The BFSG: what shops have to do now
Which parts of the purchase path the BFSG covers, where the most common violations sit, and in what order to work through them.
The German Accessibility Strengthening Act has applied since 28 June 2025. For online shops it means that the purchase path has to be operable by people with disabilities - from the search to the order confirmation.
The law implements the European Accessibility Act and covers services in electronic commerce. The testable benchmark is the harmonised standard EN 301 549, which points at WCAG 2.1 level AA. Whoever has not started yet should begin with what is already there - not with the relaunch.
Where the most common violations sit
In audits we see the same patterns: form fields with no label attached, error messages marked by colour alone, focus states removed in the theme, and controls that can only be reached with a mouse. None of these points is expensive to fix - but each of them blocks part of your customers.
- Labels
- Descriptions for every input field, in the basket and the checkout too.
- Error messages
- In text rather than colour alone, tied to the field they belong to.
- Focus
- A visible state and a logical order when operating by keyboard.
- Contrast
- Sufficient in text, buttons and status displays.
In what order to work through it
Start with the path that carries revenue: product detail page, basket, registration, payment. Content pages and the edges come afterwards. An audit sorts the findings by severity and by the templates they sit in, so the work stays plannable instead of ending in a list of 300 single messages.
Document the state you reach in an accessibility statement afterwards, including the known limitations and a feedback channel. That is not a marketing text but a self-declaration - and the first place an inspector looks.