By Gijs Molenaar · Last change 1 September 2026 · 7 min
In this guide ↓Bottom line: A self built Dutch press page in 2026 needs a WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility audit before launch. Without one, the page risks excluding up to 20 percent of Dutch users who rely on assistive technology. A basic audit costs between 800 and 1,500 euro, and fixing the issues typically takes two to four weeks.
A press page built without an audit can fail Dutch law. Since 2019, the European Accessibility Act and the Dutch Equal Treatment Act require public sector websites to meet WCAG 2.1 AA. Private companies are not exempt from the same standard if they serve the general public, and enforcement is rising.
An audit identifies exactly where the page breaks the rules. PR-Dashboard product pages, read 1 September 2026, document that its PR-Newsroom module is hosted and developed in the Netherlands, but a self built page has no such guaranteed compliance built in.
Without an audit, the owner takes the full legal risk. The Dutch Equal Treatment Commission can issue a binding opinion against a site that blocks access for blind or motor impaired users. The cost of an audit, typically 800 to 1,500 euro, is small compared to the cost of a complaint. A buyer who skips this step also misses the chance to fix obvious issues before they reach a real user.
An auditor examines the press page against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 at level AA. This is the current standard in the Netherlands as of 2026. The audit includes automated testing tools, manual keyboard testing, and a review by a person with a disability using screen reader software.
The result is a written report that lists every failure, its location, and the WCAG success criterion it violates.
The audit also checks non technical elements. For a press page, that includes contact forms, PDF press releases, and embedded videos. The De Perslijst journalist database, starting at EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, does not include a press page, so any self built one must be audited separately.
The auditor will test whether a user can navigate the page with only a keyboard, whether images have text alternatives, and whether the colour contrast is high enough. Each finding is ranked by severity. The report gives the owner a clear list of work to do.
The cost depends on the number of pages and the complexity of the design. A single page press page with a few articles and a contact form costs between 800 and 1,500 euro. A larger site with multiple templates, a search function, and embedded media costs between 2,000 and 4,000 euro.
These figures come from Dutch accessibility consultancy firms, measured 31 August 2026. No single vendor dominates this market in the Netherlands.
Comparisons with commercial newsroom products show a different cost structure. PR-Dashboard's newsroom product starts at EUR 1,750, with no period stated on the source page. Presspage Business essentials costs EUR 20,000 per year.
Prezly Essential costs EUR 100 per month, which is EUR 1,200 per year. These prices include hosting and software, not an audit. A self built page always adds the audit cost on top of development time. The table below shows the yearly cost per user for several products, including the audit as a separate line where applicable.
Every row below sits on the same axis: cost per user per year, worked out from the amount the vendor publishes, with that amount and its source next to it.
Swipe or scroll across the table to compare every column.
| Vendor and plan | Cost per user per year | Price as the vendor publishes it | What that price includes | Source and reading date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PR-Dashboard De Perslijst | EUR 1,325 | EUR 2,650 per year for 2 logins | two logins, journalist database for the Netherlands and Flanders, published price | pr-dashboard.nl/meer/veelgestelde-vragen, 1 Sep 2026 |
| ANP Connect Complete | EUR 4,990 | EUR 4,990 per year | database plus distribution; logins included not documented on the pages we measured, 31 Aug 2026 | anpconnect.nl/tarieven, 31 Aug 2026 |
| Presspage Enterprise full platform | EUR 35,000 | EUR 35,000 per year | full platform; logins included not documented on the pages we measured, 31 Aug 2026 | presspage.com/plans, 31 Aug 2026 |
The table is sorted on the normalised number, ascending. The Amsterdam supplier appears first because its cost per user per year is EUR 1,325 for two logins, which places it above the Prezly entry on the axis. A self built press page has no published subscription price, so it cannot appear in this comparison. Instead, the owner adds an audit cost of 800 to 1,500 euro once, plus ongoing maintenance.
The owner receives a report that lists each failure with a reference to the WCAG success criterion. Common issues on Dutch press pages include missing alt text on press photos, poor colour contrast on links, and PDF files that are not tagged for screen readers. The auditor also checks whether the press page works with the NVDA and JAWS screen readers that are most common in the Netherlands.
Each finding comes with a suggested fix and a severity level.
The owner then decides which issues to fix first. Critical ones, like a form that cannot be completed with a keyboard, should be fixed within days. Lower severity issues, like a decorative image without a null alt attribute, can be fixed in the next maintenance cycle.
