Guide · Accessibility
Website accessibility basics for nonprofits and schools
An accessible website is one that people with disabilities can use, including people who are blind, have low vision, are deaf, can't use a mouse, or have cognitive disabilities. The standard to aim for is WCAG 2.2 Level AA. Most real-world failures come from a handful of fixable issues: low-contrast text, images without alt text, form fields without labels, links and buttons with no text, and a missing page language. Fixing those, plus keyboard access, readable documents and captions, covers most of what nonprofits and schools need.
Accessibility can sound like a technical or legal topic, but at heart it is simple: everyone who needs your organisation should be able to use your website. That includes a parent who is blind and uses a screen reader, a donor with a tremor who navigates by keyboard, a grandparent who zooms the text to 200%, and a volunteer on a cheap phone in bright sunlight.
For nonprofits and schools, who serve the public and often people with disabilities directly, an inaccessible website quietly shuts people out. The good news is that most problems are common, well understood and fixable.
How common are accessibility problems?
Very common. WebAIM's annual analysis of the top one million home pages, the WebAIM Million, found in February 2026 that 95.9% of home pages had automatically detectable WCAG 2 failures, with an average of 56.1 errors per page. The six most common issues accounted for 96% of all errors detected:
| Issue | Share of home pages (2026) |
|---|---|
| Low-contrast text | 83.9% |
| Images missing alternative text | 53.1% |
| Form inputs missing labels | 51.0% |
| Empty links | 46.3% |
| Empty buttons | 30.6% |
| Missing document language | 13.5% |
Fix these six and you will have dealt with most of the barriers that automated tools can find.
The standard and the law
The standard. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, published by the W3C in October 2023, are the reference almost every law points to. They are organised around four principles: content must be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. Level AA is the usual target.
What the law says, in brief. This is a summary, not legal advice:
- India. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 requires accessibility in information and communication technology, and government websites follow the Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW), which are based on WCAG.
- United States. In 2024 the Department of Justice issued a rule under Title II of the ADA requiring state and local government web content, including public schools, to meet WCAG 2.1 AA. An April 2026 interim final rule moved the compliance dates to 26 April 2027 for entities serving 50,000 people or more, and 26 April 2028 for smaller ones and special districts (ADA.gov). Private schools and nonprofits open to the public may also face claims under other parts of the ADA.
- United Kingdom. The Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018 cover public sector websites, with partial exemptions for schools and nurseries. The Equality Act 2010 applies to service providers generally.
- European Union. The Web Accessibility Directive covers public sector bodies, and the European Accessibility Act has applied to many private-sector services since 28 June 2025, with exemptions for microenterprises.
Ten fixes that solve most problems
1. Make text contrast strong enough
WCAG AA asks for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Pale grey text on white is the most common failure. Use a free contrast checker on your brand colours, and don't put text over busy photos without a solid overlay.
2. Write useful alt text for images
Alt text is read aloud by screen readers. Describe what matters in context: "Students planting saplings in the school garden" rather than "IMG_2041" or "image". Decorative images should have empty alt text (alt="") so that screen readers skip them.
3. Label every form field
Admissions, donation, volunteer and contact forms need a visible label for each field that is connected to it in the code. Placeholder text inside the box is not a label, because it disappears when you type. Explain errors in words, not just with a red border.
4. Give every link and button a clear name
Icon-only buttons, such as a magnifying glass, a WhatsApp logo or social icons, need text that screen readers can announce. Avoid repeating "Click here" or "Read more" links. "Read the 2025 annual report" tells everyone where the link goes.
5. Set the page language
One attribute, lang="en" (or hi, as, bn and so on) on the page, tells screen readers which pronunciation to use. Mark passages in another language too.
6. Use real headings in order
Screen-reader users often jump between headings to scan a page. Use one main heading (H1) per page, then H2s for sections and H3s within them, rather than bold text styled to look like a heading.
7. Make everything work with a keyboard
Press Tab through your home page. You should always be able to see where you are (the focus outline), reach every link, menu and button, open and close the mobile menu, and never get stuck. Add a "Skip to content" link at the top.
