Accessibility is often pushed to the back burner for smaller nonprofits.

Not because people do not care, but because there is usually a long list of priorities, limited staff, tight budget, and not always a clear path for where to start.

Unless accessibility is directly tied to the organization's mission or the audience being served, it can sometimes feel like something to deal with later.

We understand why that happens, as website accessibility can feel like a big topic. It touches design, development, content, testing, and ongoing maintenance. But smaller nonprofits do not need to wait for a full redesign before making progress.

There are practical improvements content editors and website owners can make now, and tools like UserWay can provide an additional layer of support for users who want more control over how they experience a website.

However, it is important to treat these tools as a helpful add-on, not the entire accessibility plan.

Accessibility helps more people than we sometimes realize

Accessibility is not only for people who are blind or for people with a permanent disability that prevents them from using a website — it can help many different kinds of users.

Someone with migraines may have a hard time reading smaller text. Someone may need stronger contrast to comfortably read a page. Another user may want to increase the size of the cursor or reduce visual distractions.

Yes, browsers already offer some of these options. But not everyone knows how to find them, and not every user wants to adjust browser settings just to use one website.

That is where accessibility tools can be helpful. They make some of these controls easier to find and use.

Tools like UserWay can give visitors quick access to options like text adjustments, contrast changes, cursor size, spacing changes, reading guides, and other usability controls. These features do not solve every accessibility need, but they can improve the experience for some visitors.

You can see tools like UserWay used by organizations such as Special Olympics, The Arc, the American Brain Tumor Association, and Mercedes-Benz. The point is not that every organization should copy those websites. The point is that these tools are common enough now that smaller nonprofits should understand where they may fit.

Start with what your team can control

Before adding any widget or tool, there are simple accessibility improvements most teams can start with.

These are not flashy, but they matter.

Content should have a clear structure. A page should usually have one main h1, followed by logical h2 and h3 headings. This helps both users and assistive technologies understand how the page is organized. It also makes the page easier to scan for everyone.

Most content management systems provide an alt text field for images. Use it. The goal is not to stuff keywords into the image description. The goal is to describe the image in a way that helps someone understand what they are missing if they cannot see it.

If the image is decorative, it may not need a detailed description. But if the image communicates information, the alt text should help carry that meaning.

Links should clearly explain what the user is clicking on. Instead of using vague language like "click here," try to make the link text describe the action or destination. For example, "download the annual impact report" is more helpful than "click here" because the user knows what will happen before they click.

This is helpful for people using screen readers, but it also makes the page easier for everyone to scan.

If your organization publishes videos, captions should be part of the process.

Captions help people who are deaf or have a hard time hearing, but they also help users watching in quiet environments, public spaces, or situations where they cannot turn on audio.

Where tools like UserWay can help

After the basics, tools like UserWay can provide an additional layer of accessibility support.

We have used UserWay in our work, but there are other tools out there too. Most of these tools work as overlay solutions. You add their widget to the website, and it usually appears as an accessibility icon or button that users can open.

From there, visitors can access different controls depending on the tool and pricing tier. These may include options for text size, contrast, cursor size, spacing, reading guides, and other visual or usability changes.

For smaller nonprofits, this can be helpful because it gives users more control without requiring the organization to rebuild the entire website immediately.

If a redesign is not coming soon, or if the organization does not currently have the resources to take on a larger accessibility effort, a tool like this can help move the website in a better direction.

Use the tool as part of the plan

In our experience, tools like UserWay are most useful when they are part of a broader accessibility plan.

They can give users helpful controls and help organizations make progress, especially when a full redesign or deeper accessibility project is not realistic right away. But the organization should still keep improving the website itself over time.

That can start with practical things: cleaning up page headings, adding meaningful alt text, using clearer links, adding captions to videos, reviewing contrast, improving forms, and making sure the site can be used comfortably with a keyboard.

This does not have to happen all at once. For many smaller nonprofits, steady progress is more realistic than waiting years for the perfect accessibility project.

The key is to use the tool as support while continuing to improve the foundation of the website.

Final thoughts

Accessibility should be an important part of website design, but we also understand that smaller nonprofits are often working with limited resources, older websites, small teams, and competing priorities.

If your website redesign is not happening soon, start with the things you can control. Fix your content structure. Add alt text. Use better links. Caption your videos.

Then consider tools like UserWay as an additional layer that can help users customize their experience.

The goal is not simply to say your website has an accessibility tool — the goal is to make your website easier for more people to use.