UserWay for Nonprofits: AI Web Accessibility Widget
AI-powered website accessibility solution installed on over 1 million websites. Helps nonprofits work toward WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA, ADA, and Section 508 compliance by adding a single JavaScript snippet, with 100+ automated AI remediations and a built-in screen reader.
What It Does
Is your nonprofit's website inaccessible to the 1 in 4 Americans living with a disability? UserWay's AI-powered widget overlays automated accessibility fixes on top of your existing website without requiring you to rewrite your source code. A single JavaScript snippet, installed in minutes, activates continuous scanning and over 100 AI-powered remediations that help bring your site into alignment with WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 AA standards.
UserWay addresses a common nonprofit pain point: websites built years ago that don't meet modern accessibility standards, leaving out potential donors, volunteers, and program participants who rely on screen readers, keyboard navigation, or other assistive technology. Rather than a costly full-site rebuild, UserWay provides an overlay that works within your existing setup, automatically fixing image alt text, ARIA labels, heading structures, and keyboard navigation patterns in real time as pages load.
The platform also provides an accessible widget that website visitors can use to further customize their experience, adjusting contrast, font size, spacing, and enabling features like a built-in screen reader, a reading guide, seizure-safe mode, and dyslexia-friendly fonts. Compliance reporting, automated monitoring, and a Legal Support Program round out the paid plans, giving nonprofits documentation they can point to if accessibility becomes a legal concern.
Important Context: Accessibility Overlays
UserWay is an accessibility overlay, a category that has attracted significant attention from disability advocates and legal experts. Over 600 accessibility professionals have signed a statement noting that overlays "do not meet the legal requirements for accessibility" and can sometimes interfere with users' own assistive technology.
This guide presents UserWay honestly: it is a legitimate, widely-used tool that can improve accessibility and document good-faith compliance efforts, but it is not a complete substitute for making your actual source code accessible. For nonprofits serving communities that rely heavily on assistive technology, complementing UserWay with ongoing source code remediation is recommended.
Best For
Organization Size
Small to mid-sized nonprofits without in-house developers who need to address accessibility quickly. Also used by larger organizations seeking immediate compliance improvements while longer-term source code fixes are underway.
Use Cases
- Bringing legacy websites toward WCAG compliance
- ADA and Section 508 good-faith compliance documentation
- Improving user experience for visitors with disabilities
- European Accessibility Act (EAA) compliance for global nonprofits
Ideal Roles
Website administrators, marketing managers, and executive directors responsible for their organization's digital presence and legal compliance obligations. No developer required for basic installation.
Key Features for Nonprofits
AI-Powered Remediations
Automated fixes applied in real time
- Automatic alt text generation for images using computer vision AI
- Automatic ARIA attribute application for screen reader compatibility
- Heading structure correction for logical page navigation
- Form label and error handling improvements
- Keyboard navigation fixes so all content is reachable without a mouse
User-Facing Accessibility Widget
Visitor-controlled customizations for any disability need
- High contrast, color adjustment, and color blindness modes
- Text size and spacing controls for low vision users
- Dyslexia-friendly fonts to improve reading clarity
- Seizure-safe profile (reduces animations and flashing)
- Built-in screen reader, reading guide, and cursor enlargement
Compliance & Legal Coverage
Documentation and protection for compliance obligations
- WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 AA, ADA, Section 508, EAA, AODA compliance support
- Legal Support Program: up to $10,000 in court-awarded damage coverage (Pro plans)
- Exportable compliance reports and accessibility statements
- 24/7 continuous accessibility monitoring
Broad Platform Support
Works with nearly any website or CMS
- WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, Duda plugins
- Any HTML site via a single JavaScript snippet
- 50+ language support (Pro plans)
- Developer tools: ARIA editor, Jira/Trello integration, CI/CD support
How UserWay Uses AI
What's Actually AI-Powered
Image Alt Text Generation
UserWay uses computer vision AI to analyze images on your website and generate descriptive alt text automatically. The AI distinguishes between decorative images (which should be hidden from screen readers) and content images (which need descriptions). This is one of the most genuinely impactful AI features, because manually writing alt text for hundreds of images is time-consuming and often skipped entirely.
