Website accessibility used to be treated as a nice extra. Since the European Accessibility Act came into force in June 2025, it is increasingly a legal question as well as a design one. For Irish small businesses, the practical point is simpler: an accessible website works better for every visitor, and it is far cheaper to build that in than to bolt it on later. It is why accessibility is part of every website design and build we do.
Does the European Accessibility Act apply to you?
The Act covers a defined set of products and services, including e-commerce, banking, transport and some digital communications, and it is enforced in Ireland through national regulations. Very small businesses providing services are generally exempt, but the line depends on what you sell and how you sell it. If you take orders or payments online, it is worth checking your position properly rather than assuming. Either way, your customers will not check whether you are exempt before they leave a site they cannot use.
What an accessible website actually involves
Most of it is good design discipline rather than special technology:
- Colour contrast strong enough to read text comfortably, including on a phone outdoors.
- Keyboard navigation, so every menu, link and form can be used without a mouse.
- A sensible heading structure, so screen readers and search engines understand the page.
- Descriptive alt text on images, and forms with clear labels and error messages.
None of these change how a well-designed site looks. They change who can use it.
Why overlays are not the answer
Plug-in accessibility toolbars promise compliance in an afternoon. They rarely deliver it, because they sit on top of a site whose underlying structure is still the problem. Fixing contrast, headings and forms in the design and the build is the reliable route, and it also tends to help search visibility, because the same structure that helps a screen reader helps Google read the page.
Where to start
If your site is a few years old, an audit is the sensible first step: it shows what fails, what matters most and what can be fixed without a rebuild. If a new site is on the way, make accessibility part of the brief from day one, alongside the things we covered in starting your site from your brand, not a template.
Not sure where your website stands? Tell us about it at designminds.ie/contact or email info@designminds.ie.
