The Charity Accessibility Shortlist: Twelve Checks That Earn Their Place in 2026

Small charity websites carry a disproportionate burden. A handful of staff and volunteers are expected to run campaigns, process donations, publish annual reports, manage events and keep the website accessible, often without a dedicated developer. In that environment, generic accessibility checklists can become another source of guilt rather than a route to improvement.

The better approach is to focus on the checks that change what disabled visitors can actually do. The twelve below are drawn from WCAG 2.2 AA and reflect failures commonly seen on UK charity websites. They are not the whole standard, but they are a sensible shortlist for teams with limited time. The three activities at the end are not worthless in every context, but they are frequently overrated and can absorb effort that would be better spent elsewhere.

Twelve checks that make a difference

1. Keyboard access and visible focus. Every interactive element should be operable with a keyboard, and the focus indicator should be clearly visible. Test donation forms, event booking flows, navigation menus and cookie banners. A common charity failure is a custom 'Donate' button that works with a mouse but cannot be reached or activated by keyboard.

2. A logical focus order and a working skip link. When a keyboard user tabs through a page, the order should follow the visual and reading order. A skip link should let them bypass repeated navigation and move straight to the main content. Test it on a long campaign page, not just the homepage.

3. Form labels, instructions and error messages. Every input needs a persistent, programmatically associated label. Error messages should identify the field, explain the problem and be announced to assistive technology. This matters enormously for donation forms, volunteer applications and event registration. 'Please correct the highlighted fields' is not enough if the user cannot see which fields are highlighted.

4. Sufficient colour contrast. Text, icons and interface components need enough contrast against their backgrounds. Charity brands often use pale grey text on white or white text on light brand colours. Check body copy, navigation, buttons, form hints and focus states, not just headings.

5. Text resizing and reflow. Content should remain usable when text is enlarged to 200 per cent and when the page is viewed at a narrow width. Avoid fixed-height containers that clip text, and test with real content rather than placeholder copy.

6. Meaningful alternative text. Informative images need alt text that conveys their purpose in context. Decorative images should be ignored by assistive technology. A common failure is alt text that describes the file name or repeats the caption without adding meaning.

7. Captions and transcripts for video and audio. Pre-recorded video should have captions, and audio-only content should have a transcript. This is particularly relevant for charity campaign films, trustee interviews and event recordings. Automatic captions are a starting point, not a finished product.

8. Consistent navigation and sensible headings. Use familiar navigation patterns and a clear heading hierarchy. Screen reader users often navigate by headings and landmarks. If every section is an H2, or if headings are chosen for visual size rather than structure, the page becomes harder to understand.

9. Link text that makes sense out of context. 'Read more' and 'Click here' are unhelpful when a screen reader lists links. Use link text that describes the destination or action. This is a quick content fix that improves usability across the site.

10. Adequate target size and spacing. Buttons and links should be large enough to activate reliably, especially on mobile. WCAG 2.2 introduces minimum target size requirements. Small close icons, crowded footer links and tightly packed social media buttons are common offenders.

11. Status messages that are announced. When a form is submitted, a donation is processed or an error occurs, the message should be announced to assistive technology without moving focus unexpectedly. Visual toast notifications that disappear after three seconds are not accessible if they are never announced.

12. Accessible authentication and no unnecessary cognitive tests. If your charity offers user accounts, avoid puzzles, memory tests or transcription tasks that create barriers for people with cognitive disabilities. Allow paste into password fields and provide clear, plain-English instructions.

Three checks to deprioritise

1. Chasing a perfect automated scan score. Automated tools are useful for finding some issues, but they cannot assess meaning, focus order or the quality of alt text. A site can score highly and still be difficult to use. Treat scan results as a triage aid, not a target.

2. Buying an accessibility overlay or widget. Overlays promise to fix accessibility with a single script. In practice, they often interfere with assistive technology, add complexity and distract from the underlying code. The money is usually better spent on fixing templates, forms and content.

3. Remediating every historical PDF by default. PDFs can be inaccessible, and new documents should be published in accessible formats. But a small charity does not need to rebuild every old annual report before improving the website. Prioritise documents that are actively requested, used in service delivery or required for statutory purposes. For older material, consider publishing an accessible HTML summary or offering the document on request.

Where to start

For a small UK charity team, the most effective first step is to test the journeys that matter most: donating, signing up to an event, applying for support, volunteering and finding contact details. Fix the barriers that stop people completing those tasks, then widen the work. Record what you find, assign owners and check again after changes.

Accessibility is not a one-off project, and it does not require a perfect team. It requires a sensible order of work. The twelve checks above are a reasonable place to begin in 2026, and the three activities to deprioritise are a reminder that effort spent in the wrong place can be just as costly as effort not spent at all.