What the EU accessibility legislation changes mean for charities

When the European Accessibility Act (EAA) became enforceable in June 2025, it prompted a wave of headlines about website accessibility. For many charities, the immediate question was simple: Does this affect us?

The answer is: possibly, but probably not in the way you think.

While the legislation introduces new accessibility requirements across the EU, it isn’t a sudden obligation for every UK charity to rebuild their website overnight. Instead, it’s another sign that accessible digital experiences are becoming the expected standard, not just best practice.

At Studio Republic, we’ve always believed accessibility is about far more than compliance. It’s about removing barriers so more people can engage with your cause, access your services and support your mission. The EAA reinforces something we’ve been helping charities achieve for years: creating digital experiences that work for everyone.

The European Accessibility Act was introduced to create more consistent accessibility standards across EU member states, making digital products and services easier for disabled people to use.

From June 2025, organisations offering certain products and services within the EU are expected to meet accessibility requirements, with websites and digital services forming an important part of that. For UK charities, the key question isn’t whether the legislation exists; it’s whether your organisation offers digital services that fall within its scope.

For many charities, the answer depends on what your website allows people to do, rather than simply where your organisation is based.

If your charity provides digital services to people in the EU, particularly transactional services such as:

• Online donations
• Membership payments
• Event ticket purchases
• Online shops
• Other paid-for digital services

Then it’s worth reviewing whether those journeys meet current accessibility expectations.

If your website is primarily informational, or only provides free services, the legislation may not directly apply in the same way. That doesn’t mean accessibility becomes less important. In fact, we’d encourage charities not to view this purely as a legal question. The real opportunity is to ask whether your website is genuinely usable for everyone who needs it.

It’s easy to approach accessibility as another regulatory hurdle, but we think that’s the wrong mindset. Every inaccessible form, confusing navigation menu or unreadable page creates friction for someone trying to engage with your organisation. That could be someone looking for support, making a donation, signing up to volunteer or simply trying to understand your work.

Accessibility is about making sure nobody is unintentionally excluded from your charity. When you improve accessibility, you rarely only help disabled users. What you do is create clearer content, simpler journeys and better experiences for everyone.

Rather than trying to fix everything at once, we’d recommend focusing on the areas that have the greatest impact.

Review your transactional journeys

Donation forms, membership applications, online shops and booking journeys should be your priority.

Ask yourself:

• Can someone complete the journey using only a keyboard?
• Are forms clearly labelled?
• Are errors explained in plain English?
• Can screen readers interpret the content correctly?

These are often the parts of a website where accessibility improvements deliver the biggest benefit.

Assess your content

Accessible websites rely on more than code. Simple improvements can make a significant difference, including:

• Writing meaningful alt text for images
• Avoiding important information embedded within graphics
• Providing captions and transcripts for video content
• Using clear, well-structured headings
• Writing in plain, accessible language

Good content design helps everyone find and understand information more easily.

Check your colour contrast

Your brand doesn’t have to become less distinctive to become more accessible. Sufficient colour contrast ensures text and interactive elements remain readable for people with visual impairments or colour blindness, while also improving usability across different devices and environments.

To help organisations assess their brand colours, we’ve created our free Colour Palette Accessibility Checker, making it easy to test colour combinations against WCAG guidance.

Think beyond today’s requirements

Accessibility shouldn’t be something that’s revisited only when legislation changes. The most successful digital products build accessibility into every stage of design, content and development, making improvements continuously rather than retrospectively.

Whether or not your organisation is directly affected by the European Accessibility Act, the direction of travel is clear. Users increasingly expect digital experiences that are inclusive, intuitive and easy to use. Funders, partners and regulators are placing greater emphasis on accessibility, while the Equality Act 2010 already requires organisations in the UK to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people.

Rather than asking, “Do we have to comply?”, a better question might be: “Are we making it as easy as possible for people to engage with our charity?”

At Studio Republic, we see accessibility as one of the foundations of good digital experiences. Not because legislation tells us to, but because every barrier removed is another opportunity for someone to connect with your cause.