annex I of the EU Accessibility Directive (European Accessibility Act, EAA for short). The legislation defines the product and service features that must be accessible to people with disabilities. They are subject to accessibility requirements, which are to be implemented by means of various guidelines such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) or the Barrier-free Information Technology Ordinance (BITV), which also covers all the required criteria of EN 301 549.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) define specific requirements and are divided into three levels:

Level A: Basic accessibility – basic requirements for minimum accessibility
Level AA: Standard, mandatory from 2025 – common best practices for good accessibility
Level AAA: Excellent accessibility – highest standards for optimal accessibility

In addition, companies must document compliance with accessibility standards and provide users with information about the accessibility of their digital products.

How should accessible solutions be designed?

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for accessibility: different specific rules apply to different types of services. Legislation defines the product and service features that must be accessible to people with disabilities.

To enable digital accessibility, companies should take the following key measures:

High-contrast design: Colours and fonts must be easy to read to make it easier for people with visual impairments to understand content.
Alternative texts for images and videos: Visual content must be provided with descriptive alternative texts so that it can be captured by screen readers.
Keyboard navigation: Content must also be fully accessible without a mouse to enable people with motor impairments to use it.
Structured content: Logical heading hierarchies, simple language and clear forms contribute to better comprehensibility.
Accessible PDF documents: Documents must be readable and navigable for all users, for example through tags and structured content.
Subtitles and transcripts for videos: Videos should have subtitles or audio descriptions to enable access for hearing-impaired users.
Clear and understandable forms: Forms should have clear instructions and labelled input fields to make them easier to use.

The key benefits of digital accessibility for companies

Digital barriers (e.g. in online retail) not only make life more difficult for many people, they also cause shopping cancellations and loss of sales. Removing these barriers means making information accessible to everyone, enabling interactions and purchases and thus both generating more sales and strengthening people’s sovereignty

Expansion of the target group

15% of the world's population live with a disability. Added to this is an ageing society that is increasingly dependent on accessible digital services. People aged 65+ in Germany have over 720 billion euros in disposable purchasing power - digital accessibility makes it easier to generate sales in this target group.
Cost savings

The early integration of accessibility reduces development and adaptation costs in the long term The potential optimisations required to make a product as accessible as possible at a later stage are much more costly and time-consuming than a clear commitment to accessibility and the corresponding planning for all project participants from the outset.
Sustainability and social responsibility

Companies that implement accessibility demonstrate social responsibility and contribute to digital inclusion. By eliminating inequalities, accessibility contributes to the achievement of corporate sustainability goals.
Reach & SEO

An accessible design is much easier to use: Websites with a clear structure, alternative texts and simple navigation are better indexed by search engines, which increases reach and visibility.
Brand image

The awareness of consumers and users is expanding to the extent that not only the products and services, but also the values behind a brand or organisation are becoming increasingly relevant. Accessibility therefore strengthens the brand and demonstrates empathy.
Minimised risks

Digital accessibility is not a short-term trend, but a necessary adaptation to legal requirements and social changes. However, instead of just fulfilling a legal requirement, companies should see accessibility as an opportunity: it expands the target group, improves the user experience and brings competitive advantages.

Conclusion: Take action now!

Digital accessibility is not a short-term trend, but a necessary adaptation to legal requirements and social changes. However, instead of just fulfilling a legal requirement, companies should see accessibility as an opportunity: it expands the target group, improves the user experience and brings competitive advantages.