European Accessibility Act (EAA) compliance for Squarespace sites
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) applies to any business selling products or services to EU consumers (e-commerce, banking, transport ticketing, e-books), including companies based outside the EU, and building on Squarespace does not exempt you. It has been enforced since June 28, 2025, and the technical benchmark is EN 301 549, which incorporates WCAG 2.1 AA for web content.
Squarespace templates are visually polished but frequently ship low-contrast text over background images, image blocks without enforced alt text, and navigation that collapses into hamburger menus with incomplete keyboard support.
What enforcement actually looks like
National market-surveillance authorities can order remediation, block services, and impose fines. The first private lawsuits were filed in France in late 2025, and in 2026 a French court ordered a major retailer to make its site and app accessible under a daily penalty.
Fixing accessibility on Squarespace
Template choice matters more than anything else on Squarespace. Test contrast and keyboard navigation before committing, and re-scan after Squarespace pushes template updates you don't control.
Why one-time fixes don't hold
Squarespace sites change constantly, theme updates, plugins/apps, and content edits can reintroduce violations at any time. A site that conformed last quarter can fail today without anyone touching code deliberately. Continuous scanning with a timestamped log is both the practical safeguard and the evidence trail that matters in enforcement.
Compliance checklist
- Scan your Squarespace homepage, a key content/product page, and your checkout or lead form
- Fix critical and serious violations in your theme/templates, not with an overlay widget
- Re-scan after every Squarespace theme, plugin, or app update
- Keep the dated scan history as compliance evidence
- Publish an accessibility statement with a contact route
Frequently asked questions
- Does the European Accessibility Act (EAA) apply to Squarespace sites?
- Yes. The law applies based on who you serve, not what you build with. It covers any business selling products or services to EU consumers (e-commerce, banking, transport ticketing, e-books), including companies based outside the EU. Squarespace gives you the building blocks, but conformance depends on your theme, plugins, and content.
- Is Squarespace accessible out of the box?
- Squarespace templates are visually polished but frequently ship low-contrast text over background images, image blocks without enforced alt text, and navigation that collapses into hamburger menus with incomplete keyboard support.
- What should I fix first on Squarespace?
- Template choice matters more than anything else on Squarespace. Test contrast and keyboard navigation before committing, and re-scan after Squarespace pushes template updates you don't control.