99 percent of German online shops not yet BFSG compliant

Almost 99 percent of German online shops are not barrier-free. This has come to light from a study by Datapulse Research and Buzzmatic. More than two-thirds of the websites examined lack recognizable page structure, sufficient distinction between text and background, or clear labels of links to identify the destination. More than half of the pages examined had embedded images without alternative text.

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In total, researchers examined the home pages of approximately 2,500 German online shops for accessibility criteria according to the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Of these, only 28 providers have so far met the requirements of the Accessibility Strengthening Act. Researchers used automated equipment for standardized measurements. The Lighthouse Accessibility Score, which is also recommended by companies like Google and Microsoft for web development, was used for the evaluation. About 20 percent of the websites achieved a score above 90, while only 0.2 percent achieved a score below 50. Apart from the range of home pages, the researchers only examined technical accessibility. Ease of use and understandable language were not part of the study.

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Accessibility is becoming essential for business websites

The implementation of the BFSG will be mandatory for business websites carrying out commercial activities in Germany from next June. Such providers include operators of online shops and brick-and-mortar stores as well as service brokers. Operators whose sites do not comply with the requirements should expect warnings from competitors and fines of up to 100,000 euros. Micro-enterprises with fewer than ten employees and a total balance sheet of less than 2 million euros per year are not affected by the BFSG.

BFSG is facing criticism from small and medium-sized companies. When implementing the guidelines, you are faced with a lot of effort and limited financial and human resources. There is also a lack of awareness about what measures are necessary. At the same time, another study shows that operators of accessible websites register more sales.

An overview of the study results is available here Buzzmatic Website,

(SFE)