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    • Accessibility / BFSG 2025

    BFSG for tradespeople: what craft businesses with a website need to know now

    Many tradesperson websites offer a contact or appointment enquiry form, reference image galleries and sometimes a simple quote or booking function. This guide shows the typical barriers on a craft business website, what the law means for tradespeople and how to check your site in a few minutes.

     Run the free instant check

    01 Background

    Why the BFSG can apply to your craft business website

    The Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG) has applied since 28 June 2025. It applies to consumer-facing online services (B2C), for example where your website lets private customers request appointments or quotes or book online. A pure B2B website or a simple informational business-card site without interactive services may fall outside its scope. The technical benchmark is WCAG 2.1 AA, via the European standard EN 301 549. This guide gives you an initial orientation and is not legal advice.

    02 Typical barriers

    Common barriers on a craft business website

    Many tradesperson websites fail on the same recurring issues, often around contact and appointment features. These are the barriers our instant check finds most often:

    Reference and gallery images without alt text, so screen readers cannot describe them. Contact and appointment enquiry forms without labels or clear error messages. Insufficient contrast on buttons and text, making them hard to read. Forms and image galleries not fully operable with the keyboard. Missing focus visibility, so keyboard users lose their place while filling in forms. Non-accessible date pickers for appointment requests that assistive technology cannot operate.

    03 What this means for you

    What this means for you

    These are general risk notes, not legal advice. They help you gauge what non-compliance can entail.

    Enforcement and risk

    Compliance is monitored by the market surveillance authorities of the federal states. Breaches can lead to complaints, orders and fines, and may also trigger competition-law warnings from competitors.

    Microenterprise exemption

    For services, microenterprises may be exempt: fewer than 10 employees and no more than 2 million euros in annual turnover or balance sheet total. Both criteria must be met. Many small craft businesses fall under this exemption. This is a rough pointer, not a legal assessment.

    Whether an exemption applies to your specific business should be assessed professionally.

    Not sure whether the BFSG applies to you? Read our guide on who is affected.

    04 Next steps

    Check your craft business website in three steps

    Run the free instant check

    Enter your craft business website and see in seconds where it meets WCAG 2.1 AA and where it falls short.

    Fix issues by priority

    Work through the findings in order of impact, starting with the barriers that affect the most visitors and the contact form.

    Publish an accessibility statement

    Provide an accessibility statement describing the state of accessibility and how visitors can report barriers.

         Start with the instant check

    Next step: read our guide on the accessibility statement and its mandatory content.

    Run an online shop? Read our dedicated guide on the BFSG for online shops.

    05 Frequently asked

    Questions about the BFSG for craft businesses

    Does the BFSG apply to my craft business website?

    It depends on your offering. If your website provides consumer-facing online services such as appointment or quote requests for private customers, it can fall within scope. A pure B2B website or a simple informational business-card site without interactive services may fall outside it. In addition, microenterprises may be exempt for services (fewer than 10 employees and no more than 2 million euros turnover or balance sheet total). Whether you are specifically affected should be assessed case by case.

    Is an accessibility overlay enough?

    No. Accessibility overlays do not solve the problem. They sit on top of your website and cannot reliably fix underlying barriers such as missing labels, poor contrast or keyboard traps in the contact form; in some cases they make things worse. Real accessibility has to be built into the site itself.

    How quickly can I check my website?

    The free instant check runs in seconds without sign-up and shows where your website meets the requirements and where it does not. It offers automated guidance and does not replace a manual audit.

    Keep reading

    Every guide stands on its own, and together they cover what our scanner looks at. Pick the one closest to your next question.

    Is your website affected? BFSG check Accessibility statement BFSG for online shops BFSG for medical practices BFSG for hotels HTTP security headers Privacy signals Content Security Policy HSTS Cookie security Clickjacking and X-Frame-Options Referrer-Policy Permissions-Policy SPF, DMARC and DNSSEC security.txt Monitoring security headers Detecting CSP changes Security headers in nginx Security headers in Apache Security headers in WordPress Security headers in IIS Security headers in TYPO3 Security headers in Shopware 6 Security headers in Plesk All guides

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    This guide provides orientation and does not replace legal advice.
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