Email

Email is an essential mode of communication but is often overlooked in accessibility workflows. Like any other digital content, emails must be readable and navigable by people with a wide range of abilities including those using screen readers, magnifiers, keyboard-only navigation, or alternative input devices. Accessible emails improve usability for everyone, including individuals with visual, cognitive, or motor disabilities. This section covers common accessibility considerations and provides tools for testing and remediating emails on major clients such as Outlook, Gmail, and Apple Mail.

Core Concepts in Email

Image Management

Images that convey meaningful information need alternative text (alt text) to describe that information.

  • Alt text allows people using screen readers, as well as those with blocked or slow-loading images, to understand the purpose of the image.
  • Alt text should provide the same relevant information that the image is meant to visually convey, not just a description of the image with details that aren’t relevant to the context or are already included in other text.
  • For more information: Authoring Meaningful Alternative Text | Section508.gov
  • One way to test the presence of alt text is to disable image loading in your email client or browser (settings vary by client). Then, open the email and check whether all meaningful images include helpful alternative text.
  • Use a blank alt attribute (alt=””) for decorative images to prevent screen readers from reading unnecessary content like file names.

Links should convey clear and accurate information about their destination.

  • For example, instead of reading “click here,” the link text should include the title of the destination page or a description of the destination page.
  • This helps screen reader users who often navigate by skipping from link to link and need meaningful context.

Readability

  • Plain Language:
    • Plain language benefits readers with cognitive disabilities or low literacy and improves comprehension for all users.
    • Write clearly and concisely.
    • Use meaningful subject lines.
    • Try reading the email aloud to yourself.
    • Look for long sentences, jargon, or idioms and rewrite them in simpler language.
  • Font format and style also impact readability. There is not one specific font style or size that ensures accessibility, but many considerations for different users’ needs.
    • This WebAIM: Typefaces and Fonts article gives a great overview of some considerations.
    • In an email, a common recommendation is to use a familiar, sans-serif font, at 12pt size at minimum.
    • It is recommended not to overuse italics, bold, or all caps.

Testing Tools for Email HTML

  • Accessible-email.org
    Previews email HTML with focus on screen reader support, semantic structure, and alt text handling.
    • Some familiarity with HTML is useful for this tool.
    • Might be most helpful for testing email campaigns or form emails that are sent to large groups.
  • WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool)
    A browser extension that reviews email HTML to check for structural and contrast errors.
    • The Web Content section of this guide has more information about using the WAVE tool.
    • Might be most helpful for testing email campaigns or form emails that are sent to large groups.

Microsoft Outlook (Desktop and Web)

Microsoft Outlook has a built-in Accessibility Assistant which checks for common accessibility issues such as hard-to-read color contrast, alt text, issues with tables, and the email structure (headings).

Gmail

Gmail does not have its own internal accessibility checker. Use the Core Concepts in Email section of this guide to identify common issues to check for.

Apple Mail

Apple Mail does not have its own internal accessibility checker. Use the Core Concepts in Email section of this guide to identify common issues to check for.

Navigating to Other Content Types

Use these links to continue (or return) to the other content types in this section: