Platform to help businesses comply with European accessibility legislation goes live
An Irish company has launched an online platform that can help businesses avoid fines of up to €60,000 and comply with new accessibility legislation coming into effect in Ireland in June of this year.
Based at The Digital Hub in Dublin’s Liberties, Accessible.ie aims to help businesses comply with new digital accessibility standards under the European Accessibility Act (EAA).
The EAA will standardise accessibility requirements across online products and services in the European Union, ensuring all users, but particularly those with disabilities, can have equal and fair access to digital information.
New standards will apply to businesses with 10 or more employees or with an annual turnover of €2 million and will impact a range of industries particularly e-commerce websites, banking & finance apps and transport services such as booking systems for flights, trains, and accommodation.
A recent study by Mason Hayes & Curran indicated that up to 60% of Irish businesses do not feel prepared to comply with upcoming standards under the Act. Hearing the same concerns from its client-base, Accessible.ie was developed with an investment of over €125,000 across six months.
Accessible.ie enables companies to conduct accessibility audits to identify barriers that may prevent individuals with disabilities from using their websites or apps. The platform recognises the importance of helping businesses adopt an inclusive approach by actively involving individuals with disabilities in the audit process. By testing with assistive technologies, people with disabilities provide valuable insights, ensuring that solutions are informed by genuine, real-world experiences.
In addition to this approach, Accessible.ie features custom AI models that provide actionable, best-practice recommendations for the remediation of specific issues. If a client needs hands-on support with applying recommended solutions, Accessible.ie then provides programming expertise.
Businesses also benefit from the monitoring service available through the platform, allowing them to run automated scheduled tests on their websites and apps into the future, ensuring that upcoming changes remain compliant and in line with EAA standards.
By addressing such accessibility issues, businesses can improve the inclusivity of their digital products and significantly enhance the user experience for all users and not just those with disabilities.
Director Colum Foley said: “Accessible.ie is about more than just supporting businesses in complying with new standards. It’s about digital inclusion, which begins by involving the individuals that are most impacted by the challenges that we are trying to resolve. Ensuring that websites and apps are developed to a high accessibility standard is obviously beneficial for those living with a disability. It’s important, however, not to overlook the fact that accessibility standards improve the experience for all users, making the pending legal changes all the more important for EU citizens.
The European Accessibility Act is critical to enhance society’s experience of the digital landscape, and we are delighted to launch Accessible.ie to support in bringing about this improvement.”
Accessible.ie was established by Xwerx, a user experience design agency based in The Digital Hub.
TechCentral Reporters
Subscribers 0
Fans 0
Followers 0
Followers