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A study shows that 94 percent of Belgian websites are not sufficiently accessible for people with disabilities. 94 percent of Belgian websites do not meet the mandatory rules
A study shows that 94 percent of Belgian websites are not sufficiently accessible for people with disabilities.
94 percent of Belgian websites do not meet the mandatory rules on accessibility for people with disabilities, as the first-ever European “Digital Trust Index” shows. This affects, for example, visually impaired people, people who are color blind or people with hand disabilities. They have difficulty finding their way around the digital landscape that is not prepared for people with disabilities.
Belgian digital consultancy Craftzing tests the accessibility of more than 260,000 websites from eighteen European countries, including 7,408 popular Belgian websites. The results were included in the first European “Digital Trust Index” and are classified as “unacceptable” by the consultancy. On average, 94 percent of the 7,408 Belgian homepages checked failed.
Today’s digital society excludes a large part of the population with disabilities. Websites are not adequately prepared for visitors with disabilities. One of the most common problems is color contrast, which causes people with color blindness to have difficulty reading information (71%). In addition, descriptions for links (j63%), images (33%) and buttons (18%) are often missing.
“It is important that companies and governments are aware of this. The digital society should work for everyone,” says Roeland Tegenbos, CEO of Craftzing. In addition, the consultancy mentions that companies can even benefit from this: “Taking into account that 25 percent of people suffer from disabilities, companies can get 25 percent more customers and thus more revenue.”
Compared to seventeen other countries, Belgium doesn’t fare so badly, coming in seventh among the “least bad” performing countries, although Craftzing notes that an average of 94 percent is still not good.
From 28 June 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) will ensure that essential services and products of European companies and organisations meet a set of minimum criteria, making them accessible to all, regardless of any disabilities.
Source: IT Daily
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