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The German Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG) and IONOS WordPress

The German Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG) has been binding in Germany since June 28, 2025. This law obliges many German companies to make their digital products and services accessible so that they can also be used without restriction by people with disabilities. This article gives you an overview of this EU regulation and how to adapt your IONOS WordPress.

Please Note

IONOS offers no legal advice and assumes no liability for the completeness and accuracy of the content of this article. If you have specific questions, please contact your legal advisor.

Support with BFSG implementation

Please note that due to the complexity and scope of the BFSG, this article can only outline the topic. Binding information on necessary changes in your personal case can be obtained from, for example, specialised lawyers, professional associations, and similar organisations.

What is the BFSG and what does it regulate?

The German Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG) is the German implementation of the European Directive (EU) 2019/882, known as the European Accessibility Act (EAA). The aim is to create a uniform minimum standard for accessibility in the EU internal market and to remove digital barriers. The practical implementation obligation for affected products and services became binding on June 28, 2025. It requires that products and services can be found, accessed, and used by people with disabilities in the generally accepted manner, without particular difficulty and, in principle, without assistance.

Who is affected by the BFSG?

The BFSG applies to manufacturers, distributors and importers of certain products and to providers of services intended for German consumers. The areas affected include, among others:

  • eCommerce: Online shops and websites offering eCommerce services (including appointment booking tools).
  • Hardware: Self-service terminals (e.g. ATMs, ticket machines), smartphones, routers, and ebook readers.
  • Software & services: Banking apps, digital booking systems, ebooks, and telecoms services.
  • Exception for micro-enterprises: Micro-enterprises (fewer than 10 employees and a maximum annual turnover or balance sheet total of €2 million) are exempt from the obligation if they only provide services. However, as soon as they manufacture or sell products (hardware) or operate eCommerce, they no longer fall under the services-only exemption, and the law may also apply to them.

What requirements must be met?

The specific technical requirements are based on the harmonised European standard EN 301549, which in turn refers to the international Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

In order to be BFSG-compliant, digital offerings must generally fulfil WCAG 2.1 at conformance level AA (experts already advise orientation towards the newer version WCAG 2.2). The four basic principles of accessibility are:

  • Perceivability: Content must be available to all senses (e.g. alt text for images, subtitles for videos, sufficient contrast).

  • Usability: Navigation must be possible entirely via the keyboard; users must have sufficient time for input.

  • Comprehensibility: Content must be clearly structured, use simple language and offer help texts in the event of errors.

  • Robustness: The code (HTML) must be semantically correct so that it can be processed by assistance technologies such as screen readers.

Ensure accessibility on an IONOS WordPress site

WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS). In order to make a WordPress site BFSG-compliant, various levels must be taken into account, as the WordPress core alone is not sufficient.

  • Choice of theme: Make sure you choose a theme that is labelled as "accessibility-ready". Recommended themes that offer a good technical basis (e.g. for keyboard navigation and semantic HTML) include the standard Twenty Twenty-Four theme, Neve or GeneratePress. Nevertheless, test the theme manually, as the label is based on self-assessment.
  • Plugins and page builders: Use page builders such as Bricks that generate clean code, and avoid builders that generate unnecessarily nested code, e.g. by using the HTML element "div". Accessible plugins such as Gravity Forms, which correctly support ARIA labels, are recommended for forms.
  • Editorial maintenance: Accessibility is an ongoing process. When creating content, make sure to store alternative texts for images, adhere correctly to hierarchies for headings (H1 to H6), and use comprehensible link texts instead of "click here".
  • Support tools: Use plugins such as WP Accessibility to retrofit functions such as skip links (to skip the navigation). However, avoid so-called "accessibility overlays", which only simulate accessibility but do not fix the code.

WordPress requires compliance with WCAG 2.2 (conformance level AA) for contributions to the WordPress ecosystem, so the code usually fulfils the requirements of the BFSG. Nevertheless, it is advisable to carefully carry out the tests described in the next section "How can I test my WordPress?".

How can I test my WordPress?

The following steps are recommended to check the current status of your website:

  • Automated tests: Use tools such as WAVE, Axe DevTools, or Google Lighthouse (integrated in Chrome) for an initial analysis of technical errors.
  • Manual tests: Combine tools with real user tests. For example, check whether your site can be operated completely without a mouse (only with the tab key).
  • Expert audits: For a legally compliant assessment, especially with regard to the BFSG, a professional audit, e.g. BIK BITV test, can be useful.

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