The Path to 2025: Ensuring UX Accessibility in Line with EAA Standards

It is estimated that 15% of the world’s population has some form of disability. In Spain, 4.38 million people claim to have a disability, whether physical, psychological, sensory, or intellectual. This figure is significant, considering that a city like Madrid has just over 3 million inhabitants. If we add temporary disabilities, such as a broken arm, post-surgery recovery, migraine crises, or age-related difficulties like low vision or memory retention, these numbers could be even higher.

But why should these statistics be important when discussing UX (User Experience)? UX is a discipline grounded in human/user-centered design and encompasses three fundamental elements: usability, relevance, and aesthetic aspects, which could ensure the adoption and regular use of digital and analog products.

In the realm of digital products, WebAIM found that 96.3% of global website homepages failed in accessibility (low contrast text, missing alternative text, missing labels, etc.) during a six-year study of the top 1,000,000 websites. This is alarming, considering that accessibility is closely related to usability. Imagine the results if the same test were performed on products and services that many people rely on for daily life, such as ATMs, transportation services, and medical devices. I believe the results would be comparable.

As we look ahead to 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) will require businesses to make their products and services accessible to individuals with disabilities. This impending deadline means that brands and UX professionals must prioritize inclusive design now more than ever. Therefore, our duty as brands and UX professionals is to include users with disabilities in research or usability tests to create increasingly accessible and inclusive products. Here are some reasons why it’s important and how UX teams can generate conversations with stakeholders to highlight the importance of allocating resources and strategies for creating human-centered experiences that understand the diversity of skills and needs:

1. Accessibility is Now Law: The European Accessibility Act (Directive 2019/882) requires businesses to make their products and services accessible to persons with disabilities. Note: The provisions also apply to UK businesses that trade in the EU. This regulation promotes the inclusion of elements that guarantee that products and services, including computers, smartphones, ATMs, e-commerce platforms, banks, and transport services, are accessible to everyone, regardless of their abilities.
2. It Impacts a Wide Range of Products and Services: This includes digital products like computers, smartphones, and websites, as well as services like banking, transport ticketing, and emergency services. Although the EU is in a transitional phase and no sanctions for non-implementation of these measures are known yet, we are not far from seeing this happen, taking precedents from some companies in the USA and UK. Therefore, starting to include accessibility elements in the design of products or functionalities at early stages can avoid future additional costs. Some estimates suggest that not adopting these practices early in development and design could generate costs up to 17 times higher than initially conceived.
3. The Deadline is Fast Approaching: Businesses need to comply with the Act by June 28, 2025. This is an increasingly relevant topic. Ensuring compliance sooner rather than later can help avoid last-minute rushes and potential penalties.
4. There are Benefits to Compliance: Accessible products and services benefit everyone, not just people with disabilities. Plus, businesses will find it easier to trade within the EU with these common accessibility standards. Improving accessibility can enhance the overall user experience for all users, leading to higher user satisfaction and engagement. Believe it or not, SEO positioning is very important for appearing at the top of search results in search engines like Google. Search engines rate various factors of a website, including its ease of use. If users feel frustrated and quickly abandon a site (bounce rate), it will score low in this regard, making it harder to achieve a good SEO position, which can lead to low conversion rates and decreased traffic. Therefore, including accessibility elements within sites, such as using consistent layouts and architectures in texts and titles (H1, H2, H3) and having good labeling and descriptions of images, can improve the rating and SEO.
5. Enforcement is in Place: Customers can file complaints if businesses don’t comply with the Act. This means that failing to meet accessibility standards can lead to legal repercussions and damage to the brand’s reputation.

By improving accessibility, UX is improved for all users, including those without disabilities. Including accessibility elements enhances the usability of digital and analog products for people with disabilities and everyone else. Many functionalities and tools we find useful today, which allow us to consume content and use products more easily, were initially designed for accessibility. For example, closed captioning is useful when you don’t have headphones and want to watch a series on the subway, or when you want to practice another language. Similarly, increasing text size or using automatic doors and buttons were designed for accessibility but are now indispensable in our everyday lives.

In conclusion, as we prepare for the EAA standards set to take effect in 2025, it is clear that making products accessible and including users with disabilities in usability tests and research can be beneficial for everyone involved. They can provide valuable usability feedback and help us design new functionalities or products with great potential, making products increasingly accessible and inclusive. The time to act is now, ensuring that by 2025, we are ready to meet the standards that will make the world a more inclusive place for all.

This article is an extension and adaptation of a previous article I authored for Digital Magazine, originally written in Spanish. This current piece provides an enhanced understanding and context around the forthcoming European Accessibility Act (EAA) 2025.