BFSG = Act on Strengthening Accessibility, effective from 28 June 2025

Hello everyone,

Perhaps you’ve already heard about the new The Act to Strengthen Accessibility (BFSG) heard that, starting from the 28.06.2025 is currently making the rounds in all the media. Many companies are unsure whether they need to take action or not. So, first of all, the most important question:

You are NOT affected in either of these cases:

Your company has fewer than 10 employees AND an annual turnover of less than €2 million.

Your website or online shop is aimed exclusively at business customers (B2B). (Recommendation in this case: include a clear statement, e.g. in the footer: "Our offers are aimed exclusively at businesses")

In all other cases, the following applies:
Yes, you are affected. Your website must be made accessible by 28 June 2025 at the latest. 

Accessibility means:

Your website, online shop or service must be designed in such a way that people with disabilities can use it just as easily as everyone else – without any particular difficulty and without needing help from others.

Traditional barriers include, for example:

- Audio content without a transcript (e.g. videos without subtitles)

- Poor contrast between text and background

- Cannot be operated entirely using the keyboard

The aim:

Unrestricted usability – regardless of the nature and severity of any impairment.

The BFSG applies to many digital services, for example:

- Websites and online shops aimed at consumers (B2C)

- Telephone services, messaging services

- E-books and other digital services

With just a few clicks, you can check your website’s accessibility yourself – it’s really easy to do using the free Lighthouse extension in the Chrome browser:

Here’s how:

1. Open Google Chrome and go to the Chrome Web Store.

2. Search for "Lighthouse" and install the "Lighthouse Report Viewer" extension from Google.

Direct link: Lighthouse Report Viewer – Chrome Web Store

Once installed, you will find the Lighthouse icon in the top right-hand corner, next to the address bar.

3. Go to your website and click on the Lighthouse icon.

4. Under "Categories", select at least the "Accessibility" option and click "Generate report" to start the report.

After a short while, you will receive a detailed assessment of how accessible your website is.

The higher the value (up to 100), the better!

Please note: Lighthouse identifies many issues – but not all of them. Additional tests are required for a truly comprehensive assessment. If you have any questions about the results or would like some help, please feel free to get in touch!

What Lighthouse cannot find or assess:

Lighthouse is a powerful tool for carrying out a quick accessibility check – but it is not all-knowing. The tool cannot detect the following:

Useful alternative texts: Lighthouse only checks whether there is any alternative text at all – not whether it is helpful.

Comprehensibility of content: Whether the text, links and instructions are genuinely clear and easy to follow is not assessed.

Complex interactions: The usability of forms, pop-ups or dynamic elements is not always fully recognised.

Use with genuine assistive devices: Only a human test can reveal how well screen readers, voice input or Braille displays work with your website.

Quality of subtitles and audio descriptions: The existence of something is recognised to some extent, but its quality is not assessed.

In summary: Lighthouse is great for getting started – but to achieve a 100 % accessibility rating, you’ll also need human testing and, where necessary, expert audits.

For most of my clients, the situation is as follows: either they are automatically exempt, or it is sufficient to include a clear B2B disclaimer.

If you offer B2C services and have more than 10 employees or a turnover of €2 million, you should have your website checked in good time.

From a technical perspective, I have been developing all my websites for many years using the WordPress theme "GeneratePress", which inherently provides the best technical foundations for an accessible and lightning-fast website. In some cases, the colour contrasts chosen may not meet accessibility requirements. The Lighthouse test would then flag this as an issue.

Not sure? I’d be happy to help and check whether any measures are needed for your website, and if so, which ones.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions or would like a quick BFSG check!

Warm regards

Claus Pescha