How the European Accessibility Act Affects Your Document Output

Traditional Document Creation Counteracts Accessibility

In many organisations, document creation is a manual process; employees reuse a document or text from a previous version, modify it, then save it locally and share it via, for example, email. This is not only an error-prone way of working, it also leads to anything but the efficient creation of digitally accessible documents. Even if employees have knowledge of the accessibility guidelines, it if often a hefty task to apply it to every document.

EAA: No Incidental Modifications but Structural Accessibility

The European legislation on accessibility applies to organisations providing services in E-commerce, audiovisual media, banking, electronic communications, e-books and elements of passenger transportation. The EAA calls for the structural application of digital accessibility. This also applies to all documents that an organisation offers digitally, regardless of who drafts the document. Because, for organisations that offer products or services that fall under the EAA, the digital documents that are part of this must also be accessible.

The guidelines for accessibility are complex, and for efficiency and standardisation it is therefore important to embed accessibility into the organisation in a smart way. When it comes to digitally accessible documents, the answer lies in document automation based on smart templates.

Document Templates as a Foundation for Accessibility

Interactive document creation based on document templates can guarantee digitally accessible documents. That claim might seem bold, but it is surprisingly achievable. By centrally managing settings, content and layouts, every employee automatically generates documents that meet accessibility guidelines. The document template is the foundation: one well-established starting point ensures accessible output. This way you achieve:

• Proper document structuring: headings, reading order, etc. are correctly defined so that screen readers display the document as intended
• Consistent output: Each document is based on the same, accessible blueprint
• Accessible elements: Alt-texts to images, proper color contrasts and readability – all preset
• Automatic updates: When accessibility requirements or internal policies change, all you have to do is update the template. The output follows automatically and is distributed centrally.

No matter what document the end user assembles, digital accessibility is guaranteed thanks to standardisation and centralisation of template management. Additional benefit? You can pretty much get rid of that post-creation accessibility scan. Audit your master template for accessibility, and all documents compiled from this template are WCAG compliant.

Is Your Current Document Solution EAA-proof?

Many organisations, especially within the public sector, already have document output functionality in place, for example within their case system or DMS. While this is a step toward standardisation, document generation is often limited and static. The focus is on technical integration, not accessibility. To meet the EAA standard, structured headings, logical reading order and crucial metadata are required. Accessible document creation thus requires more than merging variables. It requires content control over structure, semantics and output formats. This can only be done efficiently if accessibility is an integral part of the template design and thereby of the generated product.

From Compliance to Quality

The European Accessibility Act is more than a compliance obligation. It offers opportunities to professionalise document creation and to serve every recipient in your target group adequately. With interactive, digitally accessible templates you lay the foundation for structural, future-proof document creation. And that's not just an answer to the EAA, it's an answer to the broader call for digital accessibility. Our advice? Think of June 28 not as a deadline, but as a milestone for digital inclusion.