From its humble beginnings in the 1970s, email has become the world’s go-to method of communication. According to Statista’s 2018 findings, there will be 4.89 billion email users worldwide by 2027 – and we’re almost there already! Ensuring that your business emails are accessible is important, especially if your company produces content such as a newsletter. It’s good email practice – because this will enable all subscribers to have a positive experience every time they open your email correspondence.
What is accessibility?
Your high-quality content may not be accessible to all of your readers, and this could be due to any number of reasons whether visual, physical, cognitive or neurological. Accessibility is a keystone of user experience; ensuring that your email is understood by your audience increases the chances of them interacting with it. It’s also a considerate thing to do. And this, in turn, builds trust and loyalty with your subscribers.
To ensure that your emails are entirely accessible, check out the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG for short). These internationally recognized standards are a reliable outline and resource for making digital properties accessible to people with disabilities. The WCAG itself isn’t a law, but it’s widely recognized across the globe as a trustworthy resource for accessible digital experiences. Individual countries and regions may also have their own accessibility laws, such as the EU’s European Accessibility Act – a directive put into place earlier this year.
Why is visibility important?
Most accessibility guidelines, which cover all kinds of content creation, also provide suggestions as to how to structure an email. Not only will this benefit your readers, but it will also benefit your own company by making your content quite literally more visible to more people.
Following accessible email practice helps grow your brand reputation as well. It demonstrates attention to values like empathy, inclusivity, and a focus on customer wellbeing. Accessibility is becoming law for a reason… it’s just the right thing to do!
How to make your email more accessible
Colour, or rather colour contrast, is an important factor to consider when creating an accessible email. Text must be distinguishable from your email background: the more contrast there is, the more legible the text. And this is before we even consider people who are visually impaired – so make sure to keep that contrast strong. WCAG guidelines suggest that contrast should be 4.5:1 for regular text and 3:1 for large text (18px or more).
Clear and intelligently structured text is also paramount. Avoid large blocks of text by breaking up information into bullet-pointed lists and short paragraphs when possible. Try to also begin paragraphs with a clear, concise heading that summarises the content that follows. After all, nobody enjoys a wall of text. It can be difficult to read (and it isn’t very engaging to do so!), which will make it less likely for your audience to read the whole message.
Also, be mindful of how you implement links. Otherwise, they can be lost among large bodies of text. To avoid this, make sure to underline and bolden links. While links are a different font colour by default (usually, they’re blue), this won’t help colour-blind readers recognize them.
It’s suggested by WCAG to use a minimum of 16px size for regular body text. Keep to a clean and tidy font, and avoid stylized text (such as overusing italics or word art).
Finally, we’d also suggest being careful with the use of images. Avoid using too many of them, or careless placement, because it can be distracting – if not downright unprofessional. In addition, the section of your audience that relies on screen readers to understand your email will be unable to see these images. Because of this, consider the use of ‘ALT text’. This is a short description that explains the purpose of an image for those who may not be able to see it. ALT text should be kept short and succinct.
Conclusion
There is a lot of good advice out there – much more than one short blog can hold. Achieving accessibility is a journey, and one that many businesses are only just beginning. We encourage you to be open to new ideas and read more of WCAG’s guidance. Finding ways to make your business’s emails more accessible is not only considerate to your audience, it clearly shows commitment… and that’s what a successful business is all about.