The EAA Deadline Has Passed—Is Your Website Really Accessible?
On June 28, 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) became enforceable, making digital accessibility a daily legal obligation for any business serving EU customers.
With compliance built on WCAG 2.1 AA—and the industry swiftly embracing WCAG 2.2—proactive, ongoing accessibility is now essential for every website owner.
EAA Fines & Penalties: What’s at Stake?
National authorities are now actively enforcing EAA compliance. Here’s what your business risks by ignoring accessibility:
- One-Time Administrative Fines: Most countries levy fines of €5,000–€20,000 per accessibility violation—and multiple infringements can quickly add up.
- Daily Penalties: Some authorities impose up to €1,000 per day for every day your website remains non-compliant.
- Major Country Sanctions: For example,
- Germany: Up to €100,000 per violation.
- France: Fines reaching €250,000 for repeat offenders.
- Spain: €30,000–€600,000 for serious or repeated offenses.
- Netherlands, Belgium, Italy: Upper fines between €40,000 and €900,000, often scaled for repeat or egregious violations.
- Service Withdrawal & Public Exposure: Regulators can force non-accessible services offline, while reputational damage can be swift and far-reaching.
Accessibility Is a 24/7 Commitment
- Changing Websites, Changing Risks: Every content update, design tweak, or product launch could inadvertently create new barriers for customers with disabilities.
- Business & SEO Impact: Accessibility boosts usability and organic search ranking while expanding your audience and fostering trust.
Most Overlooked Post-Deadline Risks
- No Ongoing Accessibility Checks: Each update or new feature not reviewed for accessibility reopens your risk of non-compliance.
- Launching new content without validation.
- Missing checks on mobile and interactive elements.
- Failing to refresh your accessibility statement to reflect your current status.
Wawsome’s AI-Powered Features: Your Partner in Effortless Accessibility
Wawsome is the all-in-one AI accessibility solution designed to keep your website compliant, user-friendly, and ahead of regulators—every day.
- Free AI-Powered Accessibility Scanner: Instantly evaluate your website for accessibility issues, generating a detailed WCAG compliance report. With Wawsome, spotting risk areas is fast, free, and accurate.
- Advanced Audits & 7-Day Free Trial: Access in-depth, AI-driven accessibility audits, actionable step-by-step remediation guidance, code snippets, and risk rankings—all within Wawsome’s intuitive dashboard.
- Real-Time Monitoring & Automated Alerts: Wawsome continuously scans your website after every update, using AI to automatically detect and alert you to new accessibility issues—protecting you from surprise penalties.
- Remediation & Task Management: Assign tasks, track fixes, and view compliance progress by feature, page, or WCAG guideline—Wawsome makes managing your accessibility roadmap simple.
- Customizable Accessibility Widget: Seamlessly integrate Wawsome’s accessibility widget, empowering all users and enhancing site inclusivity—with easy configuration to match your brand.
- User-Friendly Platform: No technical expertise needed—Wawsome’s platform demystifies accessibility, translating complex requirements into clear, actionable steps for teams of any size.
Start Your Accessibility Journey with Wawsome Today
With post-deadline enforcement underway and penalties escalating for non-compliance, securing your site is urgent—and Wawsome gives you every tool you need:
- Scan your website for free using Wawsome’s AI-powered accessibility checker.
- Start your 7-day free trial to unlock advanced audits, ongoing monitoring, instant remediation guidance, and the industry’s most user-friendly accessibility management platform.
- Protect your business, grow your audience, and build a future-proof website—effortlessly—with Wawsome’s cutting-edge accessibility features.
Wawsome isn’t just your compliance tool—it’s your accessibility partner for every update, every page, and every customer.