Since 28 June 2025, accessibility is no longer optional for many companies, it’s mandatory. That sounds like red tape at first, but it’s actually good news. Let me sort out what EAA and BFSG mean, who is affected, and why, for me, the law is still the weakest argument.
Behind it are two European strands. One, the EU Directive 2016/2102, has for years required public bodies to make their websites and documents accessible. The other is the European Accessibility Act, EU Directive 2019/882, and it’s new because for the first time it also covers private products and services.
In Germany, the Accessibility Strengthening Act, BFSG for short, implements this European Accessibility Act. It has applied bindingly since 28 June 2025. From then on, accessibility is no longer a nice extra for many, but a prerequisite.
Mainly affected are consumer-facing digital offerings: web shops, online appointment booking, banking, e-books, ticketing, apps you conclude something through. A pure business-card site usually doesn’t fall under it, but as soon as you sell online or conclude contracts, you’re quickly right in the middle of it.
There’s one important exception: micro-enterprises offering services, with fewer than ten employees and under two million euros annual turnover, are exempt. For products, though, that doesn’t apply. And “exempt” doesn’t mean “not worth it”, because the benefits still hold.
The measure is an international standard, the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), in the European norm EN 301 549 that matters here, currently based on WCAG 2.1 at level AA. Behind it are four simple principles: content should be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. At its core: everyone should be able to perceive, operate and understand your site, with very different assistive tools.
And now what really matters to me: the law is the weakest argument. An accessible site simply reaches more people, loads faster and is nicer for everyone. The duty is just the occasion to do the right thing; the real reason lies elsewhere.
In Germany, almost eight million people live with a recognised severe disability, plus many with temporary or unrecorded limitations. And accessibility helps far more than just them: the broken arm, the harsh sunlight on the display, the loud underground with no subtitles. Sooner or later a limitation catches up with every one of us.
Nobody needs to feel overwhelmed by it. Accessibility doesn’t mean reading through every set of guidelines, but learning a bit more and looking more closely. With existing sites it’s often enough to make them more accessible step by step: better contrasts, meaningful alt texts, a clearer structure, keyboard operability. A little bit accessible is better than not at all.
If you like, I’ll take a calm look at your site, tell you honestly where it stands, and go step by step with you. More on my page about accessible web design.