Webinar: Accessible e-commerce: prepare your website for the upcoming requirements
Watch our webinar with Joakim Gudmunds and Sebastian Edman from Motillo, where they share their knowledge on the upcoming WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) and how you can prepare.
You will learn about WCAG and how you can make adaptions to your e-commerce plattform. Our speakers will give you advice on how to test the accessibility on your website.
This webinar is for you who work in the e-commerce field in roles such as developers, decision makers and marketers that want to learn more about:
- New accessibility requirements starting June 2025
- What web accessibility is and why it matters
- Examples of accessibility issues, solutions, and testing methods
Release date: 26th Nov
Speaker:
Joakim Gudmunds, Developer Motillo
Speaker:
Sebastian Edman, Digital art director Motillo
Questions and answers*
*Motillo is based in Sweden, therefore some of the answers and links refer to Swedish resources.
When does the law take effect?
The European Accessibility Act will be applied across all EU member states starting on June 28, 2025. From that date, B2C e-commerce websites must be adapted to meet the new accessibility requirements. (In Sweden it will be implemented through ”lagen om vissa produkters och tjänsters tillgänglighet” and ”förordningen om vissa produkters och tjänsters tillgänglighet”.)
Which e-commerce businesses are affected by these requirements?
The new requirements apply to e-commerce businesses that serve consumers (B2C), while purely business-to-business (B2B) companies are not required to comply. There are some exceptions even for B2C businesses, such as micro-enterprises — defined as businesses with fewer than ten employees and an annual revenue below 2 million euros. These businesses are not required to comply with the new accessibility requirements. Even for businesses not required to comply with the law, there are advantages to making their websites accessible, as it enables more people to shop on their sites.
Where can I find more information on the new requirements and accessibility in general?
https://digin.nu/lagkrav/introduktion-till-tillganglighetsdirektivet/
This page provides an overview of the European Accessibility Act. Digin is a website about digital inclusion and accessibility. The website is jointly operated by several Swedish authorities.
https://pts.se/digital-inkludering/lagen-om-vissa-produkters-och-tjansters-tillganglighet/
Information about “Lagen om vissa produkter och tjänsters tillgänglighet”. PTS (Post- och telestyrelsen) is the market surveillance authority and one of several supervisory authorities for the law in Sweden.
https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 provide a global standard for accessible digital content, with principles, success criteria, and techniques for achieving digital accessibility.
https://www.motillo.se/aktuellt/wcag-for-e-handlare/
WCAG – What does it mean for you as an e-commerce business?
What automated tools are available to test accessibility?
Several tools can help you evaluate your website’s accessibility. Below are some suggestions for different tools you can use:
https://wave.webaim.org/
WAVE offers insights into accessibility issues, highlighting elements such as missing alt text, color contrast concerns, and much more.
https://www.deque.com/axe/
Axe is commonly used for automated accessibility testing and integrates well with development processes, identifying various WCAG compliance issues.
https://www.pauljadam.com/bookmarklets/
These bookmarklets enable quick checks for basic accessibility features like color contrast and keyboard functionality.
Lighthouse
Lighthouse is built into Google Chrome and provides an accessibility audit that highlights potential accessibility issues.