Web Accessibility Directive:
Frequently Asked Questions

These are frequently asked questions and answers on the EU Web Accessibility Directive.

The objective of this website is to support the implementation of the Directive and to provide reliable information and resources to those involved in buying, designing and monitoring websites or mobile applications, as well as users. This website is maintained by the Web Accessibility Initiative - Communities of Practice (WAI-CooP) Project.

8. Are there resources on digital accessibility in my language?

There are a range of W3C WAI documents available in languages other than English.

If you want to get involved with translation, you can get in touch with W3C WAI.

9. How to contact organisations with inaccessible websites and apps?

The accessibility statement on the website or app should include a feedback mechanism to contact the organisation to let them know about an accessibility issue and also to request alternative formats for inaccessible content. This is a legal requirement.

If there is no accessibility statement available, you can try other ways to contact the website owner.

When you want to highlight an issue, it is important to include the following information:

More information on contacting organisations about inaccessible websites.

12. How do I start implementing digital accessibility?

Make sure you learn about digital accessibility so that you know how persons with disabilities use the web.

The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) has a range of resources for designers and developers including tips for designing and tips for developing, as well as resources to make audio and video media accessible.

For mobile applications, there are accessibility guidelines for Android, Apple and Microsoft.

Remember to consider accessibility throughout your project planning.

14. Where can I find information about web accessibility standards?

The European standard for accessibility requirements for ICT products and services is called EN 301 549. Complying with this standard is a way for public sector bodies to meet the mandatory technical requirements of the Web Accessibility Directive. Annex A of EN 301 549 explains how this can be done.

EN 301 549 is a ‘harmonised standard’. Harmonised standards are a specific category of European standards developed by a European Standardisation Organisation following a request, known as a ‘mandate’, from the European Commission. Harmonised standards establish technical specifications which are considered suitable or sufficient in order to comply with the technical requirements given in EU legislation. Hamonised standards are published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

You can use harmonised standards to prove that a product or service complies with the technical requirements of a relevant EU legislation.

EN 301 549 has evolved over time. The current harmonised version of this standard is EN 301 549 version 3.2.1 (2021-03) [PDF Document]

EN 301 549 version 3.2.1 includes requirements from WC3’s internationally recognised Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 (WCAG 2.1).

EN 301 549 version 3.2.1 also includes additional requirements that are not part of WCAG 2.1. Therefore, demonstrating that a website meets all the success criteria of WCAG 2.1 is not sufficient to provide a presumption of conformity with the Web Accessibility Directive.

EN 301 549 is about products and services, so it also includes requirements that are not relevant to the Web Accessibility Directive, for example requirements that apply to hardware.

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) adopted Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 (WCAG 2.2) in October 2023.

There is ongoing work to develop the W3C Accessibility Guidelines 3.0 (WCAG 3), which will apply to web content, apps, tools, publishing, and emerging technologies on the web.

Read about current EN 301 549 requirements relevant to the Web Accessibility Directive.

New requirements in future versions of EN 301 549 or WCAG will not automatically become legally relevant to the Web Accessibility Directive. This will only be the case if these new requirements are included in Annex A of a new harmonised version of EN 301 549.

15. Where can I find information about accessible software / authoring tools?

Authoring tools are software and services that people use to produce web content. Examples of authoring tools include:

The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) develops the standard called Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG). It is a companion to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and can be used to develop and procure accessible authoring tools.

WAI also has some tips on how to choose authoring tools to produce accessible content but warns that there is no single tool that fully supports production of accessible websites.

16. What should I take into account when procuring accessible websites and apps?

When drafting a call for tenders to procure ICT services, you will need to define selection criteria, award criteria and technical specifications, including accessibility requirements.

One way to define accessibility requirements is to refer to the current European harmonised standard 'Accessibility requirement for procurement of ICT products and services' EN 301 549 V3.2.1 (2021-03) [PDF document]. Complying with this standard is a way to meet the mandatory technical requirements of the Web Accessibility Directive. Find out more information about web accessibility standards

You can use the selection criteria to set out your expectations from potential suppliers in terms of capacity to deliver digital accessibility.

