The verdict in three sentences
The European Accessibility Act (Directive 2019/882), transposed into national law across the EU, has applied since 28 June 2025 to e-commerce services, including those of SMEs with 10 or more employees. Serious remediation costs, as a 2026 order of magnitude, between 5,000 and 26,000 EUR ex VAT in total: a WCAG 2.1 AA audit at 2,000 to 6,000 EUR, fixes at 3,000 to 20,000 EUR. Doing nothing exposes you, in France for example, to a fine of up to 50,000 EUR per non-compliant service, renewable as long as the defect persists.
Who is covered, and who is exempt
The rule targets services, not just large retailers. A website that lets consumers order, book or pay online falls within scope. Microenterprises providing services (fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover or balance sheet of 2 million EUR or less) are exempt. A purely informational B2B website with no transactions is in principle outside the EAA, though public bodies and the largest companies face other national rules (RGAA in France).
| Company situation | Covered by the EAA? | Main obligation |
|---|---|---|
| E-commerce microenterprise, 6 staff, 900,000 EUR turnover | No (exempt) | Recommended good practice |
| E-commerce SME, 25 staff | Yes | WCAG 2.1 AA compliance, accessibility statement |
| B2B SME, brochure site with no ordering | In principle no | None under the EAA |
| B2B SME with an online ordering area for consumers | Yes | Compliance of the ordering journey |
| Booking service (hotel, transport, bank) | Yes | Full compliance of the service |
| Company above 250M EUR turnover (France) | Yes, plus RGAA | Multi-year plan and statement |
The remediation budget
Cost depends on the number of templates and the technical debt of the site. A website built on a poorly coded WordPress or Shopify theme often costs more to fix than to rebuild. These are the ranges observed in 2026 in France and comparable EU markets.
| Item | Low range | High range | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| WCAG 2.1 AA audit (sample of 10 to 20 pages) | 2,000 EUR ex VAT | 6,000 EUR ex VAT | 2 to 3 weeks |
| Technical fixes (contrast, forms, keyboard navigation) | 3,000 EUR ex VAT | 20,000 EUR ex VAT | 4 to 12 weeks |
| Accessibility statement and plan | 300 EUR ex VAT | 1,000 EUR ex VAT | 1 week |
| Editor training (alt text, headings) | 600 EUR ex VAT | 1,500 EUR ex VAT | 1 to 2 days |
| Re-audit after fixes | 1,000 EUR ex VAT | 3,000 EUR ex VAT | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Annual follow-up (tests on new content) | 1,000 EUR ex VAT | 4,000 EUR ex VAT per year | Ongoing |
When a rebuild costs less than remediation, the Kolonell grid puts a Premium website at 3,050 to 5,340 EUR (2,000,000 to 3,500,000 FCFA) and custom development from 3,810 EUR (2,500,000 FCFA), built against WCAG 2.1 AA criteria from day one.
The most frequent failures
On an SME e-commerce site, about ten defects account for most of the fixes: insufficient text contrast (ratio below 4.5:1), product images without alt text, form fields without labels, "Add to cart" buttons unreachable by keyboard, carousels that scroll with no pause button, checkout error messages not announced to screen readers, visual captchas with no alternative. Fixing these often covers 70 to 80% of blocking criteria. Third-party modules (payment, chat, reviews) must be checked too: you remain liable even if the defect comes from a vendor.
Mini case study
Illustrative scenario: Céline, manager of an 18-person SME selling home linen online from Lille, turns over 1.4M EUR, 60% of it through her website. She orders an audit at 3,500 EUR ex VAT, which finds 46 failures. Fixes are priced at 9,000 EUR ex VAT, the statement at 500 EUR and the re-audit at 1,500 EUR, or 14,500 EUR ex VAT. Against a risk of 50,000 EUR per non-compliant service, the investment equals 29% of a single fine. Sector studies also estimate that around 15% of the population lives with a disability: if compliance lifts conversion by just 2% on 840,000 EUR of online sales, the gain reaches 16,800 EUR a year, a payback in under 11 months.
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FAQ
Does my B2B brochure website have to meet the EAA?
In principle no, if no ordering or booking service is offered to consumers. Compliance is still a commercial advantage and costs only 15 to 25% more when planned from the start.
What is the penalty for non-compliance?
In France, the administrative fine can reach 50,000 EUR per non-compliant service, and the authority can order compliance under daily penalties. Missing an accessibility statement is also sanctionable.
How long does it take to become compliant?
Allow 2 to 3 weeks of audit then 4 to 12 weeks of fixes, so 2 to 4 months in total for an SME. Highly customised sites may need more.
Are microenterprises fully exempt?
For services, yes, below 10 employees and 2M EUR turnover or balance sheet. They remain covered if they manufacture or import products listed in the directive.
Is an accessibility plugin or overlay enough?
No. Overlays at 300 to 1,000 EUR a year do not fix the source code and do not guarantee WCAG 2.1 AA compliance. A human audit remains essential.
Let's scope your project. Send us your website address and page volume: we will price the audit, the fixes or an accessible rebuild, with a 2 to 4 month timeline. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
