Charity website accessibility and WCAG compliance
Accessibility is an often-overlooked area when creating your new website.
It's important for all organisations, especially charities, to offer an inclusive website-browsing experience.
Accessible websites for charities
What is "accessibility" and WCAG Compliance and why is it so important for your charity website?
- Web accessibility is the creation of websites that people with disabilities can use
- WCAG compliance, is when a website follows the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, a standard in accessibility
- There are legal requirements for accessibility
- You may already have policies around accessibility compliance.
- Compliance with the European Accessibility Act (EAA) 2025
The European Accessibility Act (EAA)
In 2025, the EU introduced the European Accessibility Act (EAA). The idea of the EAA is to improve access to digital products and services for people with disabilities. It includes websites, mobile applications and e-commerce.
So, as a charity, how does this affect you?
For charities, the EAA is especially important because the level of accessibility of your website directly affects how many supporters, beneficiaries, and volunteers can access your website, and what they can do there. Furthermore, you may have processes and policies in place around "inclusion", which you need to obey, and for good reasons.
The 5 areas of accessibility
These are the five areas of accessibility. As a charity, you will need your website to address each one:
- Visual Accessibility: This covers blindness, low vision, and colour blindness. To cater for users with visual impairment, include screen reader compatibility, screen magnifiers, and a good level of colour contrast.
- Auditory Accessibility: Catering for users who are deaf and have hearing impairments. Key considerations include closed captions for videos, transcripts for audio, and visual alerts.
- Motor Accessibility: This area is related to people with physical disabilities, including limited fine motor control, tremors, or paralysis. Key considerations are keyboard-only navigation (no mouse required), voice recognition, and customisable time limits for tasks.
- Cognitive Accessibility: Addresses cognitive and learning disabilities, such as autism, dyslexia, and ADHD. Key features include simple, consistent layout/navigation, clear language, and reduced distractions.
- Speech Accessibility: People who can't speak or suffer from speech impairments. Considerations include alternative, non-verbal input methods for voice-activated technology.
Meet the WCAG 2.2 guidelines
Here are the basics of WCAG 2.2 and how your website can meet its requirements.
- Text alternatives, alt text, accessible labels etc.
- Videos and audio should have captions and transcripts
- Structure: Correct heading hierarchy, semantic HTML, correct list tags, tables have heading tags (th), forms have associated labels
- Sufficient contrast
- Responsive (mobile friendly) and zoom works well across devices
- For more info: View the government website
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