“EU mandates companies to ensure that digital services, websites, and applications are accessible to all types of people,” summarizes Vapa’s founder, Ilona Hiila. “The reason for this is clear: due to technological advancements, many services, such as purchasing travel online or ordering a tax card, have shifted almost entirely or entirely to digital. Now, the goal is to ensure that no one is left behind.”
The directive applies to businesses offering digital consumer services with an annual turnover exceeding 2 million euros or employing more than 10 people. Although micro-enterprises are excluded from the directive, investing in accessibility is beneficial for any company offering digital services.
Failure to comply with accessibility requirements can lead to significant financial penalties. Regulatory authorities can mandate companies to bring their services in line with accessibility requirements and impose fines if necessary. Ignoring accessibility will also inevitably lead to reputational damage and loss of competitive advantage.
Accessibility is a comprehensive user experience
Accessibility is often still seen solely as a technical requirement or an extra burden that benefits only a small fraction of people. Neither of these views is true.
“Often the discussion focuses only on technology or page structure. But this regulation also concerns content, whether it’s text, visual content, or videos,” Hiila reminds us.
Accessibility in digital content means, for example:
- Text content is clear and understandable
- Videos include subtitles
- Images have descriptive alt texts
- Color contrasts are sufficient
- Content is available through multiple sensory channels
- Navigation is logical and easy
Accessibility doesn’t just benefit specific groups; it makes services better for everyone. Clear language helps with content comprehension, good contrasts make reading easier, and subtitles allow content consumption without sound. A clear structure and navigation make the service smoother and more enjoyable for all. Thus, accessibility improves the user experience for everyone.
AI makes accessibility easier than ever
Ensuring accessibility may sound like a massive task, especially when larger companies have thousands of pages of content. This is where artificial intelligence plays a significant role.
“Six years ago, we were struggling with accessibility, but now we understand AI’s potential in automating certain accessibility features,” Hiila explains.
AI can, for example, help make texts clearer, create summaries of longer texts, generate alt texts for images, and create subtitles for videos. AI can also be used for automatic accessibility checks.
However, Hiila reminds us of the limitations of AI: “Using AI requires that people understand what and how they want to use AI. It doesn’t work by just pressing a button—you also need to critically evaluate the content.”
How to prepare for the change
- Assess the current situation: Analyze the accessibility of your services and content, and identify what changes are needed.
- Build a strategy: Don’t just make minimal fixes. Think about how you can turn accessibility into a competitive advantage and improve the overall customer experience.
- Ensure expertise: Train all content creators to understand accessibility principles. Utilize AI and other tools.
- Start development work: Monitor accessibility implementation. Measure and continually improve the process.
TarvitsNeed help ensuring the accessibility of your company’s digital services and content? Contact Ilona Hiila (ilona.hiila@vapamedia.fi) and let’s discuss how to turn accessibility into an opportunity.