BFSG Accessible Website
Check, prioritize and improve technical accessibility.
Since June 28, 2025, requirements under the German Accessibility Strengthening Act (Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz, BFSG) have applied to certain products and services, including e-commerce, booking, payment, banking and other consumer-facing online completion processes. We clarify the technical scope, check your website manually and fix the important parts: keyboard use, focus, semantics, forms, understandable errors and clear content. No legal opinion. No false certainty.
Web development since 1999, remote across Germany, based in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Why it matters
This is not just about obligations. It is about customers who otherwise cannot finish the journey.
Accessibility is not a niche topic. According to the German Federal Statistical Office, 7.9 million people in Germany had a severe disability at the end of 2023, 9.3 percent of the population. Many more live with reduced vision, unsteady hands, hearing issues or temporary limitations. In 2024, about 19.0 million people in Germany were 65 or older. If your shop, booking flow or form is hard to use, people leave before they buy.
The Market Surveillance Authority of the German States for the Accessibility of Products and Services monitors compliance with statutory BFSG requirements nationwide. The more immediate business risk is often simpler: abandoned purchases, support questions, complaints and unnecessary friction.
possible maximum fine for certain BFSG violations
technical target standard, not a certificate
effective date for covered products and services
Often BFSG-related
- Online shops and purchase flows
- Booking and appointment flows
- Online banking and account logins
- Apps with purchases or contracts
- Telecommunications and passenger transport services
Often not, or only partly, BFSG-related
- Pure information pages without a transaction
- B2B offers without consumer business
- Microenterprises for services: fewer than 10 employees and no more than EUR 2 million in annual turnover or balance sheet total. This exception does not apply to products in the same way.
Not sure whether your offer is BFSG-related? We give you a technical first assessment, free and without obligation. The legal question remains separate.
Sources: Destatis on severe disability and Destatis on people aged 65 and older.
Why us
Most providers cover code or language. We cover both.
Accessibility often fails twice: in the code and in the words. A form can be technically clean but still confusing. A checkout can be visually polished but impossible to use with a keyboard. Erik handles the technical side. Annemarie handles language, error messages, alternative texts and Easy Read content.
Technology
Jan-Erik Andersen
Builds and maintains websites and online shops with more than 25 years of web experience. He checks keyboard paths, focus, semantics, forms and screen-reader logic manually.
Language
Annemarie Andersen
Independent language-services expert with a QA background. She writes text, alternative text and error messages so that people can understand them. Easy Read and plain language are part of the service, not a button trick.
Clear language
Accessible also means understandable.
A website can pass many technical checks and still fail people because the text is too complex. The LEO 2018 study names 6.2 million adults in Germany with low literacy. A survey by the Society for the German Language (GfdS) and Allensbach found that 86 percent had at least occasional difficulty understanding letters from authorities, courts, lawyers or similar institutions. Clear language reduces support, improves completion rates and helps users understand what happens next.
“The assertion of warranty claims requires notification of the defect within the statutory period upon presentation of proof of purchase.”
“Your product is broken? Contact us and send your receipt. You can do this up to two years after buying it.”
What this gives you
- More people understand your offer and complete the process.
- Fewer support questions because instructions and conditions are clear.
- Better trust because users do not have to fight through technical language.
- Better machine readability for search engines and assistive systems.
Easy Read or plain language? They are different levels. Easy Read follows stricter rules and is aimed at people with learning difficulties, dementia or limited language skills. Plain language is more flexible and reaches a broad audience. We help you choose what fits your users.
The language links on this site therefore lead to real editorial versions: the German Easy Read version has its own page and structure, and this English version is not an automatic browser translation.
Important: this is editorial work, not automatic rewriting. Annemarie is responsible for the German Easy Read version as editorial work, not as AI or widget output.
If you use AI for drafts or support content, we review the output. AI can help, but it does not reliably follow Easy Read or accessibility requirements on its own.
