Digital accessibility – An accessible layout for your website
- Digital accessibility: towards an inclusive digital world
- Free accessibility check for your website
- Compliant with the Act on Strengthening Accessibility (BFSG)
We want to help businesses create a more inclusive digital world. After all, everyone should be able to use your website.
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What is digital accessibility?
Is your website already accessible?
You’re not sure? Then get in touch with us and we’ll test your website for accessibility in accordance with BITV/WCAG/BFSG, free of charge and with no obligation.
Find out moreDigital accessibility is crucial to ensuring that people with disabilities have unrestricted access to digital content. A website is considered accessible if it can be found, accessed and used by people with disabilities without undue difficulty and, in principle, without the need for assistance from others. The aim is to enable people with disabilities to exercise the same level of self-determination and independent use of websites as is taken for granted by people without disabilities.
There are just under 10 million people with disabilities living in Germany, and digital accessibility is crucial to ensuring their participation in the digital society. However, its significance extends far beyond this immediate target group. Simple and accessible websites not only benefit people with disabilities, but also improve the user experience for a much wider user base.
What guidelines are there for digital accessibility?
To promote digital inclusion, guidelines have been drawn up to ensure that everyone can find their way around the digital world. Specifically, there are three guidelines.
WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines):
WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines):
The WCAG are international guidelines on the accessibility of web content, developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). They set out standards to ensure that websites and web applications are accessible to people with disabilities. The guidelines comprise four principles: Perceivability, Operability, Understandability and Robustness. Within these principles, specific success criteria are defined to ensure that web content is perceivable and usable by different user groups.
BITV (Regulation on Accessible Information Technology):
The BITV is a German regulation governing the implementation of the WCAG guidelines within Germany. Its purpose is to ensure the accessible design of digital information and communication technologies. The BITV sets out the requirements of the WCAG in more detail and specifies how they are to be implemented in Germany. In particular, it applies to websites operated by federal public bodies and by organisations that carry out public functions.
BITV (Regulation on Accessible Information Technology):
BFSG (Act to Strengthen Accessibility):
BFSG (Act to Strengthen Accessibility):
The BFSG is a German law aimed at improving accessibility in the digital world. It comes into force on 28 June 2025 and requires German companies to ensure accessibility. This applies, for example, to online retailers. Those who already comply with the WCAG or the BITV usually already meet the requirements of the BFSG.
Digital Accessibility Checklist – What does it cover?
Our checklist for digital accessibility is intended to provide an overview of potential barriers. It can serve as a guide, but cannot replace a comprehensive quality control process.
Sufficient contrast between the foreground and background colours
Adequate contrast ensures that content is clearly visible. Certain colour combinations have lower contrast, making them more difficult for many people to see.
Incidentally, it is not only people with visual impairments who benefit from good contrast; mobile usability is also improved, for example, in bright sunlight.
Taking colour vision deficiencies into account
When selecting colours, consideration should also be given to people with colour vision deficiencies. Around 9 per cent of all men and 1 per cent of all women have red-green colour blindness. Colours should therefore not be the sole distinguishing feature.
Screen reader compatibility of the website
People with visual impairments often use screen readers to read text or describe images. For this to work, the heading structure must be correctly marked up (H1–H6).
ALT text for images is also important. This acts as a substitute for the image and should describe as accurately as possible what can be seen in the image.
A website that can be navigated using the keyboard
A website should generally be accessible via the keyboard, as some people find it difficult to navigate using a mouse.
Size of buttons and links
The mobile version, in particular, often features interactive elements – such as clickable buttons and links – that are too small. Interactive elements should always be designed to be large enough so that people with limited fine motor skills can use them.
Using plain language
Sentences that are difficult to understand or contain too many foreign words can make a text incomprehensible. Avoiding this is essential for digital accessibility. Furthermore, text should be structured logically and formatted into short paragraphs to improve readability. After all, everyone benefits from clearly written, easy-to-read texts.
