WCAG - what does it mean for you as an e-commerce merchant?

Joakim Gudmunds

Frontend Developer

Based on the EU's Accessibility Directive, accessibility requirements are being tightened on 28 June 2025. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, WCAG, are guidelines aimed at increasing accessibility for users with disabilities on the internet. The purpose of this is to create a more inclusive society and increase accessibility for products and services, which also includes e-commerce services.

Good accessibility benefits everyone

According to the WHO, approximately 16% of the population lives with some form of disability. Disabilities can range from motor and cognitive impairments to hearing and vision impairments. As an e-commerce merchant, you need to take all types of disabilities into account on the web. A well-accessibility-adapted website not only makes things easier for people with disabilities — it increases usability for all visitors. A disability does not have to be permanent; in many cases it can be temporary or even situational.

Examples of situational impairment

A person is on the subway and has just found your website and is interested in the product you offer. On the product page there is a video containing the information the visitor needs to know in order to consider completing the purchase. Unfortunately, it is noisy and not possible to hear what is being said in the video. Fortunately, you have had this in mind and all the information is also available as text alongside the video.

The visitor to the website can at the same time only hold the phone with one hand to avoid losing balance. With good placement of buttons, links, and sufficiently large click areas, the purchase can still be completed smoothly. This is just one of many examples of a situation where anyone can benefit from an accessibility-adapted website.

The four principles of accessibility

To categorise the various accessibility requirements, they are divided into four principles.

• Perceivable
  All content must be accessible on equal terms regardless of ability. This means we need to think about how we present all content — both in terms of media choice and visual presentation. Images, audio clips, or video always need to be supplemented with text to be made accessible. The interface also needs to have good contrast and work equally well in greyscale as with colour.
• Operable
  Is the website easy to operate? Does navigation and the purchase flow work fully regardless of whether the user uses some form of assistive technology or keyboard and mouse? A simple test is to try to complete a purchase by navigating the website using only the keyboard. If this is possible, it usually also works well with the assistive tools available.
• Understandable
  This is largely about ensuring that all information is easy to understand. Both to read and for assistive tools to read the text correctly so that everything is comprehensible. Things to keep in mind when writing texts are to avoid difficult words, jargon, and abbreviations. All text should be written in plain language.
• Robust
  There are many different devices and browsers that visitors use when navigating to your website. The code therefore needs to be robustly written and tested to work equally well regardless of where it is rendered.
  
  More specifically, which requirements need to be met are specified in, among other things, WCAG 2.1. The legal requirement states that all WCAG criteria at level A or AA need to be followed for the website to be considered accessibility-compliant.

What can you as an e-commerce merchant do yourself today?

Good accessibility requires work in several different areas. Not everything is about code and design — some parts directly concern the content itself.
Here are some tips on things you can keep in mind to increase accessibility on your website.

1. Structured text: Use correct heading levels to make it easy for both screen readers and other visitors to scan the content and find what they are looking for. Bullet lists are a neat way to list content and make it easy to absorb.
2. ALT texts on images: An ALT text should briefly describe what is shown in the image. You do not need to begin the alt text with "An image of XXXX". This becomes redundant information when it is already clear from the HTML code that it is an image. However, do end the ALT text by stating whether it is a photo, an illustration, or what type of image it is.
3. Write in plain language: Avoid complicated words, abbreviations, or expressions that not everyone can understand.

Do you need help with accessibility?

Contact our colleague Joakim Gudmunds to get help with both accessibility analysis and implementation of measures for your e-commerce website. We also help you along the way with content work and how you can meet the upcoming legal requirements.