In Finland, over a million people benefit from accessible services. For online shops, accessible content represents a significant competitive advantage and the speed of change is now of the essence. So, what should online retailers do now?

Accessibility and inclusivity of services are crucial to ensure that everyone has equal opportunities to participate in society. The EU aims to harmonise member states' accessibility legislation with the Accessibility Directive. In Finland, the directive has been incorporated into various laws, and changes will begin to apply on 28 June 2025.

This article focuses on the directive as it impacts online shops.

By preparing for the changes in advance, you can spread out costs over several years while enjoying the benefits of accessibility, such as satisfied customers and improved search engine visibility.

Accessible content is a significant competitive advantage for online shops and enhances Google visibility

The directive is important, as in Finland, there are over a million people who benefit from accessible services. From the perspective of an online retailer, this group includes thousands of potential customers. 

Experts involved in preparing Finland’s legislative amendments emphasise that accessibility can be a significant competitive edge for online shops. By investing in accessibility, an online shop can reach new customer groups. 

An accessible online shop also ranks higher in Google search results.

Furthermore, accessibility makes online services easier for all users, which increases the likelihood of customers returning, helping the online shop to succeed.

Read how to improve your site's technical quality in the eyes of Google.

The accessibility of online shops is still in its infancy

Currently, the global state of accessibility in online shops is poor. This conclusion was reached by WebAIM, which specialises in accessibility and assessed the accessibility of a million different online services.

In a 2021 assessment, websites in the shopping category received the second-worst results. Only adult entertainment sites ranked lower. The positive is that this year’s results were still better than the previous year’s results.

There is not yet comprehensive research in Finland on this topic, but the situation is likely similar.

I reviewed five online shops popular among Finns. Although the sample is small, the results align with international research findings. 

Only two of the shops I examined gave the impression that some attention had been paid to accessibility, and the tools I used found hardly any errors on the home pages of these online shops.

My other observations were:

• None had content or statements about accessibility.

• 3 out of 5 online shops lacked text alternatives for images, and there were deficiencies in text contrasts.

• Using the sites with just a keyboard was sometimes difficult.

• Closing the cookie notification with the keyboard was often challenging, and navigation either did not work at all or was cumbersome.
  
  
  

By comparison, I also tested IKEA’s site. The site had an accessibility page, where it stated that the service meets the WCAG 2.0 AA accessibility level requirements. This criterion broadly corresponds to the requirements of Finland’s digital services act. Closing the cookie notification was easy, and navigation worked with the keyboard. Testing tools found a few errors, but upon reviewing the code, these were likely intentional and probably do not cause usability issues.

International online shops likely invest more in accessibility to comply with laws in different countries and to reach larger audiences.

If Finnish online shops do not keep up with this development, they are likely to lose customers to international companies. Therefore, legislative changes are not the only reason to promote accessibility in online shops.

The Accessibility Directive brought extensive legislative changes

The Act on the Provision of Digital Services has primarily applied to the public sector until now. With these changes, the scope of the digital services act will expand to include online shop services. An online shop service is defined as a digital service where remote sales agreements can be made. These must now meet the current accessibility requirements of the act, as well as additional requirements from the directive.

The Parliament also approved a new Act on Accessibility Requirements for Certain Products. The law introduces accessibility requirements, for example, for electronic reading devices and devices with data processing capabilities. Manufacturers, importers, and distributors of products must ensure that the product meets the requirements and contains the necessary markings.

These legislative changes do not apply to micro-enterprises. A micro-enterprise is defined as a company with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding 2 million euros.

Changes always entail additional costs, but the earlier you act, the more you stand out from competitors.

The costs of online shop accessibility can be spread over several years

The legislative proposal estimated that the average cost of conducting accessibility audits and making changes for a single online shop ranges from 30,000 to 200,000 euros.

Costs depend not only on the size of the online shop but also on how accessible it already is. Additionally, they can be spread out over the long term and considered within other ongoing development efforts.

Once an online shop is made accessible, maintenance costs arise, for example, from regular audits, employee training, and/or purchasing expertise as a service.

Stakeholders interviewed for the legislative proposal estimated that the accessibility directive's requirements would result in an additional cost of approximately 5–10 percent to a company’s annual development work.

What should an online retailer do now?

Take advantage of the changes. If you plan on making significant changes to your online shop in the coming years, it is best to integrate major accessibility efforts during these changes. By considering accessibility in the features from the start, the outcome will be both cost-effective and better.

Accessibility audit. Otherwise, you can best start by commissioning a current state assessment of your online shop, namely, an accessibility audit. You can order it from us, Crasman.

Make accessibility a quality criterion. If you order or have ordered the implementation and further development of an online shop as a customised project, include accessibility as a part of the work’s quality criteria.

Content production. Also ensure that accessibility is considered in the content production of the online shop. For example, images need descriptive text alternatives to make their significance and content accessible to users of screen readers. Also, PDF documents shared on the web service must be accessible.

Ensuring competency. If the maintenance of the online shop is done internally within the company, it is important to ensure that employees have sufficient competence. There are numerous training opportunities available that cover general knowledge about accessibility. You can find short briefings and additional information from the Regional State Administrative Agency’s website.

Fortunately, there is still time. The new directive's legislative changes will begin to apply on 28 June 2025, and the transition period will end on 28 June 2030. 

Contact us, and we will help you make your online service accessible.

Read more: Accessibility is an advantage for everyone – Is using your service pleasant or even possible?

View training: Accessibility – From Initial Push to Regular Development 

The article was published on 9 March 2022 and updated on 2 February 2023.