Accessibility Statement
Accessibility Statement
Koelnmesse GmbH strives to make its websites accessible in accordance with national legislation implementing Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
This accessibility statement applies to https://dmexco.com/de, https://community.dmexco.com/, https://go.dmexco.com/de/ as well as independent websites under this domain (subdomains).
1. Status of compliance with requirements
These websites are partially compatible with the requirements due to the following incompatibilities and exceptions.
2. Non-accessible content
The following content is not accessible:
a) Alternative texts (WCAG 1.1.1)
- Some images have no or no meaningful alternative texts.
- Some image elements in lists duplicate the content of adjacent text links.
b) Structure and semantics (WCAG 1.3.1, 2.4.6)
- Several form elements such as search, newsletter, or buttons are insufficiently labeled.
- Elements grouped with <fieldset> contain no <legend>.
- The heading hierarchy is unclear: often only one main heading (<h1>) is present without use of further levels (<h2>–<h6>).
- The tab bar is not semantically marked up as a list.
- Pagination and pagination dots are incorrectly nested or not semantically labeled.
- In the “Visit” menu item, the links “Opening Hours” and “Hall Plan” point to the same page.
c) Contrast (WCAG 1.4.3)
- White text on colored backgrounds, e.g., red buttons or gradient backgrounds, has insufficient contrast.
- Teaser texts and publication dates have insufficient contrast with the background.
d) Focus order (WCAG 2.4.3)
- The focus order does not match the visual and content structure.
- In keyboard navigation, invisible elements in the header are also addressed.
e) Link purpose (WCAG 2.4.4)
- Identical link texts lead to different destinations, e.g., “Exhibitor List 2025”, “Get Tickets Now!”, or “Become an Exhibitor”.
- Generic link texts such as “here” are not meaningful.
- Link texts like “Learn more” do not clearly describe the purpose.
- The link text “Home” is too general.
f) Multiple ways (WCAG 2.4.5)
- From subpages, there is no clear or intuitive way back to the main page.
g) Headings and labels (WCAG 2.4.6)
- Tab titles and <h1> headings do not match, making orientation difficult.
h) Consistent navigation (WCAG 3.2.3)
- Content is distributed across several parallel websites, with subpages using identical names, causing redundancy, confusion, and orientation problems.
i) Consistent identification (WCAG 3.2.4)
- In some cases, the tab label is inconsistent with the actual page name.
j) Parsing (WCAG 4.1.1)
- In the newsletter and privacy policy areas, there are duplicate IDs.
- The dropdown structure in the header is faulty.
k) Name, role, value (WCAG 4.1.2)
- Several links in the social media section and in the footer lack accessible names.
- Some links contain only title or ARIA attributes.
l) PDF files
- Numerous accessibility issues were identified, including missing alternative texts, heading and tag structure errors, contrast problems, as well as errors in reading order and navigation.
- Some reviewed PDF files contain no semantic tags for structural markup, making further accessibility testing impossible.
3. Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared between 26 and 28 August 2025. It is based on a self-assessment pursuant to § 4(2). The statement was last reviewed on 28 August 2025.
4. Feedback and contact information
Have you found barriers on our website?
Please let us know so that we can take action. Ideally, specify the exact page (with URL) where the issue occurs, your browser version (e.g., Firefox, Chrome, etc.), and your operating system (e.g., macOS, Windows, iOS, Android).
Contact: barrierefreiheit@koelnmesse.de
5. Enforcement procedure
If Koelnmesse GmbH does not respond to your request within the period specified in § 8 sentence 1 L-BGG-DVO, you can contact the Ombudsman Office for Accessible Information Technology of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The Ombudsman Office for Accessible Information Technology of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia is assigned to the Commissioner of the State Government for People with Disabilities in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The Ombudsman Office can be reached by phone at 0211/8553451 or by e-mail:
