Is accessibility mandatory for online shops?
Yes. Since 28 June 2025, the BFSG requires online shops in Germany to meet WCAG 2.1 AA. This applies in particular to the ordering and checkout process, product pages and contact forms.
- Consumer-facing online shops are explicitly in scope of the BFSG.
- The legal benchmark is WCAG 2.1 AA, harmonized via EN 301 549.
- Documented, ongoing accessibility efforts help demonstrate good faith to authorities.
These barriers are common in shop systems and directly affect conversion for users relying on assistive technology.
Checkout & forms
Unlabeled fields, error messages that screen readers don't announce, and steps that can't be completed by keyboard block purchases.
Product images & media
Missing or unhelpful alt text means screen reader users can't tell products apart or understand key visual details.
Filters & faceted search
Filter and sorting controls that update results without announcing changes leave keyboard and screen reader users stuck.
Cart & modals
Quick-view and cart overlays that trap focus or can't be closed by keyboard make core actions impossible.
Cookie banners & overlays
Consent layers that aren't keyboard-operable or block the page break accessibility before users even reach your products.
How navable helps online shops
Automated and AI-semantic scanning, plus documentation — without heavy consulting.
Scan the whole shop domain
Crawl your domain or import a sitemap and audit product, category and content pages automatically, with scheduled re-scans for ongoing monitoring.
Audit checkout across page states
Multi-state and authenticated audits check the cart, individual checkout steps and the state after cookie banners — with a screenshot per state.
AI fix-prompts for developers
Each finding comes with a copy-ready prompt for AI IDEs, so your team can act on issues quickly instead of deciphering raw rule output.
Generate an accessibility statement
Create a BFSG/EAA-aligned accessibility statement linked to your audit results and download reports for your documentation.
What you get
- Automated WCAG 2.1 AA audit, extended by AI-semantic rules
- Multi-state and multi-device scanning (desktop + mobile)
- Copy-ready AI fix-prompts per violation
- Downloadable reports and a generated accessibility statement