Mandatory web accessibility for online stores: what the law requires since 2025 and how to comply

Since 28 June 2025, e-commerce services aimed at consumers in the European Union have to meet accessibility requirements. This is the European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882), which Spain transposed with Law 11/2023 of 8 May.

Beyond the obligation, accessibility is a commercial argument: a store that can be used with the keyboard, with a screen reader, with enlarged text or with poor eyesight is also a more comfortable store for everyone, including older customers and people shopping on their phone in the sun.

Am I obliged?

• Yes, if you sell online to consumers and are not a microenterprise.
• Exempt: microenterprises providing services, that is, with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet not exceeding €2 million.
• There is also an exception for disproportionate burden, but it has to be assessed and documented; it is not an automatic way out.

What you have to comply with

The technical reference is the European standard EN 301 549, which for websites refers to the WCAG 2.1 level AA guidelines. Translated to an online store, the most important points are:

It must be perceivable

• Sufficient contrast between text and background (4.5:1 for normal text). The fashionable light grey on white often does not meet it.
• Alternative text on product images that describes what matters (“Navy blue running shoe, side view”), and empty on decorative ones.
• The page can be zoomed to 200% without losing content or functions.
• Information does not depend on colour alone (for example, “sizes in red are out of stock”).

It must be operable

• The whole purchase can be made with the keyboard alone: menu, filters, size selector, cart, checkout.
• The focus is always visible (the outline showing where you are).
• Carousels and videos can be paused.
• There are no time limits that throw the customer out without warning.

It must be understandable

• Each form field has its own label (not just placeholder text inside the field that disappears when typing).
• Errors say what is wrong and how to fix it (“The postcode must have 5 digits”), not just “Error”.
• CAPTCHAs have an alternative that does not depend on seeing images.

It must work with assistive technologies

• Headings in order (one H1 per page, then H2…), buttons that are buttons and links that are links.
• Dynamic messages (“Product added to cart”) are announced to the screen reader.

The accessibility information

As well as complying, you have to explain how you comply: information about the accessibility of the service, in an accessible format, usually on its own page linked from the footer or from the terms and conditions. It must describe the service, how it meets the requirements and, if some parts do not yet do so, which ones and why.

Is installing an accessibility widget enough?

Let us be clear: no. An accessibility button with profiles (more contrast, dyslexia-friendly font, magnifier, reading mode) is very useful for many users, because it lets them adapt the store to what they need without configuring anything on their device. But on its own it does not fix an unlabelled button, a form that cannot be filled in with the keyboard or an image without alternative text. The right approach is to combine both: fix the foundations of the store and also offer the adaptation tools.

How to review your store in an afternoon

1. Keyboard test: unplug the mouse and try to buy something using only Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter and the arrow keys. Note where you get stuck.
2. Zoom test: zoom the browser to 200% and repeat.
3. Automated review: run Lighthouse (in Chrome) or the axe extension on the home page, a category, a product page, the cart and the checkout. They detect missing contrast, labels and alternative text.
4. Screen reader: NVDA on Windows (free) or VoiceOver on Mac and iPhone. Listen to how your product page sounds.
5. Prioritise the purchase journey: a problem in the checkout is more serious than one in the blog.

Automated tools only find some of the problems; keyboard and screen reader tests are essential. And if you can, ask real users with disabilities for their opinion: it is the most instructive test.

Common mistakes in PrestaShop stores

• Icons without text (cart, search, account) that the screen reader announces as “button”.
• Size or colour selectors made with images that cannot be chosen with the keyboard.
• Pop-ups (cookies, newsletter) that trap the focus or cannot be closed with Escape.
• Product descriptions pasted from another site with disordered headings or tables used for layout.
• Product videos without subtitles.

This article is for information only and does not replace an accessibility audit or legal advice.