Accessibility of forms
Only if all forms – such as contact forms, reviews, shopping baskets, payment processes, etc. – can be completed by everyone can the website be considered accessible.
Accessibility Statement
To ensure your website complies with the law in future, it also needs an ‘accessibility statement’. This must be accessible to all and explain how the website complies with digital accessibility standards.
1-Click Solution – Why overlays aren’t enough
Overlays promise accessibility with minimal effort. These tools, implemented using JavaScript, make it possible, for example, to increase contrast or adjust font sizes. However, they are general-purpose and can therefore never guarantee complete accessibility.
In the worst-case scenario, these ‘overlays’ may even cause other problems that further reduce accessibility. A bespoke solution is therefore required.
Who benefits from digital accessibility?
Digital accessibility – mandatory by 28 May 2025!
Online retailers have until the end of June 2025 to make their websites accessible; otherwise, they face heavy fines. Take advantage of our free accessibility check now, and we’ll tell you whether your website needs to be made more accessible.
334,600 people are classified as visually impaired in Germany (Statista, as at 2021)
Improved readability enables these people to navigate the internet more easily.
Around 1,092,000 people in Germany live with mental health or cognitive impairments (Federal Statistical Office, as at 2021)
Simple and intuitive websites help you achieve your goals more effectively.
One in ten men has red-green colour blindness
Whenever information is conveyed solely through colour, barriers can arise.
Almost one in two people will soon be over 50 years old
Our population is getting older and older, so we must ensure that older people can navigate the digital world at all times.
Everyone benefits from digital accessibility
Digital accessibility does not only benefit people with disabilities. Many of these measures improve the website’s overall user-friendliness.
Digital Accessibility FAQ
What is the European Accessibility Act?
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is a directive that requires all European states to enact legislation to ensure accessibility across Europe. It was adopted in mid-2019 and had to be transposed into national law by 28 June 2022.
The EAA covers:
- ATMs and banking services
- Computer
- Telephones and televisions
- Telecommunications services
- Transport
- Online retail
The European standard EN 301 549 sets out the details.
What is the EN 301 549 standard?
The EN 301 549 standard describes how to ensure that products and services are accessible. With regard to websites and applications in particular, EN 301 549 refers directly to the international standard ‘Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1’ at Level AA.
What are the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines?
The WCAG are international guidelines designed to ensure that digital content on the internet is accessible to people with disabilities. These guidelines were developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and set out standards for the perceivability, operability, understandability and robustness of web content.
The criteria can be divided into three levels:
- TheLevel Ais the lowest level and sets out the basic requirements without which people with disabilities would be unable to use the website.
- Level AAsets out requirements that make the website accessible to the vast majority of people with disabilities.
- In theAAA ratingThese include further requirements which entail additional work.
What is the Accessibility Improvement Act?
The Act to Strengthen Accessibility (BFSG) constitutes the German implementation of the EAA and will come into force at the end of June 2025, following a transitional period. Thereafter, affected German organisations will be obliged to comply with digital accessibility requirements.
Are there any exceptions to the accessibility requirements?
There are exceptions; private and B2B transactions are not subject to this requirement. Furthermore, small businesses are exempt from this requirement. Small businesses are defined as those with fewer than ten employees or a balance sheet total or annual turnover of no more than two million.
What obligations must be met?
- The online shop must comply with the requirements of DIN EN 301 459.
- The website requires an ‘Accessibility Statement’ that is accessible to all. This statement must explain how accessibility is ensured on the site, as well as which parts are not yet accessible.
- The website must provide a way for users to report accessibility issues.
What happens if the accessibility requirements are not met?
The market surveillance authority may take action on its own initiative or be called upon to act by consumers or organisations. If it finds that your website is not accessible, you will first be asked to ensure it is accessible. If you ignore several requests, your e-commerce activities may be suspended until the necessary changes are made. In addition, fines of several thousand euros may be imposed.