Website accessibility for beauty and cosmetics e-commerce
Since 28 June 2025 digital accessibility is a legal requirement for beauty and cosmetics e-commerce too. Check for free, in about a minute, whether your site meets the WCAG 2.1 AA criteria required by the European regulation.
Why it concerns you too
Cosmetics shops sell to European consumers and fall within the e-commerce covered by the European Accessibility Act. The sector lives on visual nuance — shades, textures, finishes — which, without text descriptions, completely excludes anyone who cannot see them.
The obligation comes from EU Directive 2019/882 (European Accessibility Act), fully applicable since 28 June 2025. Non-compliance risks administrative fines, consumer complaints and remediation orders. Only service microenterprises are exempt: fewer than 10 employees and less than €2 million turnover.
The issues we find most often in this sector
Shades and swatches with no name
Dozens of tones shown as clickable coloured dots with no text label: choosing the right colour is impossible.
Low-contrast brand identity
Pastel palettes and thin fonts: refined on the moodboard, unreadable for people with low vision.
Intrusive pop-ups and newsletters
Overlays that open without managing focus and cannot be closed by keyboard.
These are recurring examples found in scans of sites in this sector: your site may have others (or none at all). The only way to know is to check.
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Analyse your shop for free: find out in 30 seconds what a screen reader sees (and does not see).
Analyse your site for freeFrequently asked questions
- Does the European Accessibility Act apply to beauty and cosmetics e-commerce?
- Cosmetics shops sell to European consumers and fall within the e-commerce covered by the European Accessibility Act. The sector lives on visual nuance — shades, textures, finishes — which, without text descriptions, completely excludes anyone who cannot see them.
- Which accessibility issues are typical for beauty and cosmetics e-commerce?
- The three we find most often: Shades and swatches with no name; Low-contrast brand identity; Intrusive pop-ups and newsletters.
- How do I check whether my site is compliant?
- Start with the free EAA Sentinel scan: a real browser analyses up to 3 pages of your site and returns a 0-100 score with the most severe issues in about a minute. The full report (€49 one-time) extends the analysis to up to 50 pages, with every issue and fix instructions. Automated analysis detects 30-40% of WCAG issues — the machine-verifiable ones: full compliance also requires manual checks.
Want the regulatory picture for your sector? European Accessibility Act for beauty and cosmetics e-commerce