Services
One clear package instead of three disconnected providers.
You get the check, implementation, content improvements and accessibility information together. The fixed implementation price comes before the first technical change.
BFSG-Startcheck
from 1,900 €
Manual review of technology and content with a prioritized report: what is critical, what can wait and what the implementation will cost.
Technical implementation
fixed price after check
We fix the agreed issues in code and content: WCAG-2.2-oriented, documented and without surprise invoices.
Texts & Easy Read
by scope
Clear content, alternative text, error messages, Easy Read and plain language. Editorially reviewed by a language expert, not produced as automatic widget output.
Accessibility information
fixed price
A careful statement describing the checked state, known limitations and a contact channel for feedback. No certification theater.
Monitoring
from 400 €/month
Ongoing care so updates and new content do not introduce avoidable barriers.
Training
on request
For teams that need to maintain accessible content themselves: alternative text, headings, forms, clear language and content structure.
Note Prices are before VAT and are estimates. The binding fixed price comes after the check.
Funding
Funding may lower the starting cost, but it is not automatic.
The consulting funding program for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) can be relevant for consulting parts. Depending on location, the funding rate can be 50 percent or, in the new German states including Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, up to 80 percent of eligible consulting costs. The German federal funding database states that the application must be submitted before the planned consulting work begins; BAFA states that consulting may begin only after the nonbinding information letter has been issued. We check eligibility and formal requirements before proposal and project start.
Example: BFSG-Startcheck in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, if eligible
- BFSG-Startcheck 1,900 €
- possible BAFA grant up to 1,520 €
- calculated out-of-pocket cost from 380 €
Honest Funding rates, caps and procedures can change. Funding is a possible route, not a promise.
References
Concrete work, not empty claims.
Accessibility is not new to us. Erik has built and maintained websites and WooCommerce shops for more than 25 years. Annemarie works on language where clarity matters: Easy Read, editing, proofing and understandable digital information.
“Jan-Erik and the skilled copywriter Annemarie set up this new format for us professionally and with accessibility in mind. Great teamwork, reliable and committed.”Karin Chierchia, Seniorpartner in School e. V. (translated from German)
“Professional web design that keeps surprising me. My ideas are taken seriously and given the final polish by Mr. Andersen. That is how you stand out from the competition.”Corvin Jaedicke, ai-coustics (translated from German)
- Websites and WooCommerce shops built and maintained for more than 25 years.
- Digital impact report for Seniorpartner in School e. V., implemented with accessible structures by Erik and text work by Annemarie.
- Annemarie: German Easy Read work for the German Future Prize, checked by the Easy Read office in Iserlohn.
- Annemarie: German plain-language and Easy Read work for public-sector information, including the funding guide of the German Federal Ministry of Finance. These are Annemarie's language references; Erik's part here is the web technology.
Process
From check to documented improvement.
- Short call, free. What does your website offer, and where does an online transaction happen? We check whether BFSG-related processes are visible and which technical review makes sense.
- The check. We manually review technology and content and deliver a prioritized report: what is critical and what can wait.
- Implementation at a fixed price. We fix the agreed points in code and text. Your site stays online; we work with backups and coordination.
- Statement and documentation. You receive accessibility information or a voluntary statement and a record of what was checked and changed.
- Monitoring if needed. We keep checking new content and technical changes so no avoidable barriers are introduced.
Plain talk
Three things we do not claim.
No 100 percent certification.
Accessibility is not a badge you buy. We build and check WCAG-2.2-AA-oriented improvements manually. What remains open is documented instead of hidden.
No fear-based sales.
Some providers sell panic and overclaim what the law says. We separate evidence-based technical accessibility work from legal assessment and tell you clearly where legal review is needed.
No overlay as a shortcut.
An accessibility overlay can add individual convenience functions, such as larger text, contrast modes or text-to-speech. It does not automatically make a website accessible.
