Is an accessible relaunch a legal requirement?

For many companies, yes. The German Accessibility Strengthening Act has applied since 28 June 2025 and mainly affects consumer-facing offerings such as online shops or booking systems (Bundesregierung, 2025). Violations can be fined up to 100,000 euros. Pure B2B offerings and micro-enterprises can be exempt.

Is an accessibility plugin or overlay enough instead of a relaunch?

No. No overlay tool can make a website fully compliant or remove the legal risk (Overlay Fact Sheet, 2024). Real accessibility lives in the code and structure of the site. A relaunch fixes the causes; an overlay only covers them up.

Will I lose my Google rankings in the relaunch?

Only without a clean migration concept. Without redirects and transferred metadata, up to 10 to 20 percent of organic traffic can be lost (Morningscore/BrightEdge, 2026). With good planning the ranking is preserved , accessible pages even tend to attract more traffic (Semrush, 2025).

Accessible Website Relaunch Step by Step | Accessible Website Relaunch Step by Step

Q: How long does an accessible relaunch take?

That depends on the scope. A manageable company website can be done in a few weeks to a few months, depending on the number of pages. The additional effort for accessibility is lowest when it is planned in from the start, rather than retrofitted after launch.

Key Takeaways

The relaunch is the cheapest moment for accessibility: Building it in from the start avoids costly retrofitting , and accessible sites attract on average 23 percent more organic traffic (Semrush).
The starting point is poor, the potential large: 95.9 percent of all homepages have detectable WCAG errors, an average of 56 per page (WebAIM Million).
The BFSG has applied since 28 June 2025: Violations can be fined up to 100,000 euros (Bundesregierung).
Shortcuts do not work: No overlay or plugin tool makes a website truly compliant , real accessibility lives in the code and structure (Overlay Fact Sheet).

Sooner or later, every website faces a relaunch. The design looks dated, the technology slows things down, and content has grown over the years. This moment is the best opportunity to make your website not just nicer, but also accessible , for all users and in line with the law.

The need is huge: 95.9 percent of all homepages tested worldwide have automatically detectable WCAG errors, 56 on average per page (WebAIM Million). A relaunch clears out this legacy instead of carrying it into the next decade. This guide shows you how to plan the rebuild step by step , from the initial audit to a go-live without ranking losses.

What is an accessible relaunch , and who is required to do it?

An accessible relaunch is the fundamental rebuild of an existing website with the goal of making it usable for everyone , including users with visual, hearing, motor or cognitive impairments. The benchmark is the international WCAG standard, in Germany usually at level AA. In Germany alone, around 7.9 million people live with a severe disability (Destatis).

When does the legal obligation apply?

For many companies, accessibility has recently become mandatory. The German Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG) has applied since 28 June 2025 and mainly affects products and services aimed at consumers , such as online shops, booking systems or banking (Bundesregierung). Pure B2B offerings and micro-enterprises can be exempt. It is best to clarify whether the obligation applies to you in advance, because it determines the scope of the relaunch. For a concise overview, see our article on whether the BFSG applies to you.

Why it is worth it even without an obligation

Even where there is no obligation, the rebuild pays off. Worldwide, about one in six people lives with a significant disability , around 1.3 billion people (WHO). Every barrier you remove opens your website to more potential customers. For what accessibility on the web actually involves, see our guide on what web accessibility means.

Why the relaunch is the cheapest moment for accessibility

Because you are rebuilding everything anyway. Adding accessibility to a finished site later is expensive and tedious , during a relaunch, by contrast, it comes almost for free if you plan for it from the start. Anyone who has ever built software knows the logic: a defect found only after launch costs many times what fixing it during the concept phase would have (Black Duck).

Pay once instead of twice

Applied to accessibility, that means: anyone who retrofits contrast, keyboard operation and clean code only after go-live pays twice , once for the relaunch and once for the correction. Build it into the concept and you pay only once. That is exactly why the relaunch is the economically best moment.

The business benefit comes on top

On top of that comes a direct business benefit. An analysis of 10,000 websites shows that accessible pages attract on average 23 percent more organic traffic and rank for 27 percent more keywords (Semrush). Clean, semantic code helps screen readers and search engines alike. Our article explores how accessibility also improves your ranking. A relaunch is therefore not a pure cost item, but an investment in the future.

Planning a relaunch? Build accessibility in.

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Seven steps to an accessible relaunch

An accessible relaunch follows a clear order: first understand what exists, then define what it should become, and finally build and test it cleanly. These seven steps lead reliably to the goal. They build on one another , skip one and you will pay more to catch up later.

