Digital accessibility: what changes for websites, e-commerce and applications

For years, accessibility was treated as a 'nice to have': useful, right, but often postponed because it was perceived as expensive or complex. Today, this is no longer the case. In Europe, accessibility is becoming a market requirement, with clear deadlines and obligations, and closely concerns not only institutional sites, but also online shops, customer portals, reserved areas, web management, CRM, CMS and business applications.

The aim is simple: to enable people with disabilities (but also elderly users, with temporary limitations, or in 'difficult' conditions of use such as strong light, small screens, slow connections) to navigate, understand and complete actions without barriers.

The 'new law' in brief: the European and Italian frameworks

The central reference is theEuropean Accessibility Act (EU Directive 2019/882)which establishes accessibility requirements for a number of products and services in the European market. The directive became fully applicable from 28 June 2025.

In Italy, transposition took place with the Legislative Decree No. 82 of 27 May 2022which regulates the accessibility requirements for the relevant products and services placed on the market as of the planned date.

One practical aspect to be aware of: the Italian decree provides a targeted exemption for the micro-companies providing services (in a nutshell: less than 10 employees and annual turnover within 2 million), but this does not mean that it is 'not convenient' to adapt - it means that the obligation may change depending on the service provider and the context.

What 'accessible' really means (beyond the graphic theme)

When we talk about accessibility, we are talking about the ability of a digital service to be:

• perceptible: content usable even without seeing well or hearing (alternative texts, subtitles, contrast, etc.).
• usableall functions must be reachable and completable (even only from the keyboard, with screen reader, with adequate time)
• understandablelanguage, labels, errors and messages should help the user understand what is happening and how to solve a problem
• robust: the code must 'support' assistive technologies and different navigation modes

These principles are consistent with the most internationally cited standard: the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)today in the version 2.2 published as a W3C standard.

Important: it is not just 'put a bigger button' or 'increase contrast'. Accessibility is a set of choices of design, content, development and quality control.

Where accessibility has the greatest impact: shops, portals and web apps

In the real world, the most costly (and most frequent) problems arise when the user has to complete an action. Some typical examples:

• E-commerce: unreadable filters, variants that cannot be selected from the keyboard, modals that trap focus, unclear checkout errors, CAPTCHA or OTP not handled correctly
• Reserved areas and customer portalscomplex menu navigation, non-interpretable tables, graphics without text alternatives, inaccessible document downloads
• CRM / management / CMS webdense interfaces, undocumented shortcuts, custom UI components not compatible with assistive technologies, notifications and status changes 'invisible' to screen readers

In other words: the more 'application' the product, the more accessibility becomes a structural requirement, not a finishing touch.

Common sense' rules that almost always make a difference

Without going into endless technical checklists, there are some general rules that, consistently applied, cover a large part of the problems:

• Full keyboard navigationeverything must be reachable, in a logical order, without 'traps'.
• Focus always visible: the user must understand where he or she is while navigating
• Contrast and readability: readable text, appropriate size, no information relying solely on colour
• Clear labels and instructions: form fields, buttons and actions must also be understandable out of context
• Useful errors: if a form fails, the error must explain what to correct and where
• Semantic structure: titles, lists, tables and landmarks used correctly (not just 'div everywhere')
• Accessible media contenttextual alternatives, subtitles, usable controls
• Accessible dynamic componentsmenus, modals, tooltips, dropdowns, AJAX carts must communicate state changes in an accessible manner

The idea is to design for the real user: the one who does not use a mouse, the one who zooms in at 200%, the one who navigates with a screen reader, the one who needs more time or more explicit messages.

It's not just 'technical': we need process (and accountability)

Accessibility cannot be solved once. It needs a process:

• clear requirements already at the design stage
• development with consistent and tested components
• quality control before releases (especially on checkouts and critical flows)
• maintenance over time (new content, new pages, new features)

For the public sector in Italy, for example, there is also the concept of Declaration of accessibility as a transparency tool on the status of the digital service.
In the private sector, the picture may vary depending on the type of service and applicable obligations, but the logic remains the same: measure, report, improve.

Accessibility = less risk, more conversions, better product

Compliance is not just 'compliance'. In practice, it often means:

• fewer drop-outs (especially on mobile and checkout)
• fewer tickets support (login, account recovery, incomprehensible forms)
• cleaner interfaces and clearer content
• a more robust and easier to evolve product

And, above all, it reduces the risk of having to 'run for cover' when adaptation becomes urgent.

Do you want to understand whether your site, shop or management system is compliant?

If you want a concrete opinion on your case (showcase site, e-commerce, reserved area, CRM/web management, custom CMS), write to me: we can make a initial assessment and understand what the priority interventions are to make your project aligned with accessibility legislation and, above all, easier for everyone to use.