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What the ADA, WCAG 2.2 and EAA mean for small business websites

- 9 min read - by , Founder

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Most small business websites should aim for WCAG 2.2 Level AA. The US Justice Department says the ADA covers websites of businesses open to the public but sets no fixed technical standard. In the EU, the European Accessibility Act has applied since 28 June 2025 to e-commerce and some other consumer services, with microenterprises providing services exempt.

This is general information, not legal advice.

What is WCAG 2.2 and what does Level AA mean?

WCAG 2.2 is the current version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, the technical standard published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The W3C says it was published on 5 October 2023, updated on 12 December 2024, and is also the ISO standard ISO/IEC 40500:2025.

WCAG 2.2 rests on four principles: content must be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. Its testable success criteria sit at three levels: A (lowest), AA and AAA (highest). Level AA conformance means a page meets every Level A and Level AA criterion.

Two details matter for a small business:

  • Conformance applies to full pages and complete processes, so a booking or checkout flow conforms only if every step does.
  • Content that conforms to WCAG 2.2 also conforms to 2.1 and 2.0, so meeting 2.2 covers rules that still cite 2.1.

Compared with 2.1, WCAG 2.2 adds nine success criteria, four of them at Level AA, and drops 4.1.1 Parsing.

Does the ADA apply to a small business website?

According to the US Department of Justice, the ADA reaches the websites of businesses open to the public, which Title III of the law covers. Its web guidance of March 18, 2022 says the ADA applies to all goods and services of public accommodations, including those offered on the web.

The DOJ has not set a mandatory technical standard for private businesses. The guidance gives businesses flexibility in how they meet the ADA's requirements of nondiscrimination and effective communication, and names WCAG and the Section 508 Standards as helpful guidance.

The guidance lists barriers such as poor color contrast, images without text alternatives, videos without captions, unlabeled forms and mouse-only navigation.

What the 2024 Title II rule does and does not cover

The 2024 Title II rule sets a web standard for state and local governments, not for private businesses. Published on April 24, 2024, it requires their web content and mobile apps to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

An interim final rule of April 20, 2026 moved the deadlines to April 26, 2027 for governments with populations of 50,000 or more, and April 26, 2028 for smaller ones and special district governments. The interim rule states that it does not address the Title III regulations that apply to businesses.

So for a salon, cafe or plumbing firm, those dates are not your deadlines. But no deadline does not mean no duty. If you receive a demand letter about your website, talk to a lawyer who handles ADA matters before replying.

Does the European Accessibility Act apply to my business?

The European Accessibility Act applies to businesses that provide certain consumer services in the EU, including e-commerce, unless the business is a microenterprise providing services. The Act is Directive (EU) 2019/882, and EU countries had to apply their national laws from 28 June 2025.

It covers these services provided to consumers after that date:

  • electronic communications services
  • services providing access to audiovisual media
  • parts of air, bus, rail and waterborne passenger transport, such as websites, apps and e-tickets
  • consumer banking services
  • e-books and dedicated software
  • e-commerce services

E-commerce services are services provided at a distance, through websites and mobile services, at a consumer's request, with a view to concluding a consumer contract, and the recitals say this covers the online sale of any product or service. An online shop is clearly in scope; whether an enquiry or booking form without payment counts is a question for your national authority or a lawyer.

For websites, the directive asks for the same four qualities as WCAG: perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. Service providers must also publish information on how their service meets the requirements. Each EU country sets its own penalties, which must be "effective, proportionate and dissuasive".

The microenterprise exemption for services

Under Article 4(5), microenterprises that provide services are exempt from the Act's service accessibility requirements. A microenterprise employs fewer than 10 persons and has an annual turnover or annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 2 million.

The exemption covers services, not products placed on the market. A business that is not exempt and says compliance would be a "disproportionate burden" must document that assessment and keep the records for five years, under Article 14.

What does UK law say about website accessibility?

In England, Wales and Scotland, the Equality Act 2010 requires businesses that serve the public to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, including providing information in an accessible format. That comes from section 29 and section 20(6).

Schedule 2 says the duty is owed to disabled people generally, so a business should plan ahead rather than wait for a complaint. The Act sets a duty, not a technical checklist; WCAG AA is a practical way to judge what reasonable steps look like online.

