Website accessibility for digital publishing and e-books
Since 28 June 2025 digital accessibility is a legal requirement for digital publishing and e-books 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
E-books and dedicated readers are among the products named expressly in the European Accessibility Act: since 28 June 2025 new digital titles must be accessible (structured format, text readable by assistive technologies) and the store that sells them must be too.
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
E-books with DRM that blocks assistive reading
Protections that stop screen readers from accessing the text: the book can be bought but not read.
EPUBs with no structure or navigation
Files auto-converted with no table of contents, headings or alt text for images.
Stores with incomplete book pages
Covers with no alt text, visual-only previews and no information on the title's accessibility (required by industry metadata).
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.
Check now, it's free
Start with your store: a free 30-second scan to find the most urgent issues.
Analyse your site for freeFrequently asked questions
- Does the European Accessibility Act apply to digital publishing and e-books?
- E-books and dedicated readers are among the products named expressly in the European Accessibility Act: since 28 June 2025 new digital titles must be accessible (structured format, text readable by assistive technologies) and the store that sells them must be too.
- Which accessibility issues are typical for digital publishing and e-books?
- The three we find most often: E-books with DRM that blocks assistive reading; EPUBs with no structure or navigation; Stores with incomplete book pages.
- 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 digital publishing and e-books