The verdict in three sentences
A public body whose website meets only 48% of WCAG 2.1 AA criteria cannot publish a credible compliant accessibility statement and is exposed to complaints, supervisory follow-up and reputational damage under the EU Web Accessibility Directive. The way out is an audit on a 20-page sample, a prioritised remediation plan, a re-audit and a published accessibility statement with a dated action plan. Market budget: 4,000 to 10,000 EUR for the audit and 8,000 to 30,000 EUR for remediation; when a full rebuild is needed, Kolonell delivers institutional websites on a quote basis.
What the rules require of a Dutch public body in 2026
Directive (EU) 2016/2102 is applied in the Netherlands through the Temporary Decree on Digital Accessibility of Government, which requires public sector websites and apps to meet EN 301 549, in practice WCAG 2.1 level AA. For the communications lead of a 300-staff agency in Amsterdam, this means three visible deliverables: an accessibility statement registered in the national register, an audit report from a recognised inspection approach, and an action plan with dates for every open issue. The compliance rate is simple: compliant criteria divided by applicable criteria. Since the European Accessibility Act came into force in June 2025, suppliers and partners face the same expectations, which raises scrutiny on public sites too.
The 50 WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria sit under four principles. Gaps always cluster in the same areas.
| WCAG principle | Number of A and AA criteria | Frequent failures | Remediation effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perceivable | 20 | Missing alt text, poor contrast, text unreadable at 200% | Low to medium |
| Operable | 17 | No skip link, keyboard traps, invisible focus | Medium to high |
| Understandable | 10 | Unlabelled form fields, errors not announced | Medium |
| Robust | 3 | Custom components without proper names and roles | High, theme level |
| Documents (in scope) | Same criteria | Untagged PDFs | High on legacy documents |
| Media | Part of Perceivable | Videos without captions | Medium |
What remediation costs
Prices depend on sample size, theme condition and the volume of PDF documents. Here are ballpark figures seen in the Netherlands in 2026.
| Service | Scope | Price ex VAT (2026 ballpark) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial WCAG 2.1 AA audit | 20-page sample | 4,000 to 10,000 EUR | 3 to 5 weeks |
| Remediation of existing site | Theme, templates, components | 8,000 to 30,000 EUR | 6 to 16 weeks |
| PDF remediation | Per document page | 15 to 60 EUR | Variable |
| Re-audit | Same sample | 1,500 to 3,500 EUR | 2 weeks |
| Statement and action plan | Register-ready documents | 1,500 to 4,000 EUR | 2 weeks |
| Content editor training | Group of 8 to 12 | 1,200 to 2,500 EUR per day | 1 to 2 days |
When the theme is more than six years old, remediation often costs more than a rebuild. That is the moment to consider an institutional website designed accessible from the first mock-up: components such as menus, forms and tabs are tested with keyboard and screen readers before any content goes in. At Kolonell, this kind of project is always quoted individually, after reviewing the existing audit.
The method in five steps
Step one, the audit on a representative sample: home, contact, legal notice, sitemap, service pages, forms and a few news items. Step two, a prioritisation table ranking failures by user impact and cost. Step three, remediation, starting with shared templates, since one theme fix often clears 30 to 40% of failures at once. Step four, the re-audit and publication of the statement. Step five, training editors so the rate does not slip with every new news item.
Mini case study
Sanne, communications lead at a 300-staff public body in Amsterdam, receives an audit: 44 applicable criteria, 21 compliant, so 47.7%, rounded to 48%. To reach 75%, 33 criteria must pass, so 12 need fixing. The audit shows 8 depend on the theme and 4 on content.
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Agreed budget: audit 7,000 EUR, theme remediation 18,000 EUR, re-audit 2,500 EUR, two training days 4,000 EUR, for 31,500 EUR in total. Spread over the 3-year life of the statement, that is 10,500 EUR a year, and the site becomes usable by the roughly 1 in 5 Dutch residents living with a disability or long-term condition. The action plan then schedules the remaining 11 criteria over the next two budget years.
FAQ
Can the statement be published before remediation?
Yes, and it should be: it states the real rate, for example 48%, and links to the dated action plan. An honest statement is better than none, which signals non-compliance immediately.
Do we need to audit every page?
No, the audit covers a representative sample, often 15 to 25 pages. Template fixes then apply across the whole site.
Are PDFs in scope?
Yes, downloadable documents published after the deadlines must be accessible or offer an alternative. At 15 to 60 EUR per page, a 400-page PDF backlog can cost more than fixing the site.
WCAG 2.1 or WCAG 2.2?
EN 301 549 currently references WCAG 2.1 AA with 50 criteria. Designing to WCAG 2.2 AA, with 55 criteria, costs little more and future-proofs the site.
How long to move from 48% to 75%?
Allow 3 to 6 months between audit and re-audit, depending on developer availability. A full accessible rebuild usually takes 4 to 8 months.
Let's scope your project. Existing audit, prioritised remediation or an accessible institutional rebuild: we scope the work, the timeline and the accessibility statement. 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.