5 tips to make your emails accessible for people with visual impairments

5 simple steps to make your emails more accessible

1. Structure and headings

Structuring your content in a clear and visible way is one of the simplest steps you can take to improve accessibility. You can do this by:

• using headings to organise content so that screenreaders can navigate through your emails easily
• mark-up headings correctly (H1 as the title or primary heading, H2 for sub-headings, H3 for sub-sub-headings, etc).
• using a consistent and logical layout
• balancing images and text to break up sections
• use bullet points and lists to break-up content

2. Font size, style, and spacing

Setting up a default font size, typeface and line spacing to be used across your email communications can ensure accessibility as well as consistency. We recommend:

• a minimum font size of 14
• an accessible typeface such as Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Tahoma, or Verdan
• 1.5 line spacing

3. Colour contrast

Use a colour contrast checker to ensure there is sufficient contrast between your text and your background for readability. Tools like WebAIM: Contrast Checker can check that your emails meet the necessary levels for accessibility, and can help you make adjustments.

You can send out test emails to check how your email displays on different servers - for example, the same email in Microsoft Outlook can display differently in Gmail - and switch your settings between light and dark mode to make sure that your colourways work in different display settings.

4. Alt text

Add meaningful and descriptive alternative text to images, icons, graphics, and any other non-text content within your email. Alt text should explain what the image is showing and be descriptive but brief.

Avoid using non-text content that displays information that is important for the reader to see in order to understand, such as graphs, unless this information is detailed within the alt text.

5. Link text

Link text should be meaningful and indicate to readers exactly where a specific link will take them without them having to have read the surrounding content.

Instead of ‘find out more’ and ‘click here’, use descriptive text such as, ‘Read our article on the connection between sleep and sight loss here’ or ‘Find out more about our fundraising opportunities here’.

6. Bonus tip! Video captions and transcripts

Make sure all your multimedia content is accessible by adding video captions (as opposed to subtitles) and transcripts.

Further recommendations

The W3C Accessibility Initiative is a great resource for individuals and organisations alike to improve inclusivity and reach a higher standard of accessibility. The W3C page here is especially helpful in exploring how different people use digital technology so you can understand the recipients needs even better.