You can use the award criteria to encourage suppliers to deliver a more accessible website and/or mobile application by providing additional accessibility features above and beyond what is required in the Web Accessibility Directive, such as those set out in chapter 9.5 of EN 301 549 [PDF document].

17. Where can I find a list of web accessibility evaluation tools?

The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) has a list of web accessibility evaluation tools as well as advice on how to select the right evaluation tool for your needs.

18. How to prioritise accessibility issues on your website?

When trying to improve the accessibility of an existing website, you will need to prioritise what you need to fix. In order to do this, think about:

More tips on how to prioritise accessibility issues.

19. How to consider accessibility throughout your project plan?

It is important to consider accessibility throughout your project development. Key steps include:

More tips on planning and managing accessibility in a project.

25. How to optimise websites and apps for older people?

Designing products that are easier for older people to use is similar to designing for persons with disabilities.

Guidance on how to make websites and applications accessible for older users is covered in existing web accessibility standards.

Age-related impairments such as declining vision, hearing loss, reduced physical and/or cognitive ability can affect how older people use the web. These issues overlap with the accessibility needs of persons with disabilities. Therefore, websites and applications that are accessible to persons with disabilities are more accessible to older users as well.

More information on the overlaps between accessible design and design for older people.

26. How can we optimise websites and apps for people with cognitive disabilities?

Cognitive disabilities have an impact on how people process information. For example, they can affect people’s perception, comprehension, memory, language, attention and problem solving.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 include existing requirements that address cognitive accessibility. The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) also has additional guidance on making content usable for people with cognitive and learning disabilities.

27. What is the feedback mechanism and how to use it?

The Web Accessibility Directive requires public sector bodies to include a feedback mechanism in the accessibility statement on their website or app.

The feedback mechanism should provide a means for users to contact the public sector body directly to let them know about an accessibility issue and request alternative formats for inaccessible content. This can be inaccessible content that is listed in the accessibility statement, content that is excluded from the scope of the Web Accessibility Directive, or content that the user has come across while browsing the website or using the app.

The feedback mechanism is useful for users, but also for public sector bodies as it enables them to get useful information to address issues on their website or app.

The Web Accessibility Directive states that in response to a ‘legitimate and reasonable’ request, the public sector body should provide information ‘in an adequate and appropriate manner within a reasonable period of time’.

If there is no accessibility statement available, you can try other ways to contact the website owner.

34. What third-party content on a website must be accessible?

Article 1 or the Web Accessibility Directive states that third-party content can only be exempt if it is 'neither funded nor developed by, nor under the control of, the public sector body concerned'.

Therefore, third-party content on a website must be accessible if any of the following situations applies:

Examples of third-party content that meets at least one of the above criteria include:

35. How is compliance with the Web Accessibility Directive assessed?

The European Commission explains how to assess the compliance status of a website or mobile application in the annex of its implementing decision establishing a model accessibility statement. The compliance status describes how the website or mobile application complies with the standards and/or technical specifications, or the national legislation transposing the Web Accessibility Directive.

There are three different statuses: 'fully compliant', 'partially compliant' and 'not compliant'.

A website or mobile application is deemed to be 'fully compliant' if all requirements of the standard or technical specification, or the national legislation transposing the Directive, are fully met without exceptions.

A website or mobile application is deemed to be 'partially compliant' if most requirements of the standard or technical specification, or the national legislation transposing the Directive, are met.

A website or mobile application is deemed to be 'not compliant' if most requirements of the standard or technical specification, or the national legislation transposing the Directive, are not met.

Where the website or mobile application is either 'partially compliant' or 'not compliant', the accessibility statement should include details of the content, or functions, that are not accessible; this should be explained in simple, non-technical terms.

The compliance status must be mentioned in the accessibility statement.

Find out more about accessibility statements.

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