Digital Accessibility in Göttingen: BFSG and WCAG 2.2 for Science and Business
Göttingen combines university research, medical technology and biotech – digital accessibility is a fundamental requirement here, not an add-on. We audit, remediate and document your website, portals and PDF documents to WCAG 2.2, with a WCAG 2.2 audit from €2,480 fixed price.
5 working days
to the audit report
100/100
Lighthouse accessibility (this page)
WCAG 2.2
conformance level AA
50+
accessible projects
Transparent fixed prices
- Report with prioritized measures within 5 working days
- Manual testing with NVDA, VoiceOver and keyboard only
- Solid basis for your accessibility statement
WCAG 2.2 audit (SMEs up to 30 pages). Quick start with the BFSG quick check from €490. Accessibility statement €390 fixed price, ongoing BFSG monitoring from €49 per month. All prices net.
As a university city and one of Germany's most significant medical and research centers, Göttingen stands for precision and responsibility. This mindset should also be reflected in digital presences. Whether biotech startup, university hospital, research institute or mid-market service provider: the German Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG) has required accessible digital products and services since June 28, 2025. We help Göttingen organizations implement these requirements reliably and efficiently – with structured audits from €2,480 fixed price and technical remediation directly in the code. You will find an overview of all building blocks and prices in our services.
BFSG mandatory since 28 June 2025
The BFSG and Its Relevance for Göttingen
The German Accessibility Strengthening Act transposes EU Directive 2019/882 into German law and applies to businesses offering products or services in electronic commerce to consumers. Göttingen as a research and university hub is affected in multiple ways: spin-offs from the University of Göttingen distributing software or platforms are covered by the BFSG, as are clinics with patient portals, publishers with online offerings and service providers of all types. The technical requirements follow European standard EN 301 549, which is based on WCAG 2.1. We recommend implementation to WCAG 2.2 AA as the future-proof standard.
Universities and publicly funded research institutions are additionally subject to the BITV 2.0, the German ordinance on barrier-free information technology. This sometimes sets more demanding requirements than the BFSG and applies to all federal authorities and public-law institutions. For Göttingen institutions serving both public and private audiences, we recommend a review against both frameworks. Approximately 7.8 million severely disabled people live in Germany (Source: Federal Statistical Office, 2024). They all use the internet and are all potential customers, patients, students or partners of Göttingen organizations.
Specifics of the Göttingen Digital Landscape
Göttingen is not a typical commercial location. The close integration of university, university hospital, Max Planck Institutes and the growing biotech scene creates a digital infrastructure that far exceeds a simple corporate website in complexity and user requirements. Clinical portals must be usable by patients of all ages and disability groups. Research platforms must be accessible to international users who may rely on screen readers or magnification software. Publication databases must provide PDF documents in accessible form. We know these specific requirements and address them through our PDF accessibility service and technical audits for complex web applications.
What We Deliver for Göttingen Businesses and Institutions
WCAG 2.2 Audit
Systematic testing of your website, portal or web application against all relevant WCAG 2.2 AA success criteria. Automated tests with Axe and Lighthouse, complemented by manual testing with NVDA, VoiceOver and pure keyboard navigation. Prioritized action report, fixed price from €2,480.
Technical Remediation
Fixing identified barriers directly in your system's source code. We work in WordPress, TYPO3, Shopware and custom web applications. ARIA attributes, semantic structuring, keyboard accessibility, focus management and accessible forms.
PDF Accessibility
Reviewing and correcting publications, brochures and documents to PDF/UA standard, from €4.90 per page plus a minimum flat fee. Particularly relevant for Göttingen research institutions and university publishers. Logical reading order, tags, alt texts and navigation aids.
Team Training
Hands-on workshops for editors, designers and developers. We come to you in Göttingen or conduct sessions remotely. Content is based on your own systems and documents, not abstract examples.
Accessibility Statement
Creating the legally required accessibility declaration per BFSG template for a fixed price of €390. For public institutions in Göttingen, additionally per BITV 2.0 Annex 1. Documentation of conformance status, known limitations and the feedback mechanism.
Ongoing Monitoring
Continuous accessibility monitoring during content changes and deployments, from €49 per month. Quarterly manual spot checks, automated scans and reporting. Particularly relevant for institutions with a high publication frequency.
From barrier finding to compliant solution
Most barriers on Göttingen websites are fixable with solid engineering. Using a typical contact form, we show what remediation looks like: missing labels, insufficient contrast and invisible focus rings are corrected in the source code until every WCAG 2.2 AA success criterion is met. A test finding becomes a demonstrably accessible interface.
- Programmatically linked labels instead of mere placeholders
- Contrast from 4.5:1 for text and 3:1 for controls
- Error messages with text and aria-describedby, clear focus ring
Common Barriers on Göttingen Websites
In our work with organizations across Lower Saxony, we encounter recurring barrier patterns that are also typical for Göttingen. In scientific and medical contexts in particular, certain issues stand out: complex data visualizations without text alternatives, inaccessible PDF documents with scientific figures, dynamic web applications without ARIA live regions and multilingual content without proper lang attributes. These problems are solvable – with the right knowledge and an eye for the specifics of each subject context.
Data and Visualizations
Research diagrams, statistics charts and data tables presented exclusively visually. Screen reader users receive no information about the content. Solution: text alternatives, table markup and ARIA descriptions for complex graphics.
