Quick Overview: Digital Accessibility

E-Commerce

Digital accessibility is no longer just an add-on, but a necessity – legally, economically and socially. That’s why we’d like to give you an overview of the most important terms and information relating to digital accessibility. This information will help you to better understand the basic aspects and expand your knowledge in this area.

Digital Accessibility: An Overview of the most important Terms

• ARIA: Stands for Accessible Rich Internet Applications. This is a set of attributes specifically designed to make dynamic content and user interfaces more accessible for people with disabilities, in particular by supporting screen readers.
• Alt text: Short for alternative text, which is used to describe the content of images or graphics so that they can be read aloud by screen readers for visually impaired users.
• Assistive technologies: Devices or software that help people with disabilities to interact with digital content. Examples include screen readers, Braille displays, speech recognition systems and screen magnification programmes.
• Accessible PDF: An accessible PDF document is structured in such a way that it can be read by screen readers and other assistive technologies. This includes the correct use of headings, alt texts for images and text tags.
• BFSG: BFSG stands for Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz. It is the national law implementing the EAA, which also obliges private companies in Germany to provide accessibility. The full name of this federal law is “Gesetz zur Umsetzung der Richtlinie (EU) 2019/882 des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates über die Barrierefreiheitsanforderungen für Produkte und Dienstleistungen und zur Änderung anderer Gesetze”.
• BFSGV: The BFSGV is the legal ordinance to the BFSG. It regulates the requirements for products and services. The technical specifications for this are provided by the DIN EN 301 549 standard, which in turn refers to the “WCAG” of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortiums (W3C).
• BGG: BGG stands for Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz. The BGG implements the prohibition of discrimination against people with disabilities enshrined in the Basic Law at a legal level. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) has also been in force in Germany since 2009.
• BITV: Is the abbreviation for Barrierefreie Informationstechnik-Verordnung. It is a legal ordinance to the BGG. This ordinance transposes the requirements of the WCAG into German law and is aimed in particular at public bodies.
• Braille display: The Braille display is a computer output device for blind and severely visually impaired people that displays characters in Braille (tactile Braille).
• Captions: Text subtitles that are superimposed on videos and reproduce the spoken content and relevant sounds for people with hearing impairments.
• Cognitive Accessibility: Refers to measures to support people with cognitive impairments. This includes simple language, clear navigation and understandable content.
• EAA: Is the abbreviation for European Accessibility Act. This is an EU directive that defines accessibility requirements for products and services throughout Europe (EU Directive 2019/882). The EU directive had to be transposed into national law by 28 June 2022 and is binding from 28 June 2025. In Germany, the EAA was implemented through the Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG).
• EN 301 549: EN 301 549 is a European standard and specifies the technical requirements for the accessibility of information and communication technology (ICT).
• EU Directive 2016/2102: The EU Directive 2016/2102 obliges all member states to ensure the accessibility of websites and mobile applications of public bodies. It is based on WCAG 2.1 and harmonises accessibility standards in the European Union.
• EU Directive 2019/882: The EU Directive 2019/882, known as the European Accessibility Act (EAA), extends accessibility requirements to the private sector in the EU. This obliges companies to make numerous publicly accessible products and services accessible. In Germany, this directive is implemented by the BFSG.
• Keyboard navigation: The ability to operate a website or digital service entirely using the keyboard without having to use the mouse. This is important for people with motor impairments.
• Contrast ratio: The ratio between foreground and background colour, which should ensure that content is also easily recognisable for people with visual impairments. The WCAG specifies minimum requirements for this.
• Reflow: A technique in which content adapts flexibly to the size of the screen or window so that it is easy to read even when enlarged or on smaller devices.
• Screen reader: Software that reads out the content of websites and digital documents so that blind and visually impaired people can use them. One example of a screen reader is JAWS.
• Tabindex: An HTML attribute that determines the order in which elements of a web page can be focussed using the tab key, making navigation easier for people who rely on keyboard control.
• VoiceOver: A screen reader developed by Apple and used on Mac, iPhone and iPad devices.
• WAI: Is the abbreviation for Web Accessibility Initiative. It is a working group of the W3C and works on guidelines and resources to improve accessibility on the web, including the WCAG for accessibility.
• WCAG: Short for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. These guidelines define the standards for accessible web content and are internationally recognised. They are divided into four basic principles (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable and Robust), which contain several guidelines. These guidelines in turn contain 78 success criteria with ascending quality in the categories A, AA and AAA.
• W3C: Stands for the World Wide Web Consortium. It is the international body responsible for the standardisation of technologies on the World Wide Web.

Conclusion: What’s next?

Digital accessibility and the associated legal requirements may seem overwhelming at first glance and you may wonder where you should even start. The best way to do it is as follows:

1. Inform yourself. This is actually a matter of course, because the more intensively you deal with the topic of BFSG, the clearer the necessary steps become. And the sooner you start, the more relaxed you will be when the legal deadline of 28 June 2025 arrives.
2. Check whether your online presence (website, online store, app, etc.) fulfils the requirements of the BFSG. Feel free to call on the expertise of others and seek advice – be it legal or from your web service provider.
3. Divide the areas to be optimised into individual sections and assign responsibilities to them. In practice, the implementation of accessibility often requires extensive technical adjustments, which should ideally be spread across several shoulders.
4. As soon as the framework conditions have been defined and are clear to all parties involved, you can start making the adjustments. Remember: the optimisations not only make you legally compliant, but also improve your SEO and user-friendliness.

To make it easier for you to get started, we have also planned an online event. Take advantage of the personal opportunity on 5 November 2024 and get more free information on this topic. Details and registration can be found below (event tip). Just scroll down!