The verdict in three sentences
Accessibility is no longer a best practice, it is a legally enforced obligation: the European Accessibility Act 2025 and equality law expose non-compliant enterprises to claims and reputational damage. For a London corporate site, budget an audit of EUR 3,500 to 8,000, then remediation of EUR 6,000 to 20,000 depending on the number of non-conformities against WCAG 2.2 AA. A realistic compliance timeline is 6 to 10 weeks.
What the law requires in 2026
WCAG 2.2 level AA is the reference standard, reinforced by the European Accessibility Act 2025 for products and services. Three deliverables are expected: an audit against the WCAG success criteria, an accessibility statement published on the site, and a multi-year remediation plan. A missing statement is the first ground for a complaint, ahead of technical defects themselves.
Most frequent non-conformities and correction effort:
| Non-conformity | Frequency | Remediation effort |
|---|---|---|
| Insufficient contrast | very high | low (CSS) |
| Images without alt text | high | low-medium |
| Broken keyboard navigation | high | medium |
| Unlabelled form fields | medium | medium |
| Incorrect ARIA components | medium | high |
| Inaccessible PDFs | high | high (per document) |
PDFs (annual reports, brochures) are often the heaviest item, ignored in low-cost quotes.
Audit and remediation budget
2026 order-of-magnitude estimate for a corporate site:
| Item | Range | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Full WCAG 2.2 AA audit | EUR 3,500-8,000 | All criteria, page sample |
| Light remediation | EUR 6,000-10,000 | Contrast, alt text, keyboard |
| Heavy remediation | EUR 12,000-20,000 | ARIA components, template rebuild |
| PDF accessibility | EUR 80-250/document | Tagging, reading order |
| Accessibility statement | EUR 800-1,500 | Drafting + publishing |
| Validation re-audit | EUR 1,500-3,000 | Post-remediation check |
A moderately degraded site reaches compliance for EUR 12,000 to 18,000 all in, excluding bulky PDFs.
Mini case study
Martine, general secretary of a London enterprise, had received a complaint: no statement, 34 non-conformities and 40 archive PDFs. Reputational and legal exposure was significant. We prioritised: audit EUR 6,000, statement EUR 1,200, light remediation EUR 9,000, and tagging of the 12 actually-consulted PDFs at EUR 150 each (EUR 1,800). Total: EUR 18,000 in 8 weeks. The 28 unread archive PDFs were removed from the site rather than corrected, saving EUR 4,200.
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FAQ
What is the real enforcement risk?
Under the European Accessibility Act and equality law, non-compliant enterprises face complaints, remediation orders and reputational damage, with financial penalties in serious cases. But the first trigger is usually a missing accessibility statement and remediation plan, both cheap and quick to produce.
How many criteria are checked?
WCAG 2.2 AA covers dozens of success criteria across perceivable, operable, understandable and robust principles. The audit tests each against a representative page sample and computes an overall conformance rate.
How long to become compliant?
6 to 10 weeks for a standard corporate site: 2 weeks of audit, 3 to 6 weeks of remediation, 1 to 2 weeks of re-audit and statement. Numerous PDFs extend this timeline.
Do we re-audit every year?
A check is recommended at each major redesign and at minimum every 3 years under the remediation plan. A light annual review (EUR 1,500-2,500) prevents regression into non-compliance.
Must PDFs be accessible?
Yes, every published document must be accessible or replaced by an equivalent HTML page. Tagging: EUR 80 to 250 per PDF. Removing obsolete documents is often cheaper than fixing them.
Let's scope your project. Send us your site URL and PDF volume: we scope the audit and a prioritised remediation to remove your compliance risk, between EUR 12,000 and 20,000. 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.
