The essentials
- The connection: Google reads a page the way a screen reader does; the accessibility criteria (alt text, a heading hierarchy, explicit links, semantic HTML) are also comprehension criteria for the engine.
- RGAA: France's general accessibility framework, version 4.1, 106 criteria, mandatory for the public sector and for companies with revenue above €250M; the European Accessibility Act (June 2025) extends the obligation to e-commerce and digital services.
- Measurable benefits: image indexing, rich snippets, a better mobile experience, less bouncing.
- Tools: Lighthouse, axe, WAVE, and continuous tracking in your dashboard.
Web accessibility aims to make a site usable by everyone, including people with disabilities (sight, hearing, motor, cognitive) who use screen readers, keyboard navigation or display settings. In France, the framework is the RGAA (the general accessibility improvement framework). The connection with SEO is direct: Googlebot doesn't see the page, it reads it, like a screen reader. This article sets out the shared criteria, the legal obligations and the audit method.
Why accessibility and SEO overlap
| Accessibility criterion | Effect for the user | SEO effect |
|---|---|---|
| Alt text on images | The screen reader describes the image | Google understands and indexes the image; see image indexing |
| A heading hierarchy (one H1, then H2, then H3) | Navigation by heading | A structure Google reads, better snippets, a table of contents in the results |
| Explicit links ("see the SEO programme" rather than "click here") | Understandable out of context | Descriptive anchors, better relevance; see internal linking |
| Semantic HTML (nav, main, article, tables with headers) | Landmarks for assistive technology | Reliable content extraction, tables readable for snippets |
| Captions and transcripts for video | Access for deaf people | Indexable text content |
| Contrast and text size | Legibility | Less bouncing, experience signals |
| Keyboard navigation, tab order | Usable without a mouse | Crawlable forms and menus, no content trapped in JavaScript |
A declared language (lang="fr") | Correct pronunciation | Language targeting |
| No content only as an image or in an untagged PDF | Access to the text | Indexable content |
| Unique, descriptive page titles | Identifying tabs | The title tag, the leading on-page factor |
The legal obligations in 2026
- RGAA 4.1: the French transposition of WCAG 2.1 level AA, 106 criteria. Mandatory for public services, companies with revenue above €250 million and public-interest bodies, with a published accessibility statement and a multi-year plan. Penalty: up to €50,000 per non-compliant service, renewable.
- The European Accessibility Act (directive 2019/882), applicable since 28 June 2025: extends the obligation to digital products and services sold to consumers: e-commerce, online banking, transport, telecoms, e-books, whatever the revenue, except micro-enterprises (fewer than 10 employees and €2M revenue). Existing sites have compliance deadlines, up to 2030 for some contracts.
- Small business brochure sites: no direct obligation outside e-commerce, but a growing expectation from customers, tenders and public-sector buyers.
The accessibility statement, where mandatory, gives the compliance rate (criteria met / applicable criteria), the non-accessible content and a means of contact. A site counts as compliant from 100%, partially compliant from 50%.
The ten priority checks
- Every image carrying information has a descriptive
altattribute; decorative images havealt="". - One H1 per page, with H2s and H3s in order and no skipped levels.
- Links have wording that is understandable out of context; identical links lead to the same target.
- Text/background contrast reaches 4.5:1 (3:1 for large text); checkable with Lighthouse or a contrast checker.
- Everything is usable by keyboard (Tab, Enter, Esc), with a visible focus; dropdown menus and modals close.
- Forms have labels (
label) associated with each field, and explicit error messages. - Videos have captions; podcasts have a transcript.
- The page has a unique
title, alangattribute, and landmarks (header,nav,main,footer). - Zooming to 200% doesn't break the layout; text isn't an image.
- Nothing flashes, and no media starts on its own with sound.
Auditing and tracking
| Tool | What it covers | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Lighthouse (Chrome, PageSpeed Insights) | An accessibility score, contrast, alt, labels, ARIA | Automated: detects 30 to 40% of the criteria |
| axe DevTools, WAVE | Detailed per-page analysis, errors and warnings | Page by page |
| A crawler (Screaming Frog) | Missing alt text, multiple headings, language, across the whole site | No visual assessment |
| Manual testing with keyboard and screen reader (NVDA, VoiceOver) | What the tools can't see: order, meaning, traps | Time |
| An RGAA audit by an expert | The 106 criteria, an official statement | €1,500 to €6,000 depending on size |
| Continuous tracking in a dashboard | A per-page score over time, regressions after updates | Automated, to be completed by an annual manual test |
Automated tools cover only part of the criteria; they are enough to fix the essentials (alt, contrast, structure, labels) and to watch for regressions. The RGAA statement requires a human audit. Accessibility fixes sit naturally within the full SEO audit and within work on Core Web Vitals, since they share the same templates.
How GreenRed helps
Rather than juggling several tools, GreenRed's web accessibility tracking brings these metrics together in a single dashboard, compares them over time and tells you which actions come first. You can try it free, with no card, from the Pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Does an accessible site rank better on Google?
Not directly: accessibility isn't a named ranking factor. But its criteria (alt text, heading structure, explicit links, semantic HTML, mobile legibility) are the ones that help Google understand the page, and they reduce bounce rate. An accessible site therefore stacks up the on-page SEO best practices.
Does my small business site have to comply with the RGAA?
The RGAA applies to public services and companies with revenue above €250M. Since June 2025, the European Accessibility Act has required accessibility of e-commerce and digital services sold to consumers, except micro-enterprises. A small business brochure site has no direct obligation, but public tenders and large accounts increasingly require it.
What is the difference between WCAG and RGAA?
The WCAG are the W3C's international standard (levels A, AA, AAA). The RGAA is the French method for verifying WCAG 2.1 level AA, with 106 criteria and precise tests. Being RGAA-compliant amounts to being WCAG AA-compliant, with an audit method recognised by the French administration.
How much does making a site accessible cost?
For a small business brochure site, the common fixes (alt, contrast, structure, forms, keyboard) come to 2 to 5 days of development, or €1,500 to €4,000. A full RGAA audit with a statement costs €1,500 to €6,000 depending on the number of pages and templates. Automated monthly tracking prevents regressions at each update.