Why you need to invest in Accessibility

“Accessibility is not just “another service,” a means to an end, or a legal checkbox. It’s a crucial culture shift for an inclusive society.” – accessiBe

The deadline for compliance with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) passed last year, and it became a legal requirement for businesses in the US to meet stringent physical and digital accessibility requirements to be more inclusive towards the millions living with disabilities.

In 2022 the EAA (European Accessibility Act) was brought in to improve inclusivity in Europe, but the deadline for being compliant is in June 2025. Businesses trading in Europe will now have to follow suit with the US or face severe legal implications.

What does this mean for the UK?

Although the UK has not yet adopted the EAA, there are plenty of advantages to improving accessibility and other UK laws that businesses should adhere to.

In the UK, digital accessibility is mandatory for both public and private sector organisations but there isn’t yet a precedent. This legal requirement aligns with international standards, specifically the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

WCAG outlines criteria for making digital content accessible to people with disabilities, including those with visual, auditory, physical, or cognitive impairments. By assessing your digital content against these criteria, you can effectively gauge its accessibility for disabled users.

To ensure compliance, UK organisations must adhere to four key accessibility laws:

1. Equality Act (2010)
2. Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations
3. BSI 8878 Web Accessibility Standard
4. European Accessibility Act (EAA) – Applicable if your business does any trading in the EU

The Benefits of Being Accessible

While businesses in the US have been forced to invest in accessibility best practices to be ADA compliant, they’re going to benefit from being more inclusive. Rather than wait to be told, UK businesses who get a head start on becoming accessible will reap the rewards while their competitors hesitate.

• Broaden your market penetration
• Better customer experience for all users
• Improved SEO performance
• Enhances reputation and possibility of referral
• Creates positive PR opportunities
• Stronger employer brand reducing recruitment costs
• Encourages innovation and unique solutions

It’s estimated that over 16 million people in the UK suffer from some form of disability. That’s 24% of the population. If that’s not enough reason to make some changes, a UK-based study found that 71% of disabled people would leave a website immediately if it’s not accessible.

Before spending thousands on marketing, businesses should ensure their website is able to convert all of the traffic their marketing generates, which is why we recommend setting aside a budget for improving accessibility.

Get Started with accessiBe

Our recommended tool to help monitor and improve accessibility is accessiBe. The award-winning service provides a variety of powerful AI widgets and accessibility-boosting tools to help businesses meet modern user expectations without expensive and time-consuming web development.

accessiBe is trusted  to ensure compliance on over 247,778  websites worldwide and is our recommended accessibility partner to help our clients deliver a more inclusive customer experience.

You can start a free trial to see how accessiBe can help improve your accessibility before you commit to signing up. If you’d like to discuss this with us in more detail then you can email us at hello@harrisoncarloss.com for our support or to arrange a call.