PDF Documents
Scientific publications, course materials and teaching resources as untagged PDF scans. Without tags, reading order and alt texts, they are inaccessible to screen reader users. Even text PDFs often have incorrect reading order.
Multilingual Content
International research websites in German and English where the HTML lang attribute is missing or incorrect. Screen readers then read the text in the wrong language. Especially relevant for Göttingen research institutions with an international audience.
Dynamic Applications
Lab portals, booking systems and data management tools that load content asynchronously without notifying screen readers. Missing ARIA live regions mean status messages, errors and results remain invisible to screen readers.
Note for Universities and Research Institutions
Our Audit and Implementation Process for Göttingen
Initial Consultation and Classification
We discuss which framework applies to your organization (BFSG, BITV 2.0 or both) and define the audit scope. Not every subpage needs to be audited simultaneously. We prioritize by usage frequency, business relevance and legal risk.
Automated and Manual Audit
Automated scans with Axe and Lighthouse identify objective errors: missing alt texts, contrast failures, missing form labels. Subsequent manual testing with screen reader and keyboard navigation uncovers complex barriers in dynamic elements, form processes and documents.
Prioritized Action Plan
Every barrier is documented with severity (critical, serious, moderate, minor), the affected WCAG guideline and a concrete remediation proposal. You decide in which order and with which resource commitment the measures are implemented.
Technical Remediation
We fix barriers directly in your system's code. For complex web applications and portals, we work closely with your developers and either take over the implementation or advise your team on independent remediation.
Validation and Final Report
After remediation, we validate every change against WCAG criteria. You receive a final report with the achieved conformance status, suitable as the basis for the accessibility statement and as documentation toward authorities.
How accessible is your Göttingen web presence?
In a free initial consultation we classify what you need to do – BFSG, BITV 2.0 or both – and name a concrete fixed-price range from €2,480.
Accessibility for Science and Biotech
Göttingen is one of Germany's densest research locations. The Georg August University, the university hospital and numerous non-university research institutions form an ecosystem that attracts startups, spin-offs and service providers. Especially companies building digital products from this environment should treat accessibility as an integral part of development, not a retrospective compliance task. We support Göttingen startups and research companies in building accessible web applications from the outset.
Medical portals and patient information systems have specific accessibility requirements: their users may be older people with visual impairments, patients under medication with limited fine motor skills or people with cognitive limitations who need plain language and simple navigation. The Göttingen university hospital and surrounding clinics and practices offering online services are well advised to align their digital presence with these realities. Our screen reader testing service and easy language review from €119 per standard page are particularly helpful modules here.
Accessibility across southern Lower Saxony
From our office in Söhlde near Hildesheim we serve Göttingen and the surrounding cities – on site for kickoff, training and audit presentations, remote for the technical work.
Regional Presence and Personal Service
Our office in Söhlde near Hildesheim is approximately 70 kilometers from Göttingen, easily reachable via the A7 motorway. For Göttingen clients, we offer personal on-site appointments for kickoff meetings, training sessions and audit presentations. For scientific institutions that value personal collaboration and direct communication in particular, this option is an important quality feature. Technical work – audits, remediation and monitoring – is handled efficiently via remote collaboration, and we keep you transparently informed at every step. This combination of personal accessibility and digital efficiency has proven itself many times over in our work with clients across Lower Saxony.
Across 50+ accessibility projects (own project experience), we have built expertise across a wide range of technologies and industries. For Göttingen clients, this means no learning curve on your platform, no abstract audit document that leaves you alone, but a partner who understands your situation and proposes pragmatic solutions. It does not matter whether you run a small corporate website, a complex research portal or a medical web application. Get to know us in a free initial consultation and receive a first assessment of what needs to be done.
Accessibility as a Business Opportunity
Choosing accessibility is not just a compliance decision but also a business one. An accessible web presence improves user experience for all visitors, not just those with disabilities. Semantic HTML and correct document structure positively affect search engine rankings. Better form accessibility reduces drop-off rates in checkout or booking processes. Approximately 15 percent of the world's population live with some form of disability (Source: World Health Organization, 2023). For Göttingen businesses with an international client base, that is a substantial market potential.
Our service spectrum for Göttingen clients covers the entire accessibility lifecycle: from the initial BFSG classification through the WCAG 2.2 audit and technical remediation to the accessibility statement and ongoing monitoring. Each module can be commissioned individually or booked as a comprehensive package. Get in touch – we are happy to advise you.
Science, medicine and teaching material
Recorded lectures and explainer videos need captions and transcripts — what belongs to that is described in the article on captions and transcripts. For scripts, studies and publications the article on accessible PDFs is the entry point, complemented by the PDF accessibility service page. Where research results appear as charts, the article on accessible data visualisation helps. Testing follows the method described in the WCAG 2.2 audit, implementation runs through accessible web development; the legal background is under BFSG requirements, the sector view under accessibility by industry and further locations under regional accessibility.
The essentials for Göttingen at a glance
- BFSG mandatory since 28 June 2025 – violations can be penalized with up to €100,000 (BFSG §37)
- WCAG 2.2 audit from €2,480 fixed price (SMEs up to 30 pages), entry via the BFSG quick check from €490
- Testing to WCAG 2.2 AA and, for universities and clinics, additionally to BITV 2.0
- PDF/UA from €4.90 per page, easy language from €119 per standard page, ongoing monitoring from €49 per month
- On-site appointments in Göttingen (about 70 km via the A7), technical work handled efficiently remote