Accessibility
WCAG 2.2 accessible EPUBs, by default.
Every EPUB Chiify ships is screen-reader compatible, semantically tagged, alt-text validated, and European Accessibility Act compliant — included on every plan, with no extra fees and no opt-in checkbox.
On 28 June 2025, the European Accessibility Act became enforceable across all 27 EU member states. From that date forward, every ebook sold into the EU has to meet specific accessibility standards.
For self-published authors, this changed the rules quietly. Most aggregators didn't notify their authors. Most self-publishing courses haven't been updated. And most existing indie EPUBs do not pass the automated conformance checks European retailers and library systems now run.
Chiify treats accessibility as infrastructure, not an extra. Every book runs through the same compliance pipeline our team built for institutional publishers — automatically.
The shift
What changed for indie publishing in 2025
The EAA implementing technical standard is EN 301 549, which inherits WCAG 2.1 Level AA — but most certifiers and retailers are already requiring elements from WCAG 2.2. Practically, ebooks now have to:
- Provide a meaningful alt-text description on every informational image.
- Use semantic markup for headings, lists, blockquotes, footnotes — not visual formatting that fakes it.
- Declare the language of the body and of any inline non-default-language phrases.
- Carry a navigable EPUB Navigation Document with all chapters and major sections.
- Use a reading order that matches the visual order (no reflow surprises).
- Avoid encoding-only emphasis (e.g. ALL CAPS where italic is meant).
- Embed page-break markers matching the print edition where one exists.
Each rule individually is small. Together they are the difference between a book a blind reader can read and a book a blind reader can't.
Our pipeline
What Chiify automatically does to your EPUB
The moment your EPUB lands in our system, it's run through a multi-stage validator built for institutional publishing clients.
1. Structural validation (EPUBCheck)
We run EPUBCheck 5. Our auto-heal fixes unambiguous errors and reports the ones that need a human.
2. Accessibility audit
We check alt attributes, descriptive link text, declared language, nav document completeness, heading hierarchy, and reading order.
3. Metadata enrichment
We add accessibilityFeature, accessibilityHazard, and accessibilityMode metadata fields European retailers use to surface accessible books.
4. ONIX accessibility flags
When we deliver via our library aggregator or IngramSpark, we set ONIX codes 94, 95, and 97 so retailers recognize the book as compliant.
Comparison
How most aggregators treat accessibility
Aggregators fall into three buckets:
- Pass-through services — your EPUB goes through unchanged. If it's broken, it's broken.
- Validation-only services — they run EPUBCheck and tell you what's wrong. Accessibility is on you.
- Auto-healing services like Chiify — we run the checks and apply unambiguous fixes automatically at no cost.
Most aggregators are in buckets 1 or 2 because auto-healing requires building a sophisticated EPUB-manipulation library. We built one and made it the default for every Chiify author.
Outcomes
What an accessible EPUB unlocks for you
- EU sales — eligible across all 27 EU markets including high-spending Nordics and Germany.
- Library sales — OverDrive, Hoopla, and Bibliotheca give accessible books preferred placement.
- School and university adoption — academic libraries must prefer accessible materials when available.
- Disability community readership — roughly 285 million people worldwide with significant visual impairments use screen readers.
- Future-proofing — the UK, Canada, Australia, and US states have accessibility laws in various stages of enforcement.
Frequently asked
What is the European Accessibility Act and why does it matter for my book?
The EAA, in force from 28 June 2025, requires every ebook sold to EU consumers to meet WCAG 2.1 (and increasingly 2.2) accessibility standards. Chiify automatically makes every EPUB compliant before delivery.
What does "WCAG 2.2 accessible" actually mean for an EPUB?
A screen reader can read your book end-to-end and announce headings, lists, images, and links correctly. Every image has alt-text. Language is tagged. The table of contents is navigable. Footnotes and references are linked.
Do I have to do anything to my manuscript?
Almost nothing. Properly-styled headings, paragraphs, lists, and meaningful image filenames are enough. Missing alt-text gets flagged during review.
Does accessibility add cost to my plan?
No. WCAG 2.2 compliance is included on every Chiify plan — Free, Pro, Lifetime, and Enterprise.
How does Chiify's accessibility compare to other aggregators?
Most US-based aggregators treat accessibility as the author's problem. Chiify's auto-heal pipeline reviews every EPUB against the same rules EU retailers check and fixes them before delivery.
Can you certify the book as WCAG 2.2 AAA conformant?
We certify automated WCAG 2.2 Level AA conformance (what EAA requires). True Level AAA involves manual evaluation we can arrange for Enterprise clients.
Stay sellable in Europe.
Sign up free, upload your EPUB, and we'll handle the accessibility audit and fixes before your book reaches a single retailer.