Must-Have E-Commerce Accessibility Features for 2025
For e-commerce businesses, 2025 marks a pivotal year. With the European Accessibility Act (EAA) in full effect since June 28, 2025, digital accessibility has shifted from a best practice to a legal mandate for businesses operating within the EU. Research from the Baymard Institute shows that a staggering 94% of e-commerce websites have compliance gaps, creating significant barriers for users with disabilities and exposing businesses to legal risks.
These features are grounded in the four core principles of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) — Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust (POUR) — which form the basis of the EAA and other global standards. For a deeper dive into these fundamental principles, check out our detailed tutorial series of these guidelines on our blog.
1. Perceivable: Ensuring Users Can See and Hear Your Content
Your content must be presented in ways that all users can perceive, regardless of their sensory abilities.
- Descriptive Alt Text for Images: Every product image needs clear, descriptive alt text so that screen reader users can understand what is being shown. If an image contains text, that text should be included in the alt description.
- High-Contrast and Scalable Text: Text must have sufficient color contrast against its background to be readable for users with low vision. Additionally, users should be able to resize text up to 200% without breaking the layout or losing functionality.
- Captions and Transcripts for Media: All video content, such as product demos or promotional ads, must include closed captions. For audio-only content, provide a full transcript.
2. Operable: Making Your Site Easy to Navigate and Use
Users must be able to interact with all components of your site, from navigation menus to checkout buttons.
- Full Keyboard Navigation: All website functions—including browsing products, adding items to the cart, and completing a purchase—must be accessible using only a keyboard.
- Clearly Labeled Forms and Simplified Checkout: The checkout process is where most sales are won or lost. Ensure all form fields have clear, visible labels (placeholder text is not enough). Mark required fields programmatically and provide real-time validation with helpful, non-intrusive error messages.
- Accessible Pop-ups and Dynamic Content: Any pop-ups for sales alerts or newsletter sign-ups must be manageable with a keyboard and compatible with screen readers.
3. Understandable: Creating a Clear and Predictable Experience
Your site's information and user interface should be easy to comprehend.
- Consistent Navigation and Layout: Use a logical and consistent structure throughout your site, including clear headings and breadcrumbs, to help users understand where they are and how to find what they need.
- Plain Language: Provide instructions and information in clear, simple language. This benefits everyone, especially users with cognitive disabilities.
- Accessible Customer Support: Offer multiple ways for users to get help, such as accessible chat, email, and phone support. Ensure help resources like FAQs are easy to navigate.
4. Robust: Building for Compatibility and the Future
Your website should be built with clean code that works reliably with current and future assistive technologies.
- Use of ARIA Roles: Implement Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) roles to provide screen readers with the necessary context for complex elements like menus, sliders, and live content updates (e.g., a cart total that updates automatically).
- Support for Multiple Payment Options: Offer a variety of payment methods, as some may be more accessible than others. Digital wallets like Apple Pay or Google Pay often provide a more streamlined experience.
- Regular Audits and Maintenance: Accessibility is an ongoing process. Regularly audit your site using a combination of automated tools and manual testing with people with disabilities to catch and fix issues as they arise.
An accessible online store not only opens your doors to a wider audience—representing an estimated 15% of the global population—but also enhances usability for everyone, improves SEO, and builds customer loyalty. Inaccessible sites, on the other hand, risk losing customers, with studies indicating that 61% of users are unlikely to return to a website they find difficult to use.
How Wawsome Simplifies E-Commerce Accessibility
Navigating the complexities of WCAG and the EAA can be challenging, but you don't have to do it alone. At Wawsome, our powerful AI-driven platform is designed to make accessibility effortless.
Our solution continuously monitors your e-commerce site, automatically identifying and remediating accessibility barriers in real-time. From ensuring your product images have perfect alt text to making your checkout process seamless for screen reader users, Wawsome helps you achieve and maintain compliance without slowing you down.