Does my website have to be accessible to people with disabilities?
The short answer
Increasingly, yes. The European Accessibility Act has applied since 28 June 2025 to many online shops and services sold to consumers in the EU, with an exemption for the smallest service businesses. In the US the ADA covers businesses open to the public, and UK and Australian equality laws cover websites too. WCAG 2.2 level AA is the usual benchmark.
Applies in EU · US · UK · Australia
| Where | What applies |
|---|---|
| EU | The European Accessibility Act covers services such as online shops from 28 June 2025. Micro-enterprises providing services — fewer than 10 staff and annual turnover or balance sheet of €2 million or less — are exempt from the services rules (not from the rules for products). |
| US | The ADA covers businesses open to the public. The Department of Justice says their websites must be accessible but lets them choose how; WCAG is the usual benchmark. |
| UK | The Equality Act 2010 requires service providers, including online, to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, and to plan for them in advance. |
| Australia | The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 applies to websites. The Australian Human Rights Commission’s 2025 guidelines recommend WCAG 2.2 level AA. |
No law in the US, UK or Australia names a WCAG level for private businesses, but WCAG 2.2 level AA (a W3C standard since 5 October 2023, and ISO/IEC 40500:2025) is what regulators and courts usually look to.
Common fixes
- Describe images with alternative text.
- Make text contrast strong enough to read, and let people zoom in.
- Make every link, button and form work with a keyboard alone.
- Give form fields clear labels and error messages.
- Caption videos, and provide transcripts for audio.
Website builders give you accessible templates, but the content you add (images, colours, videos, documents) is up to you. An accessibility plug-in or “overlay” doesn’t make a site accessible on its own. Publishing an accessibility statement that says how people can contact you if something doesn’t work is good practice.
SlopDox provides compliance assistance only. This is general information to help you prepare — not legal advice, and no guarantee that a law does or doesn’t apply to you. For decisions, speak to a qualified lawyer.
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