As the European Accessibility Act (EAA) approached enforcement, we wanted to understand how prepared websites were in practice.
To do this, we assessed 100 high-traffic EU websites against WCAG 2.1 Level AA requirements to get a snapshot of accessibility readiness before enforcement began.
The sections below explain how the assessment was conducted, present our findings, and highlight the most common accessibility issues identified.
How This Assessment Was Conducted
To create a consistent and comparable snapshot of the current state of web accessibility across EU websites, we used the following approach.
- Website selection: Websites were sourced from DomainTyper’s Top .EU Websites list.
- Pages tested: Only the homepage of each website was evaluated.
- Type of testing: The assessment was fully automated.
- Testing tool: Each homepage was scanned using WebYes Accessibility.
- Standards referenced: Homepages were checked against WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
Note that automated accessibility testing has inherent limitations. Not all WCAG conformance failures can be detected automatically. A page with no detected issues should not be assumed to be accessible or conformant without further manual testing.
Our Findings
Automated WCAG 2.1 Level AA checks were run on the homepages of 100 high-traffic EU websites to assess their readiness for the European Accessibility Act (EAA). The findings indicate a significant gap between regulatory requirements and current implementation.
- 5% of websites passed all automated checks performed.
- 95% of websites failed at least one automated WCAG 2.1 Level AA check.
- 29% of websites showed stronger results but still contained detectable issues.
We like to reiterate that passing automated checks does not mean a website is fully accessible or legally compliant. Automated tools typically detect only 20–30% of WCAG accessibility issues, meaning their results represent only a partial view of accessibility.
That said, failing automated checks is a strong indicator that basic accessibility requirements have not been met. These are issues that are relatively easy to detect and fix, yet many websites continue to ship with them.
Why This Is a Major Concern
Across the EU, over 100 million people live with a disability, many of whom rely on accessible websites to carry out everyday activities.
When websites fail to meet basic accessibility requirements, users with disabilities encounter direct barriers to essential digital services, including shopping, booking services, banking, education, healthcare, and access to basic information.
Our findings show that these barriers are not isolated incidents. 95% of the websites assessed failed at least one automated accessibility test, indicating that basic accessibility requirements are still not being consistently met.
As the EAA moves from policy into enforcement, we can reasonably expect organisations and businesses to place increased emphasis on accessibility requirements and systematically address these basic failures as part of standard digital practice.
The Most Common Accessibility Issues We Identified
The assessment revealed a small number of accessibility issues that appeared repeatedly across the websites tested. The most common website accessibility issues identified were:
- Poor color contrast
- Vague or missing link text
- Missing alternative text for images
- Small or tightly spaced interactive elements
- Missing page language declarations
Each of these issues creates clear barriers for disabled users and contributes to reduced accessibility and increased compliance risk under the European Accessibility Act.
Poor color contrast (74% of websites)
The issue: Insufficient color contrast between text and its background, making text difficult to distinguish from surrounding content.
Who it affects: Users with low vision, colour vision deficiencies, or age-related vision loss. Poor contrast can also affect users viewing content in bright environments.
WCAG requirement: WCAG 2.1 Level AA requires a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text (Success Criterion 1.4.3).
Note: Under WCAG 2.1, “normal text” refers to body text below 18 pt (or below 14 pt when bold). “Large text” refers to text that is at least 18 pt, or 14 pt when bold.
Vague or missing link text (61% of websites)
The issue: Links that are missing descriptive text or use generic labels such as “Click here” or “Read more,” without clearly describing their destination or purpose.
Who it affects: Screen reader users, who often navigate pages by scanning a list of links without surrounding visual context.
WCAG requirement: WCAG 2.1 Level AA requires that the purpose of a link can be determined from the link text alone (Success Criterion 2.4.4).
Missing alternative text for images (33% of websites)
The issue: Images that lack alternative text, preventing non-visual users from understanding their content or function.
Who it affects: Blind and visually impaired users who rely on screen readers to access content and interact with image-based controls.
WCAG requirement: WCAG 2.1 Level AA requires that non-text content has a text alternative that serves an equivalent purpose (Success Criterion 1.1.1).
Related Read: How to Write Alt Text for Images
Small or tightly spaced interactive elements (28% of websites)
The issue: Interactive elements, such as buttons or icons, that are too small or placed too closely together to be easily activated.
Who it affects: Users with motor impairments, limited dexterity, tremors, or those using touch devices or assistive input methods.
WCAG requirement: WCAG 2.1 addresses this through requirements related to pointer gestures and input mechanisms (Success Criteria 2.5.1 and 2.5.5).
Missing page language declarations (9% of websites)
The issue: The absence of a declared language for the page in the HTML.
Who it affects: Screen reader users, who rely on language information to apply correct pronunciation and speech rules.
WCAG requirement: WCAG 2.1 Level AA requires that the default human language of a page is programmatically determined (Success Criterion 3.1.1).
Your Website Doesn’t Have to Be Part of the 95%
Our assessment shows that many websites are still falling short on basic WCAG 2.1 accessibility requirements. Your website doesn’t have to be one of them.
A sensible first step you can take is to address the basic accessibility issues. Resolving these failures removes immediate barriers and can significantly improve access for a wide range of users. Automated accessibility testing tools, such as WebYes Accessibility, can support this process.
From there, you can follow up with manual auditing and user testing. These help identify accessibility barriers that automated tools cannot detect and provide insight into how your website functions for users of keyboards, screen readers, and other assistive technologies.
By taking these steps, you move closer to meeting the expectations of the European Accessibility Act while making your website genuinely usable for the people who rely on it.
AUTHOR
Melwyn holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and has been writing professionally for over 4 years. He has a strong background in SEO and is certified in web accessibility from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). When he's not writing about website optimisation, you can find him enjoying a game of FIFA or exploring the open world of GTA.
Melwyn Joseph 
