The European Accessibility Act (EAA)

We need to follow the EU’s regulations regarding accessibility on public web-sites.

The European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882) is a directive that mandates improved accessibility for a wide range of products and services within the EU by June 2025. It applies to both public and private sectors and aims to ensure that people with disabilities can access digital services, including e-commerce, banking, transport, and communication. This includes requirements for websites, mobile apps, and digital interfaces to meet accessibility standards, such as WCAG 2.1 AA, making them usable by everyone, regardless of their abilities.

For Team WEB this means rebuild / tech leap the old tech stack into new tech that better supports the accessibility demands.

Team WEB's Responsibilities and areas to adress:

1. Semantic HTML: Ensure the HTML structure is semantic and correct, which helps screen readers interpret the content.

2. ARIA: Use ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) where necessary to complement HTML code that lacks built-in accessibility.

3. Navigability: Ensure the website is fully navigable via keyboard. This includes handling focus correctly and setting up the tab index appropriately.

4. Responsive Design: Ensure the design works on all screen sizes and devices, and that zooming or resizing doesn’t break the layout.

5. Contrast and Colors: Implement the correct color contrast between text and background to meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards.

6. Forms and Controls: All forms need to be accessible, with proper labels (label tags) and clear error messages.

7. Media: Ensure that all media used (images, video, audio) have alternative text or captions (alt text for images, captions for videos).