Ensuring emails are accessible helps recipients with disabilities engage with your content effectively. This guide outlines best practices for writing and formatting accessible emails.
General Best Practices
- Use clear and concise language for easy readability.
- Structure emails with headings and short paragraphs for better navigation.
- Ensure plain text alternatives are available for HTML emails.
- Provide accessible attachments (e.g., tagged PDFs and accessible Word documents).
Formatting and Readability
- Use a minimum font size of 12-14px for body text.
- Choose high-contrast colors for text and background.
- Avoid using all caps or excessive italics and underlining.
- Use bullet points for clarity instead of long paragraphs.
Links and Attachments
- Use descriptive link text instead of generic phrases like “click here.”
- Ensure hyperlinks are underlined and in a distinguishable color.
- Attach files in accessible formats (e.g., structured Word, tagged PDFs, or HTML pages).
Images and Alternative Text
- Add alt text to all meaningful images.
- Avoid using images to convey essential information without a text alternative.
- Use HTML text instead of embedded text in images where possible.
Email Accessibility Tools and Testing
- Microsoft Outlook Accessibility Checker – Built-in tool to check email accessibility.
- WebAIM Contrast Checker – Ensures sufficient text/background contrast.
Additional Training and Learning Resources
- Creating Accessible Emails (1h 20m) [LinkedIn Learning]
- Microsoft Outlook Accessibility Features (1h 10m) [LinkedIn Learning]
- Accessible Digital Communication (2h 00m) [LinkedIn Learning]