Accessibility 101: Making Your Site Inclusive (and Compliant)

Your nonprofit site should work for everyone. That includes people who use screen readers, need bigger text, can't use a mouse, or have trouble with low-contrast or flickering content. Making your site more accessible is the right thing to do. It also broadens who can donate, volunteer, and learn about your work. Here are the basics in plain language.

Lots of people have a disability that affects how they use the web. They might be blind or have low vision. They might have motor issues and rely on the keyboard. They might have cognitive or attention challenges. When your site blocks them, you lose supporters and you leave people out of your mission. Accessibility also overlaps with good UX. Clear labels, readable text, and logical structure help everyone.

Start with a few habits and improve over time.

Images need alt text so screen reader users get the same info as everyone else. Write a short description of what the image shows or why it's there. Skip "image of" or "picture of." Be specific. For decorative images that add no info, use empty alt (alt="") so the reader skips them. Bad alt text is worse than none. "Photo" or "image123" is not useful. Good alt text tells the story of the image in one sentence.

Text needs enough contrast against the background. Light gray on white or yellow on cream is hard for many people to read. Aim for at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Free tools like WebAIM's contrast checker let you test color pairs. Also avoid tiny font sizes. Let users zoom without breaking the layout. These changes make your site readable for more people.

Some users never use a mouse. They tab through links, buttons, and form fields. Your site should work with the keyboard alone. Tab through your whole site. Can you reach every interactive thing? Is the order logical? Can you see where focus is? If focus gets stuck or hidden, fix it. Buttons and links need a visible focus state. Forms need labels and clear errors. Test with Tab, Enter, and Escape. Fix anything that doesn't work.

WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. It's the standard many laws and policies point to. Level A is the minimum. Level AA is the usual target for compliance. You don't have to memorize it. Use it as a reference. Perceivable means people can see or hear the content. Operable means they can use controls and navigate. Understandable means content and UI are clear. Robust means it works with assistive tech. Tackle one level at a time.

Add or fix alt text on your top five most important images. Run a contrast check on your main text and buttons. Fix any pair that fails. Tab through your homepage and one key inner page. Note where focus is missing or weird and fix those spots. Add a skip link at the top so keyboard users can jump to main content. These steps don't require a developer. They make a real difference.

Accessibility is not a one-time project. It is a way of building and maintaining your website that includes everyone. The good news is that most fixes are simple and improve the experience for all visitors, not just those with disabilities.

AYNI helps nonprofits audit their websites for accessibility issues and fix the ones that matter most. We make the process manageable so your team can improve over time without feeling overwhelmed.