Study shows: 99 percent of online stores are not accessible
From next June, the law on accessibility will apply to German online stores. So far, only a few providers have met the requirements of the BFSG.
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Around 99 percent of German online stores are not barrier-free. This is the result of a study by Datapulse Research and Buzzmatic. More than two thirds of the websites examined lack recognizable page structures, sufficient contrasts between text and background or clear labels on links that make the destination recognizable. Images without alternative texts were embedded on more than half of the pages examined.
In total, the researchers examined the home pages of almost 2,500 German online stores for accessibility criteria in accordance with the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Of these, only 28 providers have so far met the requirements of the Accessibility Improvement Act. The researchers used automated tools for a standardized measurement. The Lighthouse Accessibility Score, which is also recommended by companies such as Google and Microsoft for web development, was used for the evaluation. Just under 20 percent of the websites achieved a score above 90, while only 0.2 percent achieved a score below 50. In addition to the limitation to home pages, the researchers only examined technical accessibility. User-friendliness and understandable language were not part of the study.
Accessibility becomes mandatory for commercial websites
From next June, the implementation of the BFSG will be mandatory for commercial websites with business activities in Germany. Such providers include operators of online stores and stationary stores as well as service providers. Operators whose websites do not comply with the requirements must expect warnings from competitors and fines of up to 100,000 euros. Micro-enterprises with fewer than ten employees and a balance sheet total of less than 2 million euros per year are not affected by the BFSG.
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The BFSG has been criticized by small and medium-sized companies. They see themselves confronted with high costs and limited financial and personnel resources when implementing the requirements. There is also a lack of awareness of what measures are required. At the same time, another study shows that operators of accessible websites record higher turnover.
The overview of the study results can be found on the Buzzmatic website.
(sfe)
