E-SHOPS MUST BE ACCESSIBLE. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

How should accessibility be defined? It is about the ability to move around – in both physical and digital environments – without barriers and without requiring assistance from another person.

An example is online shopping, where digital accessibility is not a new concept, as it has been addressed since the beginning of the internet. The first version of the international accessibility standards WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) was created back in 1999.

Today, virtually every country has one or more laws requiring accessibility. In our country, as part of the transposition of the European directive, the so-called European Accessibility Act, a new law on accessibility requirements for certain products and services will come into effect on June 28, 2025.

Simply put, this law applies to all e-shops, whether on the web or in mobile applications, that provide products and services to consumers in EU countries. Microenterprises, defined as companies with fewer than ten employees and revenues less than two million euros, are exempt from the law.

Failure to meet accessibility requirements may result in fines of up to ten million Czech crowns imposed by the Czech Trade Inspection Authority.

You might think: Our e-shop is surely already accessible. However, this is probably not the case. More than 96 percent of websites worldwide are more or less inaccessible to people with disabilities. Unfortunately, domestic data is not available, but given that the situation is globally consistent with no country doing significantly better or worse, it cannot be expected that the Czech Republic would be an exception. Awareness of accessibility is low and there are few experts in the field.

WHAT WE NEED TO DO AND HOW

Accessibility is usually a long-distance run and primarily affects three pillars: design, development, and content. When creating digital solutions, it's best to consider accessibility from the beginning, as this is the least time-consuming and costly approach. For an existing website or application, it's best to hire an expert who will conduct an audit and tell you, based on the results, where your solution has shortcomings and how to fix them. Ensuring accessibility is not a one-time task. It needs to be maintained, either through regular monitoring or by educating teams working with the solution, such as designers, developers, and especially content creators and editors.

Currently, to fulfill legal obligations, it's best to be in maximum compliance with the European harmonized standard (EN 301 549), which includes, among other things, requirements from WCAG. New, updated standards are already being prepared but won't be ready by the effective date of the new law.

Accessibility (unfortunately so far) cannot be sufficiently automated. You can have your web solution checked using an automated tool such as Wave by WebAim. However, be aware that it can detect at most 30 percent of all deficiencies, and not entirely reliably. The European Commission confirms this in its statement: "Claims that websites can be fully compliant with accessibility laws without manual intervention are not realistic."

The good news is that by meeting the requirements, you avoid unnecessary fines and open doors to a wider range of new customers. The purchasing power of people with disabilities reaches 2.3 trillion euros in the EU and 13 trillion euros worldwide.