Compliance Overview

Compliance Overview Introduction

Why should we exclude people from digital services when accessibility solutions exist? It's important that digital services work equally well for everyone including people with disabilities-no matter how they interact with technology.

EU rules required government websites and apps have to be usable by everyone. To do that, they must meet the EN 301 549 standard, which lines up with WCAG 2.1 Level AA. In practice, that means an user with visual disability using a screen-reader, someone who navigates only with a keyboard, or anyone else with a disability should find the service just as easy to use as anyone else.

With more countries are now tightening rules on unfriendly websites and apps, businesses need to make accessibility a priority.

What is Digital Accessibility Compliance?

Making a website truly accessible means building it in a way so everyone can use it, whether they browse with a mouse, a keyboard, or a screen reader. That is why designers look to WCAG, the worldwide rules set by the W3C. The guidelines ask simple questions: Can people see or hear the page? Can they move around it without trouble? Is the layout clear and steady on any device? When those boxes are ticked, you are ensuring everyone can participate fully.

WCAG is structured in three conformance levels:

1. Level A – Minimum accessibility.

2. Level AA – Addresses the biggest and most common barriers.

3. Level AAA – The highest level, ideal but not required by most laws.

Compliance involves technical adaptations like screen reader compatibility, keyboard navigation, adequate colour contrast, and captioning multimedia content. Tools such as contrast analysers, screen readers, and accessibility auditing software are often used during testing and remediation efforts.

In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 says businesses must make their websites and apps accessible. If someone can’t use your digital service because it isn’t accessible, that counts as discrimination, and they can take legal action against you.

A notable example is the case of RNIB vs. BMI Baby (2012), in which the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) took legal action against the airline for its inaccessible flight booking system, which was incompatible with screen readers. The resolution required BMI Baby to implement substantial accessibility improvements, serving as a critical precedent for the legal and operational risks of non-compliance.

This underscores the importance of proactive accessibility measures to meet legal obligations and to foster inclusivity and mitigate reputational and financial repercussions.

Consequences of Non-Compliance

Ignoring accessibility rules can land a company in court, cost fines, and break its reputation. Nike had to settle a case over screen-reader problems, Amazon was sued because its mobile site locked out some users, and Netflix was ordered to add captions. From above examples message is clear: Accessibility is Essential.

When people see that a brand leaves them out, their trust breaks, and earning it back can take years. Fixing an inaccessible site after launch can cost millions, and it also means losing out on more than a billion customers with disabilities.

Smart organisations adopt proactive compliance strategies through regular accessibility audits, comprehensive team training on WCAG standards, and built-in inclusive digital design practices.

Here is the thing: when companies actually implement accessibility into their products from the start, it stop facing legal issues and starts paying off. Suddenly you are reaching billions of people who were left out before which is a huge untapped market. And customers notice when you make the effort to include everyone. In 2024, if you are not thinking this way, you are being unethical and leaving money on the table.

Benefits of Accessibility Compliance

Digital accessibility compliance offers organisations far more than just legal protection. It delivers tangible business advantages that drive growth while fulfilling corporate social responsibility objectives. By removing access barriers, companies are expanding market reach and revenue potential.

When you add features like voice commands and captions, they help users with disabilities by making your product better for everyone. From SEO perspective, sites that do this right keep people engaged longer, and get more sales, and score higher in customer satisfaction. Digital accessibility is a smart design.

Accessibility naturally boosts search engine performance through SEO-friendly elements including semantic HTML structure, descriptive alt text, and multimedia transcripts. This synergy between accessibility and discoverability improves organic search rankings and drives increased traffic.

Beyond operational benefits, proactive accessibility initiatives strengthen brand reputation by demonstrating authentic commitment to diversity and inclusion. This also fosters stakeholder trust and differentiating organisations as industry leaders in corporate responsibility.

Considering Apple and Bank of America, they meet accessibility standards, by building better products. Apple built features like VoiceOver and live captions right into their devices, while Bank of America made their banking app work seamlessly with screen readers. The result? They checked compliance boxes and they created technology that works better for everyone while staying ahead of the competition.

Organisations embracing accessibility as an operational priority, position themselves for long-term success in our inclusive digital economy while contributing to a more equitable technological future. Accessibility compliance creates both commercial and social value that forward-looking companies cannot afford to ignore.

Steps to include Digital Accessibility Compliance

If you are serious about accessibility, start with a full audit. Don’t rely only on automated tools, have people navigate your site with screen readers and keyboards to catch real-world issues. Next, bring everyone in developers, designers, and writers all need training so they can meet WCAG 2.1 AA. Skip the shortcuts, accessibility has to be built into every step of your workflow.

Automated tests miss what real users struggle with. That is why testing with people who have disabilities is necessary. They will spot issues that no tool can catch. And accessibility is not a ‘one-and-done’ fix, you have keep updated by checking everytime as guidelines and technology change.

Leading companies embed accessibility throughout development cycles from design to QA, creating institutionalised best practices. This proactive approach delivers more than compliance. It enhances usability for all while demonstrating corporate responsibility.

By combining technical solutions with human-centred design, businesses build sustainable accessibility frameworks. The result for this is digital experiences are legally compliant and genuinely inclusive, driving both social impact and business value through expanded reach and improved customer satisfaction.

Compliance with Nexus Inclusion

At Nexus Inclusion, we help companies make their websites and apps genuinely accessible. We cut through the legal jargon (WCAG, ADA, EN 301 549) to give you practical solutions, custom audits, step-by-step fixes, and design that works for everyone. Because compliance shouldn’t just check boxes, it should make your digital presence better.

Partner with us to build accessible digital experiences that drive trust and engagement for all users. Together, we can create a more inclusive digital future.