Less than 6% of websites in Belgium are not accessible to those with disabilities, according to The Digital Trust Index report, showing that European countries are not prepared to meet the criteria of the 2025 Accessibility Act.
Over 260,000 European websites were analysed for the study, of which 7,408 were Belgian. The study, carried out by the Belgian digital advisory company Craftzing, tested whether each page met the accessibility requirements based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
All 18 evaluated countries scored poorly: 94% of the websites failed at least one test, while one in four failed more than three tests. Belgium ranked seventh.
The most common issues involved insufficient colour contrast and a lack of descriptive text for buttons, links and images. Despite the significant frequency of these issues, most are relatively easy to fix by those with knowledge of accessibility requirements.
Craftzing believes that accessibility is an "afterthought" for many companies. "You shouldn't just consider accessibility, you should start with it," the digital advisory company stressed. The firm further stated that companies which do not make their digital services accessible should be fined.
From June 2025, companies must provide equal access to essential digital products under the European Accessibility Act. The directive, adopted by the EU in 2019, focused on improving access to products and services, benefiting businesses as well as elderly people and those with disabilities. Craftzing's report reveals that many European countries are still falling far behind the accessibility requirements.
Over 100 million people over the age of 16 in the EU have some form of disability, according to 2022 figures from the EU's statistical office Eurostat. In Belgium, around 25.6% of the population has a disability, according to the same dataset.
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The Digital Trust Index is an annual research report carried out by Craftzing. The report measures the trustworthiness of digital platforms, focusing on a specific aspect of trust each quarter. This edition focused solely on accessibility.
The study was carried out using an automated tool; such tools are only capable of testing about one third of accessibility requirements. Craftzing evaluated webpages from Norway, Finland, Sweden, Austria, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Denmark, Slovakia, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Poland, Czechia, Romania and Hungary.
