RGAA Digital Accessibility Guide for Businesses

An inaccessible website is a website that excludes people. In France, more than 12 million people live with a disability. Among them, a large portion use assistive technologies to navigate the web: screen readers, adapted keyboards, voice recognition software. If your site is not designed to accommodate them, you are shutting the door on a significant part of your potential audience, and exposing yourself to growing legal risks.

The RGAA, the General Framework for Improving Accessibility, is the French regulatory framework that defines digital accessibility requirements for public bodies and, increasingly, private companies. As part of a global WordPress security and compliance strategy, accessibility is not a side issue: it is a quality criterion that directly influences your SEO, your brand image, and your legal responsibility.

This guide gives you a clear, practical view of the RGAA requirements, their impact on your business, and the concrete steps for starting your compliance effort.

What is RGAA?

The RGAA is the French version of the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), the W3C's international recommendations for digital accessibility. It is structured around four major principles, grouped under the acronym POUR:

• Perceivable: information must be presented in a way that all users can perceive it, regardless of their sensory modality

• Operable: interface components and navigation must be usable by everyone, including through a keyboard alone

• Understandable: the content and operation of the interface must be understandable

• Robust: the content must be sufficiently robust to be reliably interpreted by current and future assistive technologies

The RGAA version 4.1, in force in 2026, lists 106 audit criteria across 13 themes: images, frames, colors, multimedia, tables, links, scripts, forms, navigation, browsing, etc.

Who is affected by RGAA in 2026?

The 2016 Digital Republic Act made RGAA mandatory for public sector bodies. The European web accessibility directive (EUAA) and its extension to private companies have gradually broadened the scope of the obligation.

In 2026, the following are affected:

• Public bodies: administrations, local authorities, public establishments (strict obligation)

• Private companies with more than 250 million euros in revenue: legal obligation with possible penalties

• All companies seeking to respond to public tenders: accessibility is often a disqualifying criterion

• Companies engaged in a CSR approach: digital accessibility is an ESG indicator increasingly scrutinized by investors and partners

Beyond legal obligations, accessibility is an ethical and commercial approach. An accessible website is a better website for everyone.

The SEO benefits of digital accessibility

Accessibility and SEO share a common DNA: both aim to make content more understandable, better structured, and easier to use. RGAA best practices mechanically improve your organic rankings.

Here are the direct connections between accessibility and SEO:

• Alternative text on images: required by RGAA, it allows screen readers to describe visuals. It is also read and indexed by Google bots, strengthening the topical relevance of your pages

• Semantic HTML structure: RGAA requires a correct heading hierarchy (H1, H2, H3). This is exactly what Google uses to understand the architecture of your content

• Subtitles on videos: required for deaf or hard-of-hearing users, they also generate text that can be indexed by search engines

• Loading time and performance: an accessible site favors clean, lightweight code, which is beneficial for Core Web Vitals

• Clear and consistent navigation: RGAA requires predictable menus and navigation, which reduces bounce rate and improves time spent on the site, two positive signals for Google

Priority RGAA criteria to implement

Faced with the 106 criteria of the framework, it is strategic to prioritize. Here are the high-impact areas, both for compliance and SEO:

Images and media

• Provide a relevant alt attribute on all informative images

• Leave the alt attribute empty (alt="") on purely decorative images

• Provide synchronized subtitles for all videos

Structure and navigation

• Use a logical, non-skipping heading hierarchy (a single H1 per page, H2s for major sections, H3s for subsections)

• Offer multiple ways to access each page (navigation menu, breadcrumb trail, internal search engine)

• Implement an "Skip to main content" link at the top of the page for keyboard users

Forms

• Associate each form field with an explicit label via the label attribute

• Clearly identify required fields

• Provide descriptive error messages and correction suggestions

Colors and contrasts

• Respect a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 between text and its background (AA level)

• Never use color alone as a means of conveying information

Keyboard and focus

• Ensure that all interactive elements are accessible and usable with keyboard only

• Maintain a visible focus indicator on all interactive elements

The accessibility statement: a legal obligation

Any organization subject to the RGAA must publish an accessibility statement on its site. This document, accessible from every page via a footer link, must mention:

• The level of compliance achieved (non-compliant, partially compliant, compliant)

• The criteria not met and any reasons for exemption

• The contact methods for reporting an accessibility issue

• The multi-year compliance plan

Failure to publish this statement exposes the concerned organizations to administrative penalties. For companies not legally required to do so, publishing it voluntarily is a strong signal of maturity and commitment.

Accessibility and WordPress: where to start?

WordPress offers an ecosystem favorable to accessibility, provided you make the right choices from the design stage.

Choose an accessible theme Favor themes labeled "Accessibility Ready" in the official WordPress directory, or premium themes whose accessibility is documented and audited.

Select compatible plugins A poorly coded plugin can introduce inaccessible components (modals without focus management, sliders not navigable by keyboard). Check the accessibility documentation for each plugin before installation.

Audit your site with the right tools

• WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool): browser extension for a quick visual audit

• Axe DevTools: technical audit tool integrated into Chrome DevTools

• WebAIM Contrast Checker: to check your contrast ratios

• NVDA or VoiceOver: screen readers to test the real user experience

Train editorial teams Accessibility is not limited to development. Every contributor to the site must know how to provide alternative text, structure headings, and choose compliant colors.

For further reading

Accessibility is part of a broader web quality approach. To complete your strategy:

• Review our WordPress Security Checklist 2026 to cover the full range of technical aspects of your site

• Understand why the importance of SSL for SEO goes beyond simple data protection, and how these two topics reinforce each other

• Discover how an automatic WordPress backup protects your site after each technical intervention, including during an RGAA compliance project

Conclusion

Digital accessibility is not an extra constraint imposed on web teams. It is an invitation to build digital experiences that are stronger, more inclusive, and more effective. In 2026, companies that integrate RGAA into their web strategy are not burdened by an obligation: they gain a real competitive edge in search visibility, compliance, and brand image.

FAQ

Does RGAA apply to my e-commerce or showcase site if I am an SME? If your revenue is below 250 million euros, you do not have a strict legal obligation under RGAA in 2026. However, if you respond to public tenders or want to display a credible CSR commitment, partial compliance is strongly recommended. It also mechanically improves your SEO and user experience.

How long does it take to make a WordPress site RGAA-compliant? It depends on the site's initial state and its level of complexity. A preliminary audit makes it possible to establish a realistic compliance plan. For a standard showcase site, a partial accessibility project (AA level on priority criteria) can be carried out in a few weeks by a specialized team.

Why use an agency for my RGAA compliance rather than an automatic plugin? Automatic accessibility plugins (overlays) are a false solution: they hide problems without fixing them in depth, and are regularly challenged by disability rights organizations. Real compliance requires a human audit, code-level corrections, and team training. That is exactly what 3DH Studio offers in its web optimization and redesign services.