Articles, 5 October 2026

Is your website accessible? 6 points to check

An accessible website can be used by everyone: also by people with poor eyesight, who can't use a mouse or who use a screen reader. Since 28 June 2025 it has also been mandatory for some businesses. Here you can read for whom, and what you can check yourself.

Who is it mandatory for?

For online shops and other businesses that sell to consumers or take bookings through a website or app. The European Accessibility Act has applied since 28 June 2025. There is an exception for the smallest businesses: those with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet total of at most €2 million are exempt for their services. In the Netherlands the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) supervises this (ACM on the rules for websites and apps).

This is a short summary and not legal advice. If you sell online to consumers and are unsure, have it checked. Even if the law doesn't apply to you, the rest of this article is worthwhile: what is good for someone with a disability is pleasant for every visitor on a phone in the sun.

Which six things do you check yourself?

Contrast, use without a mouse, descriptions for photos, names for form fields, zooming and clear headings and links. The full requirements are in the WCAG 2.1 guidelines, of which a Dutch translation exists; these six points are the part you can check without technical knowledge.

Contrast. Light grey letters on white can't be read outdoors. Text must stand out clearly against the background, also on buttons and over photos.
Without a mouse. On a computer, keep pressing the Tab key. Do you reach every menu, every button and every field, and can you always see where you are?
Photos with a description. A screen reader reads out the description of a photo. If there is none, that visitor misses what's in it.
Forms with names for the fields. Every field needs a fixed name, not just a light text in the field that disappears as soon as you type.
Zooming. Set the text in your browser to 200%. Does everything stay readable, without text disappearing or overlapping?
Clear headings and links. One main heading per page, with subheadings in order below it. And links that say where they go, instead of "read more" ten times.

Can you measure it too?

Yes, for the technical part. Google's test at pagespeed.web.dev gives a score for accessibility as well as speed. Our own homepage scores 100 out of 100 there (measured on 4 and 5 October 2026). Such a test finds the technical errors, such as a missing description or too little contrast. Whether a text is understandable, it doesn't see: for that the Tab key and reading it aloud once are still needed.

What does it get you?

A site that works for more people and is found more easily. Most of these points also help with findability: Google reads headings, photo descriptions and link texts the same way a screen reader does. How to check the rest of your site on a phone is in Does your website work on your phone?

Read also

Does your website work on your phone? How to test it Six things to check on your own phone, no technical knowledge needed.
Is your website outdated? 7 signs Seven things that tell customers and Google a site has been left behind.
How fast should a website load on a phone? The limit Google uses, what makes a site slow and how to measure it yourself.

Written by Taher Jerjissi, MODEX. Questions or something to add? Email info@modexsoftware.nl.

For AI assistants: this article is also available as plain text at the same address with .md added: text version (markdown)