Best Practices for Creating Accessible Ebooks

By 2029, eBook readers will number around 1.2 billion worldwide. While this is exciting news for everyone in the publishing industry, this growth also comes alongside increasing pressure from legislation like the European Accessibility Act, which will require accessible eBooks from June 28, 2025. Yet surprisingly, less than 37.4% of publishers currently produce accessible eBooks, despite the deadline being less than a year away.

So, if you’re a publisher or creator, feeling unsure about how to make your eBooks accessible, you’re not alone. Many professionals worry about the technical aspects and potential legal consequences of non-compliance, and don’t even know where to start.

Well, this guide offers straightforward solutions to help you create eBooks that everyone can enjoy. We’ll cover all the accessibility features you need, testing tools that work, and exactly what’s required to meet compliance standards.

Let’s get into it!

Accessible eBooks are digital publications of all genres, designed so that everyone can use them, regardless of ability. 

For publishers, making eBooks accessible is just good practice – who wouldn’t want their books to be enjoyed by every single person? However, it also makes sense from a business standpoint:

Speaking of legislations and legal standards, the European Accessibility Act is one of the most impactful ones, and it’s designed to improve how accessible products and services are in the European market. When it takes full effect, people with disabilities and older people will have better access to more reasonably priced products and services.

From 28 June 2025, the EAA explicitly includes eBooks. This means all eBooks released after this date must meet specific accessibility requirements.

The best way for publishers to show they meet these requirements is to follow Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), aiming for Level AA compliance.

For eBooks specifically, the EAA requirements include:

Now, let’s explore the technical requirements and practical implementations that make eBooks work for everyone. Each guideline builds upon established accessibility standards while addressing eBook-specific challenges.

Choosing the right file format is your first step toward accessibility. EPUB is the most accessible option because it’s built on HTML, the same language that powers accessible websites, but it also comes with other advantages:

There are, of course, other formats, but they are a lot less flexible:

When might you need fixed-layout EPUBs? These are appropriate for highly visual content like children’s books, comics, or cookbooks, but remember, they sacrifice some accessibility benefits of reflowable text.

Proper HTML5 markup creates the foundation for accessible eBooks. When you use semantic elements correctly, screen readers can navigate your content meaningfully.

Essential HTML5 elements include:

Creating a logical reading order means organizing content so it makes sense when read linearly. This helps both screen reader users and those with cognitive disabilities.

For navigation, build an effective table of contents that:

The ability to adjust text appearance – a feature originally designed for accessibility – benefits all readers. Someone reading in bright sunlight, with tired eyes, or on a small screen will thank you.

Allow text to scale up by at least 200% without losing content or functionality. This helps readers with visual impairments who need larger text.

For maximum flexibility:

Avoid inline styles that override user preferences. When you hardcode styles like style="font-size: 12px", you prevent readers from applying their preferred settings.

Remember: giving readers control over how text appears improves the reading experience for everyone, not just people with disabilities.

Properly identifying the language in your eBook helps assistive technologies read and pronounce content correctly. This is especially important for mixed-language content.

In your HTML markup, set the primary language with the lang attribute on the <html> element (e.g., <html lang="en-GB">). For passages in different languages, add the attribute to specific elements:

Be specific about regional variants:

This language information:

Without proper language markup, screen readers might attempt to pronounce French words using English rules, making content confusing or unintelligible.

Sufficient colour contrast ensures text remains readable for people with low vision, colour blindness, or those reading in bright light conditions.

Follow these WCAG 2.1 guidelines:

Never use colour alone to convey information. For example, don’t say “click the red button” – add shape, text labels, or icons to differentiate elements.

Consider implementing dark mode options, which help readers with light sensitivity and can reduce eye strain during nighttime reading.

Watch out for background images under text – they can create areas with poor contrast. Add solid or semi-transparent backgrounds behind text when overlaying images.

Alternative text (alt text) translates visual content into a format accessible to people using screen readers or those who can’t see images.

To determine if an image needs alt text, ask: does this image convey information? Images fall into two categories:

For effective alt text:

Compare these examples:

For complex images like charts:

When including audio or video content in your eBook, make it accessible by providing transcripts and closed captions (CC).

For transcripts:

For closed captions:

Include timestamps in longer videos, marking significant sections for easier navigation.

Descriptive links help people understand where a link will take them before clicking it, which is especially important for screen reader users who may navigate by moving through all links on a page.

Effective link text should:

Compare these examples:

Common pitfalls include:

Making your eBook compatible with screen readers ensures that people with visual impairments can access your content. Here’s how to optimize for these tools:

ARIA roles help define the purpose of elements that might not be clear from HTML alone. Typical useful roles include:

Example: 

Always ensure keyboard navigation works throughout your eBook:

For dynamic content that changes without page refreshes:

Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies often create significant accessibility barriers. DRM can prevent text-to-speech software from accessing eBook content and limit which devices readers can use.

For example, Amazon Kindle users can no longer download their books to local devices – they just have a license that can be revoked. This affects people with disabilities who rely on specific devices or software to read.

Removing DRM improves accessibility by:

Institutional benefits include:

If you’re concerned about copyright protection, consider alternatives like watermarking, which identifies the purchaser without limiting functionality, or social DRM, which personalizes content with the buyer’s name but doesn’t restrict use.

Testing your eBook’s accessibility is just as important as implementing the features we’ve discussed. Since different reading systems may interpret accessibility features differently, you need a multi-faceted approach to ensure your eBook works for everyone.

Start by testing your eBook across different devices and reading systems. What works perfectly in Apple Books might fail in Kobo or Kindle apps. This inconsistency makes thorough testing essential.

For screen reader compatibility:

Keyboard navigation tests help ensure users who can’t use a mouse can access all content:

Text reflow tests are crucial:

Don’t forget to check colour contrast using tools like WebAIM’s Contrast Checker, and validate language markup if your eBook contains multiple languages.

Complement manual testing with these automated tools:

Perhaps most valuable is testing with actual users who have disabilities. Their real-world experience with assistive technologies will uncover issues that automated tools might miss. Document all findings and create an accessibility testing checklist to streamline future publications.

Creating accessible eBooks isn’t about retrofitting – it’s about shifting to “born accessible” publishing where accessibility features are woven into your process from the beginning. This approach is the best way to meet legal requirements and create a better reading experience for everyone.

So, if you want to dive deep into the various accessibility principles we’ve covered, we recommend checking out The A11Y Collective’s courses:

All courses are self-paced and include lifetime access, making them perfect resources to revisit during your eBook development projects.

With the European Accessibility Act deadline approaching in June 2025, now is the ideal time to build these skills. Master accessibility principles with The A11Y Collective and transform how you create eBooks for all readers.