What are the most common accessibility barriers on small business sites?

The most common barriers are low contrast text, images without alt text, form fields without labels and empty links. The WebAIM Million 2026 scan of the top 1,000,000 home pages found detected WCAG failures on 95.9% of them, an average of 56.1 errors per page.

Low contrast text appeared on 83.9% of home pages, missing alt text on 53.1%, missing form labels on 51% and empty links on 46.3%. WebAIM notes that not all failures can be detected automatically.

A short checklist, tied to the WCAG criteria:

  1. Contrast. Normal text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1, large text 3:1 (1.4.3, AA).
  2. Alt text. Meaningful images need a text alternative that serves the same purpose (1.1.1, A).
  3. Keyboard. Everything must work with a keyboard alone (2.1.1, A), with a visible focus indicator (2.4.7, AA).
  4. Forms. Fields need labels or instructions (3.3.2, A), and detected errors must be identified and described in text (3.3.1, A), so a red border alone is not enough.
  5. Captions. Prerecorded video with sound needs captions (1.2.2, A).
  6. Tap targets. Buttons and links should be at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels, with some exceptions (2.5.8, AA).

Can an accessibility overlay widget make my site compliant?

A widget added on top of a website does not fix the site's own code and content, and the US Federal Trade Commission has acted against a vendor for claiming its AI tool could make any website WCAG-compliant. In January 2025 the FTC announced that accessiBe would pay $1 million over claims about its accessWidget plug-in.

According to the FTC, accessWidget did not make all user websites WCAG-compliant. The final order, approved on April 22, 2025, bars accessiBe from claiming, without evidence, that its automated products can make websites WCAG-compliant or keep them compliant.

Missing labels, keyboard traps and uncaptioned videos live in the site itself, and a panel that enlarges text cannot fix them. SiteCreatorEngine sites are built to WCAG 2.2 AA and also carry an accessibility panel, and we never claim a site is automatically legally compliant: photos and videos you add later still need alt text and captions.

What should a small business do first?

Start with the pages that bring in customers, such as home, services, contact and booking, and fix the barriers a visitor would hit on the way to buying. A practical order:

  1. Run the W3C Easy Checks: page title, alt text, headings, contrast, text resize, keyboard, forms and multimedia. The W3C says they are quick, not definitive.
  2. Complete your main task with the keyboard only: find a service, fill in the form, book or pay.
  3. Fix contrast, alt text and form labels first, since they top WebAIM's list.
  4. Add captions and test embedded booking or payment tools, because conformance covers the whole process.
  5. Publish an accessibility statement with a way to report a barrier.
  6. Recheck after every redesign.
  7. Ask a lawyer if you get a demand letter or are unsure whether the EU microenterprise exemption applies to you.

If you are starting a new site, see how SiteCreatorEngine builds small business websites to WCAG 2.2 AA.

Frequently asked questions

Is WCAG 2.2 AA legally required for my business website?

Usually not by name. The US DOJ has set no technical standard for private businesses and points to WCAG as helpful guidance. The European Accessibility Act sets functional requirements without naming WCAG, and the UK Equality Act sets a duty of reasonable adjustments. WCAG 2.2 AA is the practical benchmark.

Does the European Accessibility Act apply to a US or UK business?

It can. The directive defines a service provider as anyone who provides a service on the EU market or offers it to consumers in the EU, so being based outside the EU does not automatically take you out of scope. The microenterprise exemption still applies to services. Ask a lawyer to confirm your position.

Will an accessibility widget protect my business from complaints?

No tool can promise that. The FTC's 2025 order bars accessiBe from claiming, without evidence, that its automated products can make websites WCAG-compliant. A widget can offer display options, but barriers in your code and content, such as missing form labels or captions, still have to be fixed directly on the site.

Should I follow WCAG 2.1 or WCAG 2.2?

Follow WCAG 2.2. The W3C says content that conforms to 2.2 also conforms to 2.1 and 2.0, and it encourages using the latest version. That matters because the US Title II rule for state and local governments references WCAG 2.1 AA, and meeting 2.2 AA covers those criteria too.

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