ARIA Attribute Automation
The platform's machine learning algorithms scan each page's DOM (Document Object Model) in real time and automatically apply missing or corrected ARIA attributes, roles, and properties. This helps screen readers correctly interpret buttons, menus, forms, modals, and interactive elements that developers didn't originally label. The AI also provides an ARIA editor for manual overrides when you want to fine-tune specific elements.
Real-Time Remediation Engine
When a visitor loads your page, UserWay's JavaScript scans the rendered content and applies 100+ accessibility fixes in browser memory before the user interacts with anything. This includes heading hierarchy corrections, link text improvements, form error messaging, and keyboard focus management. Because fixes happen in real time in the browser, new content you publish is also automatically scanned and remediated.
What's NOT AI (But Still Useful)
- User widget controls: Features like contrast adjustment, text resizing, and dyslexia fonts are user-controlled preferences, not AI-driven
- Compliance reports: These are generated from scan results and templates, not AI-written
- Built-in screen reader: A traditional assistive technology feature, not AI
AI Limitations to Understand
- Browser memory only: All AI fixes exist only in browser memory at runtime. Your underlying source code remains unchanged and inaccessible. If UserWay's script fails to load, accessibility issues return immediately.
- Potential conflicts: The overlay can conflict with users' existing screen readers (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver), since both systems try to modify how content is presented simultaneously.
- Alt text accuracy: AI-generated alt text is generally good but not perfect. It may miss organizational context (e.g., not knowing that a photo shows your executive director at your annual gala).
- Complex interactions: Custom JavaScript components, complex data tables, and dynamic single-page app content may not be fully remediated by the AI.
Real-World Nonprofit Use Case
Consider a social services nonprofit with a WordPress website built in 2019. Their site serves community members including elderly individuals, veterans with disabilities, and low-income families, many of whom rely on screen readers or keyboard navigation. The organization has limited technical staff, and their original website developer is no longer available for updates.
After receiving a demand letter from an accessibility advocacy group citing ADA Title III concerns, the executive director needed a quick solution. A full website rebuild would cost $15,000 to $30,000 and take three to six months. Instead, the organization's communications manager installed the UserWay WordPress plugin in under 20 minutes. The plugin immediately activated 100+ AI remediations, including alt text generation for 400+ images, ARIA label corrections across forms, and improved keyboard navigation throughout the site.
The Pro plan's Legal Support Program provided documentation of the organization's good-faith compliance efforts, and their attorney was able to use the compliance report in their response to the demand letter. The widget is now visible on the site, allowing visitors to activate high-contrast mode, dyslexia fonts, and the built-in screen reader as needed.
Importantly, the organization is now prioritizing source code fixes in their next website refresh, using the detailed accessibility audit report from UserWay as a checklist for their developer. They view UserWay as a bridge solution: it improved accessibility immediately, documented their efforts legally, and gave them a roadmap for permanent fixes without requiring them to solve everything at once.
Pricing
Free Tier
Basic accessibility widget, permanently free
- Basic user-facing controls (contrast, text size, dyslexia fonts)
- Basic keyboard navigation improvements
- No AI-powered remediations
- No compliance reporting or Legal Support Program
Paid Plans (Billed Annually)
Full AI remediations and compliance tools
- Small (up to 100K page views/month): ~$49/month
- Medium (up to 1M page views/month): ~$149/month
- Large (higher traffic): ~$329/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing for government and large organizations
Additional Costs to Know
- PDF remediation: ~$5 per page (not included in standard plans)
- Video/audio remediation: Extra cost, custom quote required
- Manual audits: $4,900 (Starter) to $24,500 (Comprehensive) as separate services
- 10-day free trial for paid plans (no credit card required)
- Free website scan: Available without a purchase at userway.org
Note: Prices may be outdated or inaccurate. Verify current pricing directly with UserWay.
Nonprofit Discount
No publicly advertised program, but contact for nonprofit pricing
UserWay does not currently advertise a dedicated nonprofit discount program publicly. There is no TechSoup listing. However, UserWay actively markets to NGOs and government entities through their website (userway.org/ind/ngo/), which suggests they may offer negotiated pricing for qualifying organizations.
