Digital accessibility, necessity, and regulations

What is digital accessibility?

In the Netherlands, 2 million people have one or more disabilities*. Think of reduced or no vision, poor or no hearing. They use assistive software such as a screen reader to use your site or app. By making a website or app digitally accessible, you exclude no one.

Digital accessibility is not only user-friendly but also ensures that your services are available to everyone, anytime, and anywhere. Starting in June 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) will come into effect. The new law requires e-commerce services (such as ticket shops) to be digitally accessible. We recommend addressing this (in steps). And not only improving the accessibility of your ticket pages but also subjecting your entire website to an accessibility assessment. After all, before a visitor reaches your shop, they first navigate your site.

How do you make your site accessible?

Websites, apps, PDFs, forms, and ticket shops of cultural institutions must be digitally accessible. For readability, we will refer to testing websites for accessibility hereafter. But these rules and explanations also apply to testing apps, forms, and all other forms of digital communication.

When creating, filling, and maintaining a site, you should base it on the accessibility guideline Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (opens in new tab), also known as WCAG 2.1. These rules cover design choices, content, and the technical aspects of a site. Read the rules in plain language on digitaaltoegankelijk.nl (opens in new tab).

Who do you make a site accessible for?

• Visually impaired individuals who use screen reader software to navigate the site.
• Colorblind individuals who can only see texts and images if the colors have sufficient contrast (ratio 3:1).
• Hearing impaired and deaf individuals who better understand a video with subtitles.

You make your site accessible, for example, for culture enthusiast Guus in the video below.

What status does my site receive?

There are two types of statuses to indicate how accessible your site is. The WCAG 2.1 rules are the starting point and also the scoring system for the status. The WCAG 2.1 consists of three accessibility levels:

• A (minimally required)
• AA (desired level for the Dutch government)
• AAA (highest achievable level)

The Netherlands uses an accessibility label with letters E to A. With the Dutch status C, you comply with the law. But this does not mean you are done. You must then publish the research report and an action plan explaining how you will ensure that your site eventually achieves the Dutch A status (which corresponds to the WCAG 2.1 status AA).

What do the Dutch accessibility labels mean?

In the table below from the government site digitaaltoegankelijk.nl (opens in new tab), you can see when each label is given.

Status A

• An accessibility declaration is present.
• A complete and correct study has been conducted that is less than three years old.
• The site or app complies with all 50 accessibility criteria.
• A new study is not needed within six months because the current study is still valid (less than three years old).
• The site or app complies with the digital accessibility law.

Status B

• An accessibility declaration is present.
• A complete and correct study has been conducted that is less than three years old.
• The site or app complies with fewer than 50 accessibility criteria.
• A new study is not needed within six months because the current study is still valid (less than three years old).
• The site or app complies with the digital accessibility law, provided measures are described and annual improvements are visible.

Status C

• An accessibility declaration is present.
• No complete and correct study has been conducted, or the study is older than three years.
• It is not known how many of the accessibility criteria the site or app meets.
• A new study is planned within six months.
• The site or app complies with the digital accessibility law, but only for the first six months after the declaration is published.

Status D

• An accessibility declaration is present.
• No complete and correct study has been conducted, or the study is older than three years.
• It is not known how many of the accessibility criteria the site or app meets.
• No new study is planned within six months.
• The site or app does not comply with the digital accessibility law.

Status E

• No accessibility declaration is present.
• It is not known whether a study has been conducted.
• It is not known how many of the accessibility criteria the site or app meets.
• It is not known whether a new study is planned within six months.
• The site or app does not comply with the digital accessibility law.

How do you assess your website's accessibility?

Test or have your site tested according to the WCAG-EM research method. This can be done by a research agency specializing in digital accessibility or a certified employee. Enter the report on the government site digitaaltoegankelijk.nl for an accessibility declaration and status. If your website meets all 50 requirements at levels A and AA of the European WCAG 2.1 standard, your website will receive the Dutch accessibility status A. Publish the declaration, any action plan to achieve the Dutch A status, and the research on your site. Update the report and status every year. If anything changes in the meantime, you must immediately reflect this in the declaration. Improvements must be visible in the declaration updates.

* Source rijksoverheid.nl (opens in new tab) June 14, 2023