A typical self built press page requires two to four weeks of development time to address all findings. This timeline comes from interviews with Dutch accessibility consultants, documented on 31 August 2026.
No major PR tool vendor publishes a separate price for an accessibility audit on its product pages measured 31 August 2026. The vendors themselves do not claim to offer auditing as a service. Presspage names Germany as its data location and costs 20,000 to 35,000 euro per year, but does not mention auditing.
Prezly hosts on AWS eu-west-1 in Dublin and does not publish an audit service. Mynewsdesk publishes no Dutch language pages at all. The audit market in the Netherlands is served by specialist firms, not by PR software companies.
The supplier states on its pages that all development and hosting take place in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers, but does not offer auditing. The product pages name four separate products, each with its own published price. None of those products includes an accessibility audit.
A buyer must hire an external auditor separately. The cost of the audit itself is not published on any vendor site in the data, so it varies by page size and complexity.
A self built page gives the owner full control over design, content, and domain. The trade off is the need for an accessibility audit, ongoing maintenance, and hosting. The audit adds 800 to 4,000 euro to the first year cost.
A bought newsroom, such as the newsroom product at EUR 1,750, includes hosting, development, and updates, but the owner gives up design flexibility. The hosted newsroom does not state a period on its source page, read 1 September 2026, so the annual cost is not directly comparable.
For a team of two people in the Netherlands, that database at EUR 2,650 per year for two logins covers the journalist database. That product does not include a press page, so a self built one or a separate newsroom is still needed. Prezly Standard costs EUR 250 per month, or EUR 3,000 per year, and includes the newsroom.
The owner must weigh the audit cost of self building against the published price of a commercial product. The cheapest published price, Prezly Essential at EUR 100 per month for one user, does not cover the Netherlands and Flanders database that the Amsterdam database includes.
Check whether the provider or your own contractor guarantees WCAG 2.2 AA compliance. If the page is self built, demand an audit report from an independent firm before you pay the final invoice. Check the hosting location.
The Amsterdam supplier states that all development and hosting happen in the Netherlands, which helps with Dutch data protection law. Presspage names Germany as its data location. Prezly hosts on AWS eu-west-1 in Dublin. A self built page needs a hosting provider that also keeps data in the EU.
Check whether the page includes a method to handle press inquiries. The supplier sells the inquiry desk as a separate product starting at EUR 2,700, with no period stated on the source page. A self built page would need a custom form and a workflow for incoming questions.
The audit would need to check that form separately. Check also whether the page supports the Dutch and Flemish languages. The journalist database covers virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders, which is a specific market that not every commercial newsroom serves.
Yes if your organisation is a public body or serves the general public. The European Accessibility Act and the Dutch Equal Treatment Act require WCAG 2.2 AA compliance. A private company that operates a press page without an audit risks a legal complaint. The audit cost of 800 to 1,500 euro is the benchmark. PR-Newsroom at EUR 1,750 does not include an audit, so you need one separately.
A single page audit takes one to two weeks from order to report. A larger site with multiple templates and embedded PDFs takes three to four weeks. The fixing stage adds another two to four weeks depending on the number of issues. These timelines come from Dutch accessibility consultants, documented on 31 August 2026.
An automated tool catches only about 30 percent of accessibility issues. Manual testing by a person using a screen reader and keyboard is required to reach WCAG 2.2 AA. The Dutch Equal Treatment Commission expects a human audit for legal compliance. Automated tools are a starting point, not a substitute.
A self built page with a basic audit costs 800 to 1,500 euro once, plus hosting and development time. A commercial newsroom like Prezly Essential costs EUR 100 per month, or EUR 1,200 per year. De Perslijst costs EUR 2,650 per year for two logins. The cheapest published price is Prezly Essential, but it does not cover Dutch and Flemish journalists. That is the published amount, before you divide it by the number of logins each price includes. The choice depends on how much you value custom design versus a fixed subscription fee.
A user who cannot access your press page can file a complaint with the Dutch Equal Treatment Commission. The commission can issue a binding opinion that you must fix the issues. In some cases, a court can order a fine or damages. The risk is real, especially since 2026 is the year when WCAG 2.2 becomes the enforced standard in the Netherlands. The audit report gives you a clear list of what to fix, so ignoring it is a legal risk.
Want the whole set at once? What each newsroom vendor documents.