Accessibility matters in 2025 because inclusive digital experiences are no longer optional — they’re required by law and expected by users. As the European Accessibility Act nears enforcement, developers and designers must adopt WCAG 2.2 and inclusive design practices to ensure equal access, usability, and long-term compliance.

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“Next year I will run a marathon.” What a wonderful and challenging New Year’s resolution. On the first possible day (not too cold, not too wet, not too sunny, not on a weekend) I went out in my new running gear. The first kilometer felt ok. The second was already quite hard. By the third, I stopped running and walked back home. Never again. There went my New Year’s resolution. I went running a few more times but finally gave up on it. Sounds familiar to you? What made you give up your resolution?

For me, it was this massive mountain I saw in front of me. This marathon thing was huge, and I could not even run a kilometer without almost dying. My goal was too ambitious, and even though I started, I was never able to pull through.

Let’s take my sporty ambitions into the software world. Imagine someone (for example, the EU and their laws) saying that from now on you have to implement accessibility. For me, that sounds almost as impossible as my marathon mountain. We are sitting on the couch, bag of crisps in our hand, watching it all happen. But how can we start moving? I mean, it already is the law in Europe. And by the way, accessibility does not only mean catering to blind or deaf people. There are so many more disabilities which are not always visible or even permanent. In the end, it helps all users when our products are more accessible because they become more user-friendly. Now let’s get our running gear together.

Getting Started: Information and Research

You have to have some basics, some knowledge, a little bit of background. You will find a ton of blogs, videos, and tutorials out there, and I will give you a short list to get started on the topic. You wouldn’t go running in your flip-flops, would you?

Putting Accessibility into Practice

Ok, that’s the list. The second step: just go out and do it. Once you’ve got your gear together, you have to take the first step. Go out and run. Go out and program. You don’t need to restructure your whole website or application. That’s for the next level, when you start on a new project. But for now, let’s go one ticket at a time. How do your focus styles look? Are there any? No? Create some. Do you have alt text for your images? No? Start from here. Are all your input fields connected to labels? Go ahead and check. These are all very simple tasks that can be done in a short time, but they get you started. And once you start, you’ll notice it’s hard to stop. There’s more to learn and more to do out there.

Share Your Accessibility Journey

Ok, I said the list was finished by #2, but this is an easy one. Go out and talk about what you did. You implemented that one style? You added a descriptive label to a button? You checked out the interface using a screen reader? Tell your colleagues. Let them get inspired.

Now we’re off the couch, slowly heading towards this mountain. But we’ll tackle it one step at a time, because we’re in it for the long run. To be honest, accessibility is a marathon. It takes time to implement and might seem like it never finishes. And it is not about checking the box but about the mindset. Once you have the running bug (or the accessibility bug), it is hard not to do it.

Ready? Steady? Go!

Let’s Connect!

Do you have questions about the European Accessibility Act? Or would you like to discuss what is the best starting point for accessibility? Feel free to reach out. I’m always happy to exchange knowledge, ideas, and experiences.