It can even add another barrier: people first have to find an unfamiliar icon, understand a separate menu and choose the right setting before they can use the actual website. Accessibility should not depend on visitors guessing how to operate an extra tool.
Technically, it can also create new problems: conflicts with screen readers, keyboard use, focus handling, ARIA structures or personal browser and operating-system settings. The website itself has to work: structure, keyboard use, focus, forms, error messages, content, contrast and checkout. An overlay can only be an addition. It does not replace a technical review or fixes in the code.
This website is also a proof point: keyboard use, focus, contrast, dark mode, text-size options, reduced motion, language versions and an honest accessibility statement in German.
FAQ
Questions clients ask first.
If consumers can buy, book, pay, log in or complete a contract-related process on your website, BFSG relevance is more likely. Pure information pages usually have a lower risk. The legal question must be clarified separately.
For services, microenterprises can be exempt if they have fewer than 10 employees and no more than EUR 2 million in annual turnover or balance sheet total. Both conditions must apply. The exception does not cover products in the same way.
The legal framework is the German Accessibility Strengthening Act (Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz, BFSG) and the Ordinance to that Act (Verordnung zum Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz, BFSGV). EN 301 549 and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are technical reference points. We work toward WCAG 2.2 AA because WCAG 2.2 adds newer success criteria. This is a target standard, not a certificate.
Not as a blanket BFSG requirement for business websites. German public-sector websites have separate requirements under the Accessible Information Technology Ordinance (BITV 2.0). Clear content, alternative text and understandable errors are still part of accessible communication. Easy Read can be useful, but it is a separate editorial service.
No. An overlay can provide individual add-ons, such as larger text, contrast views or text-to-speech. It does not reliably fix the real barriers of a website: missing form labels, broken heading structures, unclear buttons, poor focus order, menus that cannot be used with a keyboard, inaccessible PDFs or a checkout that does not work properly with assistive technology.
It can also create technical conflicts with screen readers, keyboard use, focus order, ARIA information, browser zoom, contrast settings or text-size settings in the operating system. And it adds extra operating effort. People who need support then have to find an unfamiliar icon, understand a separate menu and choose the right setting. That is not self-explanatory. Real accessibility has to be built into the website itself.
The BFSG-Startcheck starts at about EUR 1,900 before VAT. Funding may reduce the out-of-pocket cost if the program, application and formal requirements fit. One possible route is the consulting funding program for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA). We check this before proposal and project start.
It describes the checked state, known limitations and a contact channel for accessibility feedback. It must not promise more than the website actually delivers.
Sources
The main technical and legal sources are linked directly.
These sources support the factual claims on this page. They do not replace legal advice for a specific case.
- German Accessibility Portal: overview of the German Accessibility Strengthening Act (Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz, BFSG) and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) page on the BFSG.
- Section 2 BFSG, Section 3 BFSG and Section 37 BFSG for definitions, exemptions and fines.
- Market Surveillance Authority of the German States for the Accessibility of Products and Services (MLBF) for nationwide market surveillance under the BFSG.
- W3C overview of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and WCAG 2.2 as technical references.
- German Federal Accessibility Agency on e-commerce and BFSG, BFIT-Bund on overlay tools, German Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted on false overlay promises and the EDF/IAAP joint statement on accessibility overlays.
- Section 4 of the Accessible Information Technology Ordinance (BITV 2.0) on Easy Read for German public-sector websites and the German Institute for Standardization (DIN) on German plain language.
- Destatis on severe disability, Destatis on people aged 65 and older, the LEO 2018 study and the Society for the German Language (GfdS) on legal and administrative language.
- Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) business consulting funding and the German federal funding database.
Contact
Get a first technical assessment.
Tell us briefly what your website does and where the relevant page is. You receive an honest first technical assessment: whether BFSG-related processes are visible and what the next step should be. Direct email: mail@andersen-webworks.de.