Since June 28, 2025, the European Accessibility Act is live. Over the last three months we ran accessibility audits on six Italian e-commerces — four clients, two external. Seven issues appeared in all.
1. Focus rings removed "because ugly"
Six out of six had outline: none on buttons without an alternative. Result: keyboard users don't know where they are. Fix: custom design-consistent focus ring, always visible.
2. Target size below 24×24
Checkout buttons (X, +/- quantity, swap) are often 16-20 px. Mobile becomes a frustrating hit-area. WCAG 2.2 demands min 24×24 px, narrow exceptions.
3. Forms without real
Placeholders as labels are the original sin. Screen readers don't treat them as labels. Fix: explicit <label htmlFor="email">Email</label>, visible or visually-hidden.
4. Contrast failing on grey text
"Notes", "legal info", "free shipping" often sit at 3:1 instead of 4.5:1. Looks elegant, is inaccessible. Worse on mobile.
5. Icon-only buttons without aria-label
A cart icon, an account icon, a close modal: often lacking aria-label. Screen readers report "button button button". Fix: one line.
6. Form errors not linked to fields
A red message below the field is not enough. You need aria-describedby and aria-invalid. Without them, screen readers don't bind error to field.
7. Skipped heading hierarchy
Page with <h1> in the banner, then <h3> on products without an <h2> in between. Looks cosmetic, is broken reading order for screen readers.
Fix time
On a mid-size e-commerce (50-100 pages, design system), fixing these seven items takes 8-15 working days. Not nothing, but exactly AA level — not utopia. For sellers to EU consumers, mandatory since June 28, 2025.