Does my website have to be accessible? What the law requires

Does your website have to be accessible?

Most small business websites do not, but a web shop of a larger business does. That is what the ACM, the supervisor, says; if in doubt the ACM or a lawyer decides. Take, for example, an accountancy firm with nine employees whose website lets clients book appointments, and next to it a web shop with twelve employees. Which of them is covered?

The ACM describes an e-commerce service as a website or app on which consumers conclude a contract online: buying, renting, booking, taking a subscription. Under the law, a business is a micro-enterprise when it meets two conditions at once: fewer than ten employees, and an annual turnover or a balance-sheet total of at most two million euros. If one of the two amounts stays within the limit, that is enough. How you count staff, part-time and seasonal, is in the European Commission’s guide, to which the ACM refers. The accountancy firm with nine employees is a micro-enterprise if its annual turnover or its balance-sheet total is at most two million euros; the web shop with twelve employees is not.

Since when, and what does the law ask?

The rules have applied since 28 June 2025, and for services there is no transition period. The ACM supervises. An e-commerce service has to do five things:

• Make the whole process by which a consumer concludes a contract accessible: searching, choosing, signing in and paying.
• Meet WCAG 2.1 level AA. The ACM says WCAG 2.2 level AA becomes the new standard in 2026, and advises starting with it.
• Publish an accessibility statement on the website or app, explaining how your service meets the rules.
• Keep it accessible, also after changes.
• Notify the ACM if the service is not or not fully accessible, or if you rely on an exception for a fundamental change or a disproportionate burden (see the ACM’s notification duty).

An independent WCAG audit, an inspection or a certificate is not required.

What is WCAG, and what does it ask?

WCAG is an international standard for accessible websites. It rests on four principles: a visitor must be able to perceive, operate and understand the website, and the website must be robust enough for different browsers and assistive technologies. Level AA is the level the law asks. In plain language that means, among other things:

• Everything you can do with a mouse can be done with the keyboard, and you can see where you are.
• Images have a description, for those who cannot see them.
• Text is easy to read against the background.
• Headings are in a logical order, and a screen that reads them aloud gives a usable overview.
• Forms have a label on every field, and an error message says what is wrong.
• The page stays usable when the text is enlarged.
• Video has subtitles, and audio has a text version.

How do you check your own website?

An hour is enough for a first impression. Six steps:

It does not replace a full check, but it finds the worst mistakes.

Found faults you cannot fix yourself? Request a quote and name the pages where visitors get stuck most often.

What does it cost to make a website accessible?

When a website is built with it in mind, it is part of the hours for the structure and a check of 3 to 9 hours; the cost breakdown works it out. Making an existing website accessible afterwards costs more, because the design and structure often have to change: count on 10 to 30 hours, depending on the number of pages. That is an estimate, not a price.

Why would you do it if you are not obliged?

A website everyone can use reaches more people. Someone who cannot see, cannot use a mouse, has a small phone or is sitting in the sun cannot reach your business otherwise. It takes a few hours during the build, and many more afterwards.

Would you like to see what your homepage would look like if everyone could use it? Ask for a free preview.

Frequently asked questions

If you want an accessible website built

If your website falls outside the rules and you still want it accessible, the check above helps, and you do not need us for that. If your web shop does fall under the rules, or you want a new website everyone can use, we build it with the WCAG guidelines as the standard. The quote states which pages and steps we test, and how. Request a quote and tell us what customers buy or book on your website. You receive the hours, the schedule, the price and an estimate of what the website costs per year after that.

See an example website quote first.