Step 1 , Take stock of the current site: Before you rebuild, you need to know where the problems lie. An accessibility audit reveals which pages violate WCAG criteria. That matters more than many think: worldwide, the average homepage contains 56 detectable errors (WebAIM Million).
Step 2 , Define goals and scope: Set the target level , usually WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 at level AA , and clarify whether the BFSG obliges you. For what the individual criteria mean, see our overview of the WCAG requirements in detail.
Step 3 , Tidy up content and structure: A relaunch is the chance to shorten texts, write them clearly and build a logical outline with clear headings. Every image gets meaningful alternative text, every link a descriptive label.
Step 4 , Design for accessibility: Much is decided in the draft: sufficient colour contrast, clearly visible focus markers for keyboard operation, large click areas and a font that can be enlarged without breaking the layout.
Step 5 , Implement it cleanly: The foundation is semantic HTML: areas such as navigation, main content and footer are clearly labelled, instead of packing everything into meaningless containers. Forms get clear labels, interactive elements stay operable by keyboard.
Step 6 , Test thoroughly: Automated tools find many errors, but far from all. Add manual tests: operate the site by keyboard alone, go through it with a screen reader and , ideally , involve real people with disabilities.
Step 7 , Migration and go-live without SEO losses: Without a clean concept, rankings are quickly lost during the move , estimates run up to 10 to 20 percent of organic traffic (Morningscore). So set up redirects for all old addresses, transfer the metadata and publish an accessibility statement , this completes the SEO relaunch.

Which mistakes should you avoid in an accessible relaunch?

The most expensive mistakes arise when accessibility is treated as an afterthought repair rather than part of the concept. Three pitfalls come up again and again , and all three are easy to avoid.

The overlay shortcut: So-called overlay tools promise to make a website accessible with a single line of code. It does not work: no overlay product on the market can make a website fully compliant or remove the legal risk (Overlay Fact Sheet).
Accessibility as the last item: Tackle it only just before go-live and you will bolt it onto finished templates , error-prone and expensive. It belongs in step one, not step seven.
Stopping after launch: Accessibility is not a state but a process. Every new blog post and every new image can create new barriers. Plan fixed routines so the site stays accessible.

How long does an accessible relaunch take and what does it cost?

That depends on the scope, but a rough orientation helps. A manageable company website can be done in a few weeks to a few months, depending on the number of pages and complexity. The additional effort for accessibility is lowest when it is part of the project from the start , especially when working with an experienced website relaunch agency from the outset.

The cost lever lies in the order

If accessibility is planned in from the outset, it emerges as part of normal development. If it is retrofitted, correction loops are added that strain the budget , the same logic as fixing defects after launch (Black Duck). For a detailed breakdown of what the rebuild costs, see our cost guide.

What we see in practice

With many ready-made theme systems, bloated code emerges that hampers accessibility and later maintenance. In our projects we rely on Next.js and a headless CMS , we prefer Sanity , and control the HTML of every page ourselves. This lets us set up structure, headings and image descriptions correctly from the ground up, instead of surgically removing them from a finished template afterwards.

Case in practice: website relaunch with an accessible headless CMS

A medium-sized B2B company engaged Evelan as their website relaunch agency for a complete rebuild. The starting point: a WordPress installation with a ready-made theme, numerous WCAG errors and a system unable to enforce accessibility.

For the SEO relaunch, we secured all existing rankings with comprehensive 301 redirects. The new headless CMS (Sanity) replaced the old system , with mandatory alt-text fields, a fixed heading hierarchy and content management the team operates themselves.

The accessible website passed the automated WCAG audit on the core pages without any issues. The editorial team now maintains content independently , no developer involvement needed for standard tasks.

Conclusion: Use the relaunch as an opportunity

A relaunch is effort , but that is exactly why it is the best opportunity for accessibility. If you are overhauling design, content and technology anyway, it costs the least to get it right from the start. The seven steps , audit, goals, content, design, technology, testing and go-live , give you a reliable framework.

The reward is twofold: a website everyone can use, and a presence that is legally secure and more visible in search engines. Plan the relaunch right now and you will not have to touch it again in a few years. For a complete overview, see our guide on what web accessibility means.

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Frequently Asked Questions

An accessible relaunch is the fundamental rebuild of an existing website with the goal of making it usable for everyone. The benchmark is the WCAG standard, usually at level AA. Because a relaunch overhauls everything anyway, accessibility can be implemented especially economically, rather than retrofitting it later at great expense.

Accessible Website Relaunch Step by Step

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