8. Caption videos and transcribe audio
Auto-generated captions are a start, but check them, especially names and local terms. A short transcript helps people who are deaf and people who can't play sound at work.
9. Publish key information as web pages, not just PDFs
Notices, fee structures, admissions criteria and annual report summaries are far more accessible as HTML than as scanned PDFs. Where a PDF is necessary, export it from the original document with tags and real text, not as a photo of paper.
10. Respect zoom, motion and time
The page should work when zoomed to 200% and on narrow screens without sideways scrolling. Avoid carousels that move by themselves, and honour the "reduce motion" setting. Don't use time limits on forms.
How to test, for free, in an hour
- Run WAVE or the Lighthouse accessibility audit in Chrome on your home page, a form page and a content page.
- Unplug the mouse and complete your most important task with the keyboard, such as making a donation, sending an admissions enquiry or finding the fee structure.
- Zoom to 200% and check that nothing is cut off or overlapping.
- Turn on a screen reader (VoiceOver on iPhone or Mac, TalkBack on Android, NVDA on Windows) and listen to your home page for a minute.
- Ask someone who uses assistive technology to try the site. Many disability organisations can help or point you to testers.
A warning about "one-line fix" widgets
Accessibility overlays promise to make a site compliant with one line of code. They can't repair missing labels, poor structure or inaccessible PDFs, and many disabled users find them get in the way. In April 2025 the US Federal Trade Commission finalised an order requiring one overlay vendor to pay $1 million over claims that its product could make any website WCAG-compliant. Spend the effort on the site itself.
Publish an accessibility statement
A short page saying which standard you aim for (for example WCAG 2.2 AA), known issues you are working on, and how to report a problem or ask for information in another format shows good faith, and gives people a way to reach you.
Where to start
Run one automated check and the keyboard test this week, and fix contrast, alt text and form labels first. Every website PageKo builds is designed to be mobile-first and accessible, with real headings, labelled forms, keyboard support and readable contrast. See what we do for nonprofits and schools, or request a free preview of your redesigned site. Our school website checklist and CSR guide for NGOs cover what to put on the pages.
Frequently asked questions
What is WCAG?
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are the international standard for web accessibility, published by the W3C. The current version, WCAG 2.2, was published in October 2023. Level AA is the target most laws and policies refer to.
Is website accessibility a legal requirement for schools and nonprofits?
It depends on the country and the organisation. In the US, a 2024 Department of Justice rule requires state and local government websites, including public schools, to meet WCAG 2.1 AA, with deadlines extended in 2026 to April 2027 or April 2028 depending on size. India's Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 includes accessibility of information and communication technology. Even where it isn't strictly required, accessibility widens your audience and is the right thing to do.
Do accessibility overlay widgets make a site compliant?
No. Overlays and toolbars can't fix problems in the underlying code, such as missing labels or a confusing structure. In 2025 the US Federal Trade Commission finalised an order requiring one overlay vendor to pay $1 million over claims that its tool could make any website compliant. Fix the site itself instead.
How can I test my website's accessibility for free?
Run a free automated checker such as WAVE or Lighthouse in Chrome, then do quick manual checks: use the site with only the keyboard, zoom to 200%, and try a screen reader such as NVDA on Windows or VoiceOver on Apple devices. Automated tools catch only some issues, so the manual checks matter.
Are PDFs a problem for accessibility?
Often, yes. Scanned PDFs are images of text that screen readers can't read, and they're hard to use on phones. Publish key information such as notices, fees and reports as web pages where possible, and make the PDFs you keep tagged and text-based.
Sources
- WebAIM, The WebAIM Million: 2026 report (February 2026).
- W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2.
- ADA.gov, First steps toward complying with the ADA Title II web rule; Federal Register, extension of compliance dates (20 April 2026).
- Government of India, Guidelines for Indian Government Websites; Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
- US Federal Trade Commission, FTC approves final order requiring accessiBe to pay $1 million (April 2025).
- European Commission, European Accessibility Act.