Creating Accessible Digital Content for Health Charities

# Creating Accessible Digital Content for Health Charities

When you're working hard to raise awareness, secure funding, and support vulnerable people, it's easy to overlook who might be struggling to access your digital content. Yet the harsh reality is that if your website, social media posts, or email newsletters aren't accessible, you could be excluding the very people you're trying to help.

In the UK, around 14.6 million people live with a disability. That's more than one in five of us. Many of these individuals rely on assistive technologies to navigate the web, from screen readers to voice control software. If your charity's digital content isn't designed with accessibility in mind, you're not just creating barriers for potential service users—you're also limiting your reach to supporters, volunteers, and donors who could help your cause.

The good news? Making your digital content accessible doesn't require a complete overhaul or enormous budget. With some straightforward changes and a shift in mindset, you can create inclusive content that works for everyone.

Understanding Digital Accessibility Basics

Digital accessibility means designing online content so that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with it effectively. This includes people with visual, hearing, motor, or cognitive impairments.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide the international standard for web accessibility. While the technical details can seem daunting, the core principles are refreshingly straightforward: content should be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.

For health charities specifically, accessibility isn't just good practice—it's often essential. If you're supporting people with specific conditions, there's a strong chance that condition affects how they access digital information. A mental health charity excluding people with anxiety disorders from accessing their content, or a sight loss charity with an inaccessible website, isn't just ironic—it's a missed opportunity to help the people who need you most.

Making Your Written Content Work for Everyone

Your words are powerful, but only if people can actually read and understand them. Here are practical ways to make your written content more accessible:

Keep your language clear and straightforward. This benefits everyone, not just people with cognitive disabilities or learning difficulties. Aim for short sentences, everyday words, and a conversational tone. If you must use medical or technical terms, explain them simply.

Break up long blocks of text with descriptive headings and subheadings. This helps screen reader users navigate your content and makes it easier for everyone to scan and find what they need. Your headings should be properly formatted in your content management system (not just made bold and large), so assistive technologies recognise them as structural elements.

Use bullet points and numbered lists to present information clearly. They're easier to digest than dense paragraphs and help readers with cognitive disabilities process information step by step.

Choose your fonts carefully. Sans serif fonts like Arial or Verdana are generally easier to read on screen than serif fonts. Make sure your text is large enough (at least 16 pixels for body text) and avoid using italics for long passages, as they can be harder to read.

Creating Accessible Images and Visual Content

Images bring your stories to life and help convey emotion in ways that words alone cannot. However, for blind and partially sighted people using screen readers, images are invisible without proper descriptions.

Always add alternative text (alt text) to images. This should describe what's in the image and why it matters. For example, instead of "charity event photo", write "volunteers serving meals to elderly residents at our community lunch club". If an image is purely decorative, mark it as such so screen readers skip over it.

When creating infographics or sharing statistics visually, remember that this information needs to be available in text form too. Either include the key facts in your post copy or provide a text alternative that conveys the same information.

Videos are increasingly important for charities, but they must include captions for deaf and hard of hearing viewers. YouTube can auto-generate captions, but always review and edit them for accuracy—especially important when discussing medical conditions or treatments. Consider adding audio descriptions for blind viewers too, particularly if visual information is essential to understanding your message.

Ensuring Your Social Media is Inclusive

Social media offers incredible opportunities for health charities to connect with their communities, but accessibility often gets forgotten in the rush to post content quickly.

Each platform handles accessibility differently, so it's worth learning the specific features available. Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram all offer ways to add image descriptions, though they're not always obvious. Take the two extra minutes to fill them in.

When using hashtags, capitalise the first letter of each word (called CamelCase). So write #MentalHealthAwareness rather than #mentalhealthawareness. This helps screen readers pronounce them correctly and makes them easier for everyone to read.

If you're sharing links, use descriptive text rather than "click here". Write "read our latest impact report" instead. This helps screen reader users understand where the link leads without needing surrounding context.

Avoid posting important information only in images of text. If you're sharing a quote, event details, or announcement as an image, include the same text in your post caption so screen reader users don't miss out.

Making Your Website Truly Accessible

Your website is often the first point of contact between your charity and the people you serve. At Blue Cactus Digital, we've seen how health and social care organisations can transform their reach by prioritising accessibility from the start.

Ensure your colour contrast meets WCAG standards. Text should be clearly readable against its background—pale grey text on white simply doesn't cut it. Free tools like the WebAIM Contrast Checker can help you test your colour combinations.

Make sure your website works with keyboard navigation alone. Many people cannot use a mouse due to motor disabilities and rely entirely on keyboard controls. Every interactive element (links, buttons, forms) should be accessible by pressing the Tab key, and it should be visually clear which element currently has focus.

Your forms need particular attention, as they're often how people access your services or make donations. Every form field needs a clear label, and error messages should be specific and helpful. Rather than "invalid entry", say "please enter your postcode in the format SW1A 1AA".

Consider adding an accessibility statement to your website. This shows you're taking accessibility seriously and gives users a way to report problems or request alternative formats.

Testing and Improving Over Time

Accessibility isn't a one-time task—it's an ongoing commitment. The good news is that even small improvements make a real difference to real people.

Test your content with actual users, including people with disabilities. Their insights will be far more valuable than any automated checker. Many charities have service users or supporters who would be happy to provide feedback.

Use free accessibility checking tools like WAVE or the axe browser extension to identify technical issues on your website. While these can't catch everything, they'll flag obvious problems like missing alt text or poor colour contrast.

Train your team on accessibility basics. When everyone understands why it matters and knows the simple steps to take, accessible content becomes the norm rather than an afterthought. Blue Cactus Digital offers training specifically designed for health and social care organisations, helping teams build accessibility into their everyday workflows.

Conclusion

Creating accessible digital content isn't about ticking compliance boxes—it's about living your charity's values in everything you do online. When you remove barriers, you open doors for more people to access your services, support your cause, and benefit from your expertise. The people you're working so hard to help deserve nothing less than content they can actually use. By making accessibility a priority today, you're building a more inclusive digital presence that truly serves your entire community.