Charity websites are among the best-performing sectors for digital accessibility, but new analysis shows that barriers remain widespread.

The WebAIM Million 2026 report, which analysed the homepages of the world’s top one million websites, found an average of 56.1 accessibility errors per page, up from 51 the previous year.

Charity websites averaged 43 accessibility errors per page, 23.3% fewer than the overall average.

The report said that the charity sector performs relatively well compared to others, likely reflecting its focus on inclusion and community engagement. However, common accessibility issues remain widespread.

The most common barriers include low-contrast text (on 84% of home pages), missing alternative text for images (53%), unlabelled form inputs (51%), and empty links (46%) or buttons (31%).

WebAIM also found that homepage complexity is increasing, with pages now containing an average of 1,437 elements (such as images, buttons and links), a 22.5% increase in just one year. Almost 4% of all page elements contain an accessibility error, meaning users encounter a barrier on roughly one in every 26 elements.

Nexer Digital’s latest research into user behaviour also supports this. Its Hidden Journey study found that 79% of disabled users struggled to browse, 81% found selecting options difficult or impossible, and 81% struggled to complete tasks, highlighting how accessibility barriers appear throughout the entire journey.

Hilary Stephenson, managing director of Nexer Digital, said: “Charities are often built on principles of inclusion, so it’s encouraging to see stronger performance in this sector.

“But even here, the majority of websites are still not fully accessible. That means people may struggle to donate, access support or engage with services.

“Being better than average is not the same as being accessible. There is still a significant gap between intention and experience.”

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