Digital accessibility: designing an accessible mobile app in 5 steps

Discover how to integrate accessibility at every stage of mobile app design to deliver an inclusive experience for all.

Digital Accessibility: What’s Changing as of June 28, 2025

The European Accessibility Act came into effect on June 28, 2025, marking a major milestone for digital divide across the European Union. This regulation introduces new digital access requirements for a range of products and services considered essential for people with disabilities.

Standards and Legal Requirements Governing Digital Accessibility

• European Accessibility Act (EU): In force since June 28, 2025, this law harmonizes accessibility requirements across EU member states.
• Law No. 2005-102, Article 47 (France): Requires public entities and certain private companies to make their digital services accessible.
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 508 (USA): Set accessibility standards for U.S. public digital services.
• Equality Act 2010 (United Kingdom): Protects against discrimination in the realm of digital access.

Which Sectors or Entities Are Subject to Digital Accessibility Legislation?

Digital applications related to services identified as essential for people with disabilities, such as transportation, banking or e-commerce, are now required to comply with new digital access standards.

The following entities are subject to these obligations if they develop or provide such mobile applications:

• Public legal entities
• Private companies performing public service missions or addressing matters of general interest
• Private companies with annual revenue exceeding €250 million in France.

What Are the Obligations and Deadlines?

Since June 28, 2025, all new products or services falling under these categories must comply with the accessibility requirements defined by the directive.

For products and services that existed before this date, a transitional period is in place: operators have until June 28, 2030 to bring them into compliance.

Even outside this regulatory scope, integrating accessibility into your mobile applications is a strategic decision: it can help you expand your audience by nearly 10% and demonstrate your commitment to digital divide and social responsibility.

5 steps to make a mobile app accessible

Making a mobile application accessible means ensuring a smooth and inclusive experience for all users, regardless of their needs. Here are 5 key steps to achieve this effectively.

1) Raise awareness and train the entire project team

Digital accessibility is not the responsibility of a single role, it involves every area of expertise within the team, from development and UX/UI to the Product Owner, QA,and even marketing. To make it a shared priority, two key actions are essential:

• Provide regular training on accessibility best practices for all stakeholders.
• Integrate accessibility at every stage of the project, including design reviews, code reviews, and functional specifications.
   

2) Integrate digital accessibility from the UX/UI design phase

Digital accessibility must be considered early on—starting with wireframes and mockups. During the design phase, several key principles help lay a strong foundation. For example:

• Ensure color contrast for readability, tools like Contrast Checker or Figma plugins can help with this.
• Design accessible interaction zones: buttons and clickable elements should be large enough and well spaced.
• Use clear and explicit labels for all input fields.
• Provide understandable, accessible error messages, even for users navigating with assistive technologies.
• Structure navigation intuitively, with a clear visual hierarchy.
• Offer multiple display modes (light/dark, portrait/landscape) to accommodate user preferences.
• Minimize the need for scrolling, especially for users with motor impairments.
   

3) Include digital accessibility in functional specifications

Accessibility must be an integral part of functional planning from the project scoping phase. This involves:

• Considering the needs of users with disabilities and translating them into concrete requirements.
• Specifying text alternatives for all visual elements (images, icons, charts, etc.).
• Planning a dedicated accessibility validation phase after development to ensure compliance with standards.
• Documenting targeted test scenarios, including use cases specific to different types of disabilities.
   

4) Build an inclusive design system with accessible components

A design system built with inclusion in mind helps ensure long-term accessibility in your mobile app. It enables you to structure and industrialize best practices:

• Develop native, accessible components: buttons, form fields, modals, tabs, etc.
• Ensure consistent reuse of these components throughout the entire application.
• Leverage analysis tools like Axe Accessibility Linter (especially for React Native) to automatically detect accessibility issues during development.
   

5) Test the accessibility of your mobile application

Accessibility testing is essential to ensure an inclusive mobile experience. It should combine technical tools with manual testing:

Manual testing with screen readers

• Activate VoiceOver on iOS or TalkBack on Android.

• Check that each element is properly vocalized, that information is read in the correct order and that navigation between screens is smooth.
• Ensure each screen has a clearly vocalized title, and that every interactive component has an explicit role (button, tab, input field, etc.).

Auditing Digital Accessibility: Useful Tools

Once best practices have been implemented, they must still be concretely validated. Several tools help test the compliance and quality of accessibility in a mobile app. Here are a few examples:

• Accessibility Inspector (macOS): This tool allows for precise auditing of each screen in the application. With it, you can:
  • Verify that each screen has a clear and relevant title.
  • Ensure every interactive component (button, tab, field, etc.) has a properly defined role.
  • Confirm that all interactive elements are screen-reader accessible and clearly labeled.

Example of an Accessibility Audit Using Accessibility Inspector

• Deque Axe for Mobile: An auditing tool for detecting common accessibility issues on mobile.
• BrowserStack: To test accessibility across different devices and configurations.

Conclusion

Digital accessibility is not a bonus, it has become an ethical, technical, and sometimes legal requirement. By integrating the right practices from the design phase onward, you avoid costly redesigns and move toward a truly inclusive experience for all.

Adopting digital accessibility means expanding your user base, strengthening your social responsibility and innovating sustainably.