# An accessible website — before anyone asks for one

> Germany's BFSG has applied since June 2025. We audit your site against WCAG 2.1 AA, fix what blocks people, and leave you a statement that holds up under scrutiny.

Source: [https://www.arytechsolutions.com/en/solutions/accessibility](https://www.arytechsolutions.com/en/solutions/accessibility)

## Benefits

- **An audit that names locations** — Not a traffic-light rating but a list: which element, on which page, against which criterion — and what to do about it.
- **Fixes in the source** — Contrast, keyboard operation, focus handling, form errors and markup are changed where they originate. No script laid over the top.
- **A statement that holds** — An accessibility statement naming the standard applied, the known limitations and a feedback channel — rather than claiming blanket conformance.

## What the German Accessibility Strengthening Act means for you

- In force since 28 June 2025: anyone offering digital services to consumers — a shop, a booking flow, a customer account — is covered.
- Micro-enterprises (under 10 employees, at most €2m turnover) are exempt for services. Whether that applies to you is settled in the first conversation.
- Enforcement sits with the Länder market surveillance authority (MLBF). Fines reach €100,000, though a deadline to remedy is the more common outcome.
- Law aside: roughly one in ten people in Germany lives with an impairment that affects how they operate your site.

## What gets audited and fixed

The benchmark is WCAG 2.1 level AA — the standard EN 301 549, and through it the BFSG, refers to.

- **Contrast and colour** — Every text value measured against its actual background, in light and dark themes. Information is never carried by colour alone.
- **Keyboard operation** — Everything reachable without a mouse, focus visible throughout, no focus traps. A skip link past the navigation.
- **Structure and semantics** — Heading hierarchy without gaps, landmarks, lists and tables marked up as what they are — the ground every screen reader stands on.
- **Forms** — Labels properly associated, errors as text rather than a red outline alone, error messages announced to assistive software.
- **Dialogs and dynamic content** — Modals hold focus and close with Escape. Content that changes without a page load is announced.
- **Motion and media** — Animations follow the system setting. Videos captioned, images given alternative text, decorative content marked explicitly as decorative.

## Overlay or real implementation

| Overlay tool | Implementation in code |
| --- | --- |
| **Installed in an hour** — One script in the header, one icon in the corner. The underlying page is untouched. | **Paid once, lasts** — Corrected markup stays corrected. No subscription keeping the accessibility alive. |
| **Not proof of conformance** — Neither a BFSG review nor a BITV test accepts an overlay in place of the source. What gets examined is the DOM. | **Stands up to review** — What gets examined is exactly what was changed: contrast values, focus order, labels, structure. |
| **Collides with assistive tech** — ARIA attributes injected at runtime override what screen reader users have configured in their own software. | **Works with assistive tech** — Screen readers, magnification and voice input get the structure they were built for — with no layer in between. |
| **Ongoing cost** — A monthly subscription, plus another third party in your processing records and your consent banner. | **Side effect: a better site for everyone** — Clean markup, clear contrast and working keyboard operation also show up in usability and in search. |

## From audit to statement

1. **Taking stock** — Automated testing of every page type in both themes, plus manual passes with keyboard and screen reader. Automation alone finds only part of it. _(2-4 days)_
2. **Report and priorities** — Every finding with its location, the criterion it fails and its severity. Ordered by what actually blocks people — not by what is quickest to change. _(within a week)_
3. **Implementation** — Fixes in the source, in your codebase or as a specification for your team. Every change is re-tested. _(scope dependent)_
4. **Statement and safeguard** — An accessibility statement with the standard, known limitations and a reporting route. Optionally an automated test that flags a regression immediately. _(at handover)_

## Commitments

- A report with locations, not a score
- Tested with screen reader and keyboard, not automation alone
- No overlay — fixes go into the code
- Automated test guards against regressions

## What clients want to know first

### Does the BFSG even apply to me?

It covers providers of certain digital services to consumers — online shops, booking systems, customer accounts. Purely informational sites and pure B2B are outside it, as are micro-enterprises for services. We settle the classification in the first conversation, before any work is billed.

### Wouldn't an overlay tool do?

No. Overlays only alter the page in the browser and leave the source untouched — which is exactly what a review looks at. They also tend to fight with screen reader settings. In the US the FTC acted against an overlay vendor in 2025 over misleading conformance claims.

### Does the site have to be rebuilt?

Usually not. Most findings are contrast values, missing labels, focus handling and heading structure — changes to existing markup. A rebuild only enters the conversation when the underlying structure is itself the problem.

### How long does it take?

Auditing a typical company website takes a few days. Implementation depends on the findings: smaller corrections in one to two weeks, larger rework accordingly. You get the timeline with the report, not before it.

### What does it cost?

That depends on scope — how many page types, how complex the forms, what state the existing markup is in. Which is why there is no price table here: a number before taking stock would be a guess. After the audit you receive a fixed-price offer.

### Will the site stay accessible?

Only if new content is too. That is why the final step is optionally an automated test running on every deployment, reporting the moment a fixed violation returns. That is exactly what runs on this website.

## Where does your website stand?

The first step is taking stock — with it you know whether there is anything to act on at all.