How to Pursue Nonprofit Pricing:
- Contact UserWay's sales team directly and explicitly identify your organization as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
- Reference your tax-exempt status and limited technology budget
- Ask specifically about nonprofit, NGO, or educational discounts
- Start with the free 10-day trial to evaluate the platform before committing
Learning Curve
Beginner-Friendly Installation
Easy setup; moderate effort needed for advanced customization
UserWay installation is one of the easiest in the accessibility category. Adding the JavaScript snippet or installing the CMS plugin takes most non-technical users under 30 minutes. The management dashboard is designed for non-developers and provides a clear view of remediations applied and compliance status.
Time to Proficiency:
- Basic installation: 15-30 minutes
- Dashboard and reporting: 1-2 hours to understand all features
- ARIA editor customization: Requires some accessibility knowledge; 1-2 days to use effectively
Technical Requirements:
- Ability to add code to your website header (or access to your CMS plugin store)
- No coding knowledge required for basic setup
- Separate license required per website domain
Integration & Compatibility
CMS & Website Builders
- WordPress: Dedicated plugin (96+ five-star reviews)
- Wix, Squarespace, Weebly: Website builder apps
- Webflow, Framer, Duda: Supported
- Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento: E-commerce platforms
- Drupal, Joomla: Open-source CMS support
Developer & Marketing Tools
- Google Tag Manager: Deploy without touching code
- HubSpot: Marketing platform integration
- Jira / Trello: Accessibility issue tracking for dev teams (Pro plans)
- Any HTML site: JavaScript snippet embeds in any site's header
Data & Portability
- Exportable compliance reports (PDF)
- Auto-generated accessibility statements
- Remediation settings are specific to UserWay and not portable to other tools
Security & Privacy
- SOC 2 certified
- GDPR and CCPA compliant
- Data encrypted in transit and at rest
- Visitor accessibility settings stored locally, not on UserWay's servers
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Fastest time to accessibility improvements: Activates 100+ remediations in minutes, with no code changes
- Works on any website platform: A single JavaScript snippet covers virtually every CMS and custom site
- AI image alt text generation: Fixes one of the most common and time-consuming accessibility gaps automatically
- Legal Support Program: Up to $10,000 coverage on Pro plans is meaningful protection for small nonprofits
- Comprehensive standards coverage: WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA, ADA, Section 508, EAA, AODA, EN 301 549
- Free website scan: Identify your current accessibility gaps before committing to a paid plan
Cons
- Overlay limitations: All fixes exist only in browser memory; underlying source code remains unchanged and inaccessible
- Can conflict with screen readers: Known to interfere with JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver for some users
- No nonprofit discount program: No publicly confirmed discount for 501(c)(3) organizations or TechSoup listing
- Legal scrutiny of overlays: Courts have increasingly rejected overlay installations as sufficient evidence of compliance; class action lawsuit filed against UserWay
- Add-on costs: PDF and video remediation cost extra, and those are common content types for nonprofits
- Separate license per domain: Multiple websites (e.g., main site and a campaign microsite) require separate subscriptions
Alternatives to Consider
AudioEye
Hybrid AI + human review accessibility platform
AudioEye takes a hybrid approach, combining automated AI remediation with human accessibility experts who review and fix issues that AI cannot handle. Plans start around $39/month and scale up significantly for enterprise plans. This human-in-the-loop approach provides stronger defensibility than overlay-only tools. Consider AudioEye if you want the speed of an overlay combined with expert validation and more robust legal coverage.
Pope Tech
Accessibility monitoring built on axe-core, nonprofit-friendly
Pope Tech is built on axe-core (the industry standard accessibility testing engine) and provides detailed monitoring and reporting that identifies issues for your developers to fix in the actual source code. Unlike overlays, it does not apply fixes automatically in the browser, but the issues it identifies lead to permanent, defensible corrections. Pope Tech is noted as particularly nonprofit-friendly in its pricing and support approach. Consider Pope Tech if you have developer resources and want to make lasting code-level accessibility improvements.
accessiBe
Direct competitor overlay with similar pricing
accessiBe is UserWay's closest direct competitor, offering a similar AI-powered overlay approach starting around $490/year. However, the FTC fined accessiBe $1 million in January 2025 for deceptive marketing claims about compliance guarantees. Given this regulatory action, UserWay is generally considered the safer choice within the overlay category for nonprofits concerned about legal exposure from vendor claims.
Getting Started
Run the Free Website Accessibility Scan
Before installing anything, visit userway.org and run the free website scan on your URL. This gives you a concrete picture of your current accessibility gaps, including missing alt text, ARIA issues, contrast problems, and keyboard navigation failures. Use this report to understand your starting point and share it with leadership to build the case for investment.
