Avoid these common pitfalls when preparing for the European Accessibility Act (EAA)
The European Accessibility Act deadline is fast approaching, and businesses operating in the EU must ensure their digital platforms are compliant by June 28, 2025. While many organisations are taking steps to improve accessibility, some common pitfalls can lead to non-compliance, legal risks, and lost opportunities in SEO and user engagement. Here are the most frequent mistakes and how to avoid them. If you’d like a comprehensive overview of the EAA and how to meet its requirements, read our EAA Guide today.
1. Only focusing on legal compliance
Many businesses treat accessibility as just another legal requirement, aiming to tick off a checklist rather than creating a truly inclusive experience. The thing is, meeting the EAA requirements isn’t just about avoiding fines – it’s about making your website usable for all. A user-first approach ensures that accessibility improvements enhance UX, engagement, and conversions.
Make sure you examine your website from a user point of view when looking for optimisation opportunities. Need help optimising your site? Check out our Search Engine Optimisation page to find out how we can help and request a consultation.
2. Overlooking mobile accessibility
According to WEbAIM’s 2021 screen reader survey, 51% of people prefer to use mobile apps than desktop websites. Since mobile traffic accounts for a large share of website visits, ensuring accessibility on mobile is just as important as desktop. If you only focus on desktop accessibility, you may be neglecting touchscreen navigation, mobile screen readers, and contrast issues on smaller screens.
Luckily, there’s an easy fix! Test your website on different devices and use accessibility tools like Google Lighthouse to check the mobile accessibility of your site.
3. Forgetting about alternative text (alt text)
Alt text (descriptive text that conveys the meaning and context of an image) is essential for users who have a visual disability and/or rely on screen readers. Businesses often leave it blank or use generic descriptions, which isn’t just annoying for those who need it for an optimum online experience – poor alt text can also hurt both accessibility and SEO, meaning these businesses are effectively shooting themselves in the foot.
What’s the fix? Write descriptive, keyword-relevant alt text for images that accurately convey their meaning, and inform yourself about what makes good alt-text.
When do you need to use alt text?
- For images and pictures
- For diagrams, flow charts and charts
- For videos
- For tables
When don’t you need to use alt text?
- For purely decorative images
In the case of purely decorative images, like border designs, you can simply input a null alt attribute or leave the alt text blank.
4. Neglecting keyboard navigation
Many users, including those with motor disabilities, rely on keyboards to navigate websites. If your site isn’t fully operable via keyboard and can only be navigated with a mouse, it’s failing a core accessibility requirement.
How do you take care of this? Ensure all interactive elements (buttons, forms, links) are navigable using only the Tab, Space, Esc, Enter, and Arrow keys. Just remember that only the page elements that are interactive with a mouse should be made keyword accessible.
5. Using poor colour contrast
Low-contrast text and background combinations make it difficult for visually impaired users to read content. This is a common accessibility issue that also affects readability for all users – and it’s easy to fix!
To solve the issue, use high-contrast colour combinations that meet WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards. Tools like WebAIM’s Contrast Checker can help. Just input your foreground and background colours and get a pass/fail mark immediately. You can play around as much as you need to until you find a combination that works both for your brand and for the WCAG.
6. Skipping video & audio transcripts
Videos and audio content without captions or transcripts exclude users who are deaf or hard of hearing. This also impacts engagement, as many users prefer to consume content in text format – or may just be stuck on public transport with no headphones!
So, what do you do? Simple. Provide closed captions and transcripts for all multimedia content. This also improves SEO by making video content indexable. Another win-win!
7. Not testing with real users
Remember: automated accessibility checkers are useful, but they can’t fully replicate the experience of real users with disabilities. Without user testing, you may miss key usability issues.
To avoid any missed mistakes, ensure you conduct usability testing with real users, including individuals with disabilities, to identify barriers and refine the user experience. However, there are also loads of great online tools for testing web content for accessibility. Check out this list of tools and tips by WebAIM for more.
Future-proof your website for accessibility, SEO, and the EAA
Clearly there’s a fair amount to check for when ensuring that your website meets the requirements of the EAA. However, you’re not alone – we’re here to help! Avoiding these pitfalls doesn’t just ensure compliance – it also improves SEO, user engagement, and brand reputation, and by taking a proactive approach, you can create more inclusive digital experiences while staying ahead in search rankings.
Want to make your website fully EAA-compliant and unlock SEO benefits? Download our free guide to learn how and reach out to our team at [email protected] if you have any issues, questions or comments! Together, we can get your site in perfect condition before the EAA deadline.
