Digital Accessibility for the Braunschweig Business Region

The German Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG) transposes EU Directive 2019/882 into German law and has been binding since June 28, 2025. It covers products and services in electronic commerce: online shops, booking portals, payment services and digital services directed at consumers. The technical requirements are based on EN 301 549, which in turn builds on WCAG 2.1. We recommend implementation to WCAG 2.2 AA, the current standard that also addresses future revisions.

For Braunschweig businesses specifically, this means: every online shop, booking portal and electronic services platform must be accessibly designed. This covers not just the purchase process but also product search, account creation, checkout and payment processing. Violations can be penalized by market surveillance authorities. Beyond compliance, there is a solid business case: approximately 7.8 million severely disabled people live in Germany (Federal Statistical Office, 2024). Accessibility opens up this target group while simultaneously improving the user experience for everyone.

The Braunschweig economic region is defined by technology-intensive businesses: automotive suppliers with complex product catalogs, mechanical-engineering firms with technical documentation portals, TU Braunschweig spin-offs with software-as-a-service offerings and internationally oriented mid-market companies with multilingual career portals. These businesses often operate particularly demanding web applications where accessibility goes far beyond simple contrast checks.

Interactive configurators, multi-step forms, dynamically loaded content and complex navigation structures place high demands on WCAG conformance. This is exactly where our strength lies: we test not just static pages but web applications with real assistive technologies, simulate usage scenarios and identify barriers that automated tools miss. In our development projects, we have built up experience with the technology stacks that Braunschweig businesses rely on.

In our work with businesses across Lower Saxony, we encounter recurring accessibility barriers. With Braunschweig businesses, technically demanding interactions that are not usable by keyboard users or screen reader users come up particularly often. On top of these come the classic barriers: missing alt texts on product images, insufficient color contrast in corporate design systems, inaccessible modal dialogs and videos without captions. None of these barriers arose deliberately — they are the result of a development process in which accessibility was not previously an explicit requirement.

Braunschweig businesses compete with national and international providers. An accessible web presence is more than compliance: it is a quality signal that demonstrates corporate responsibility while simultaneously improving usability for all users. Approximately 7.8 million severely disabled people in Germany (Federal Statistical Office, 2024) represent significant purchasing power. Businesses that make their digital offerings accessible tap a market that competitors frequently still ignore.

Accessibility also pays off in measurable metrics: semantic HTML and correct document structure improve organic search rankings. Reducing form errors through correct labels lowers abandonment rates. Better keyboard navigation benefits power users who prefer not to rely on a mouse. Projects consistently show (own project experience) that accessible websites achieve lower bounce rates and longer dwell times than non-optimized counterparts.

Our office in Söhlde near Hildesheim is approximately 40 kilometers from Braunschweig. This proximity enables personal on-site appointments for kickoff meetings, audit presentations and training, complemented by the efficiency of remote collaboration for technical audits and remediation. For Braunschweig businesses seeking an accessibility partner with personal availability and regional understanding, we offer the combination of deep WCAG expertise and short distances.

Across 50+ accessibility projects (own project experience), we have gained experience with a wide variety of industries and technology stacks. Whether a Shopware shop, WordPress website, TYPO3 CMS, custom development or complex web application: we know the typical barriers of each platform and can intervene precisely without disrupting your operations. Our offering covers the full spectrum: from initial BFSG classification through the WCAG 2.2 audit and accessible new development to training and ongoing monitoring.

The Braunschweig economic region is diverse across industries. Automotive suppliers operate career portals and supplier platforms that frequently work with highly complex form processes. Mechanical-engineering companies provide technical documentation, manuals and spare-parts catalogs online, often as PDFs or interactive web catalogs. TU spin-offs offer software through browser-based interfaces. Retail and service businesses run online shops and booking portals. Each of these categories has specific accessibility requirements, and in each we know the typical weaknesses from practical experience.

For automotive companies in the Braunschweig area, the accessibility of career portals is particularly relevant: the BFSG also covers application portals through which job seekers conclude contracts. An inaccessible application form excludes qualified candidates with disabilities and can have legal consequences. For online retailers, the BFSG requirements cover the entire purchasing process. And for mechanical-engineering businesses that provide technical content to both commercial users and consumers, the questions of PDF accessibility and the compatibility of their configurators with assistive technologies arise.