Start the Free Trial and Install the Widget
Sign up for the 10-day free trial to access paid plan features. Install the widget using your platform's plugin (WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, etc.) or by adding a JavaScript snippet to your site's header. For WordPress users, this is a standard plugin installation. For other platforms, the one-line code can usually be added in your website builder's header settings.
Review AI Remediations and Customize
Log into your UserWay dashboard and review the AI-generated remediations. Check a sample of auto-generated alt text to ensure it accurately describes your organization's images (the AI won't know your executive director's name or that a photo is from your 2024 fundraising gala). Use the ARIA editor to correct any auto-fixes that don't match your intentions.
Contact UserWay About Nonprofit Pricing
Before upgrading to a paid plan, contact UserWay's sales team and identify your organization as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Ask about nonprofit, NGO, or education discounts. Even if no formal program exists, sales teams often have flexibility for mission-driven organizations. If pricing is acceptable, select the plan tier that matches your site's monthly page views.
Need Help with Implementation?
Get expert guidance on website accessibility strategy for your nonprofit
Website accessibility is both a technical and strategic challenge. One Hundred Nights can help your nonprofit develop an accessibility roadmap, evaluate whether an overlay approach fits your situation, and create a plan that combines immediate improvements with longer-term source code remediation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is UserWay free for nonprofits?
UserWay offers a permanently free tier with basic accessibility features including color contrast adjustment, text resizing, and basic keyboard navigation. Paid plans start at approximately $49/month (billed annually) for sites up to 100K page views/month. There is no publicly advertised nonprofit discount program, though contacting UserWay's sales team directly to request nonprofit pricing is worthwhile. A 10-day free trial is available for paid plans.
Does UserWay make my website ADA compliant?
UserWay's paid plans are designed to support ADA Title III compliance through WCAG 2.1 AA alignment. However, accessibility advocates and legal experts broadly note that no overlay solution alone can guarantee full ADA compliance. Courts have increasingly scrutinized overlay-only approaches. UserWay's Pro plans include a Legal Support Program providing up to $10,000 in court-awarded damage coverage. For comprehensive, defensible compliance, combining UserWay with ongoing source code remediation is recommended.
How hard is UserWay to install?
UserWay is one of the easiest accessibility tools to install. Setup requires adding a single JavaScript snippet to your website's header, or installing a plugin for WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, and 20+ other platforms. Most nonprofits complete installation in under 30 minutes with no coding experience required. The management dashboard is designed for non-technical users.
What platforms does UserWay work with?
UserWay works with virtually any website through a JavaScript snippet. It also offers dedicated plugins and integrations for WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, Duda, Weebly, Joomla, Drupal, Magento, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Elementor, Google Tag Manager, HubSpot, and more.
What is the difference between UserWay's free and paid plans?
UserWay's free plan provides basic user-facing controls (contrast, text size, dyslexia fonts, cursor enlargement) but does not include AI-powered remediations, full WCAG compliance tools, automated ARIA corrections, alt text generation, compliance reporting, the Legal Support Program, or 50+ language support. Paid plans (starting at ~$49/month billed annually) include 100+ AI remediations, continuous monitoring, compliance reports, and legal coverage.
Are there accessibility overlay alternatives for nonprofits?
Yes. Alternatives in the overlay category include accessiBe (similar pricing, recently fined by FTC) and AudioEye (hybrid AI + human review, starting ~$39/month). For nonprofits seeking a more comprehensive approach, Pope Tech (built on axe-core, nonprofit-friendly) and Siteimprove offer monitoring tools that identify issues for developers to fix in the actual source code, which is the approach endorsed by disability advocates for long-term defensible compliance.
Does UserWay work with screen readers?
UserWay includes a built-in on-page screen reader that users can activate from the widget. This reduces reliance on users having their own assistive technology. However, UserWay can sometimes interfere with users' existing screen readers (like JAWS or NVDA) because both systems try to modify how page content is presented. This is a known limitation of accessibility overlays that nonprofits serving users with disabilities should be aware of.
Make Your Nonprofit Website Accessible Today
Start with a free accessibility scan to understand your gaps, then explore whether UserWay fits your accessibility strategy.