Accessibility is not just a buzzword—it’s a non-negotiable standard that’s shaping the future of publishing. With the European Accessibility Act (EAA) deadline set for June 2025, publishers of all sizes must act swiftly to ensure their digital publications are accessible to everyone. At 3D Issue, we understand this is more than just ticking regulatory boxes. It’s about making knowledge, storytelling, and creativity available to every single reader, regardless of their abilities.
Understanding the European Accessibility Act—and What It Means for You
Passed as Directive 2019/882, the EAA aims to create a truly inclusive digital environment across the EU. It covers a wide range of digital products and services, including online magazines, e-books, mobile apps, and e-commerce platforms. Publishers both inside and outside the EU who serve European audiences must ensure their digital content is accessible to users with disabilities, covering visual, auditory, cognitive, and motor needs.
- Scope: The EAA encompasses digital publications, apps, e-reading devices, and the entire digital supply chain from production to purchase.
- Deadline: By June 2025, all digital publications targeting EU users must comply.
- Standards: The act references WCAG 2.1 AA, which sets the gold standard for accessible digital content structure, navigation, and compatibility with assistive technologies.
The Four Principles of Accessibility
At the heart of the EAA’s requirements are the POUR principles (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust):
- Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presented in ways users can understand—think readable text for screen readers and meaningful image alt text.
- Operable: All navigation and interactions must work for users who rely on keyboards, voice control, or switch devices. No function should rely solely on a mouse or touch.
- Understandable: Content should be well-structured, with logical hierarchies, unambiguous navigation, and plain language. Consistent layouts help readers get comfortable quickly.
- Robust: Publications must work reliably across current and future assistive technologies, ensuring long-term access.
Why Prioritizing Accessibility Benefits Publishers
While EAA compliance is mandatory, the real value lies in opening your publications to a wider audience and offering superior experiences for all. Publishers who invest in accessibility enjoy:
- Larger Reach: You can engage millions of readers with disabilities, as well as older adults and those who use alternative devices.
- Improved SEO: Accessible, structured content is also optimized for search engines, increasing discoverability.
- Reader Loyalty: Well-designed, barrier-free content keeps readers returning—and sharing.
- Reduced Legal Risk: Avoid costly fines and reputational harm by meeting compliance proactively.
Our own customers have seen readership jump dramatically after adopting accessible and responsive digital formats. The impact goes far beyond compliance—it’s about future-proofing your brand.
Breaking Down EAA Compliance: What You Really Need to Do
Let’s get practical. Bringing your digital publications up to EAA standards involves more than just adding alt text to images. Here’s how we approach it at 3D Issue—and how publishers should prepare:
1. Audit Your Publications and Platforms
- Review all current digital magazines, e-books, and content hubs for accessibility gaps.
- Check for logical heading structures, keyboard navigation, proper color contrast, and meaningful links.
- Evaluate compatibility with screen readers and other assistive technologies.
2. Make Accessibility a Habit in Production
- Integrate accessibility checks from the content design stage onwards—don’t leave it until the end.
- Train your editorial and creative teams on current accessibility guidelines (like WCAG 2.1 AA).
- Standardize accessible templates for repeatable, scalable publication design.
3. Add Detailed Metadata and Alternative Text
- Provide machine-readable accessibility metadata (clarifying features like text-to-speech compatibility, navigable table of contents, etc.).
- Write descriptive alt text for every image and ensure that video or audio content includes transcripts or captions.
4. Choose the Right Publishing Tools
- Opt for platforms that offer built-in accessibility features, such as automated compliance validation, accessible navigation, and custom display options (for example, font resizing or high-contrast themes).
- With 3D Issue’s Experios, every responsive digital publication comes equipped for accessibility with minimal extra effort. Our styles section and validator help you check and maintain compliance every step of the way.
5. Test with Real Users
- Conduct usability testing with people who use assistive technologies. There’s no substitute for real-world feedback.
- Solicit input from your community and be ready to iterate for continuous improvement.
6. Establish Ongoing Monitoring and Continuous Improvement
- Accessibility is never “set and forget.”
- As platforms, devices, and user needs change, so too must your content. Schedule regular audits and training refreshers for your team.
- Leverage analytics on user engagement to identify where improvements can be made.
How We Approach Accessibility at 3D Issue
Our philosophy is simple: accessibility should empower designers, not slow them down. That’s why we’ve built WCAG and ADA-compliant functionality directly into both Experios and Flipbooks. Here’s some of what we focus on for publishers needing to meet EAA requirements:
- Experios: Lets you create mobile-first, fully responsive publications from scratch or templates. Codeless workflow means anyone can create accessible magazines, and compliance validation is built right in.
- Flipbooks: Instantly transform traditional PDFs into modern HTML5 digital publications with features like selectable/searchable text, structured navigation, and cross-device compatibility.
- Both solutions include comprehensive options for alt text, accessible navigation elements, and metadata.
- We make it possible for teams to cut outsourcing costs by 99% and create 50x faster—all while meeting accessibility obligations at every turn.
We know from customer feedback that moving to fully accessible digital publishing is transformative. One of our clients, the Chicago Sun Times, reported more than doubling their digital audience in 90 days with accessible, responsive publications—a testament to the impact of inclusive design done right.
What’s at Stake for Publishers?
Non-compliance isn’t just a matter of penalties or negative headlines. It risks cutting off a vast potential audience at a time when every reader counts. And as accessibility becomes a baseline expectation, brands that lag behind may find themselves becoming less relevant over time.
But there are significant opportunities too:
- Accessible publications enjoy longer average dwell times and higher return visits.
- Meeting accessibility requirements supports multi-language, multinational, and multi-device reach, key to expanding globally.
- Accessible content often ranks higher in search engines, so your investment pays dividends far beyond compliance.
If you want to explore ways to further boost reader engagement, see our in-depth guide on harnessing interactive elements to increase dwell time, which closely ties into designing accessible, immersive experiences.
Your Roadmap to EAA-Ready Publications
We’ve found that publishers who systematize accessibility see faster progress and fewer headaches. Here’s a summary roadmap:
- Assess: Audit your library of digital publications for structure, navigation, and multimedia accessibility.
- Educate: Get your editorial, design, and development teams up to speed on accessibility guidelines and best practices.
- Template: Use or create templates engineered for accessibility to ensure standardization.
- Implement: Update your content with accessible navigation, alt text, captions, and metadata.
- Validate: Run both automated and manual accessibility checks—never rely on automated tools alone.
- Iterate: Test with assistive technology users and use analytics insights to close remaining gaps.
- Monitor: Schedule periodic reviews for new publications and ongoing maintenance.
Embracing Accessibility Means Embracing the Future
The EAA could seem daunting, but we’ve witnessed firsthand how it can become a catalyst for innovation. Publishers who embrace these changes don’t just avoid fines—they unlock new audiences and position their brands as inclusive, forward-thinking leaders in digital publishing.
If you’re committed to delivering an exceptional, equitable reading experience, embedding accessibility right now isn’t just smart. It’s necessary.
Take the Next Step
Ready to make your digital publications accessible and future-proof your business for the EAA and beyond? Explore the 3D Issue platform, including our Experios and Flipbooks solutions—designed to help publishers like you meet accessibility requirements quickly, affordably, and beautifully. Start your accessibility journey with a free trial, or contact us for a one-to-one walk-through of what’s possible.
Together, we can shape a publishing landscape that truly includes everyone.
