When you are an email marketer, what is your ultimate goal when designing an email campaign? It should reach as many people possible. There is only one way to make sure that your email design is accessible. Your emails won’t get the results you desire, no matter how compelling your copy or how appealing your design.
Email accessibility doesn’t only mean enhancing visibility and increasing your reach, it also means fostering inclusion. At the moment, more than 1 billion people live with some form of disability. Around 2.2 billion people live with some degree of visual impairment. Email accessibility is designed to create a welcoming online environment for these people. Emails must be understandable by all people, regardless of disabilities or assistive devices.
This article will show you how to create accessible email campaigns. Continue reading to learn more!
Judicious with Color
Email design is fundamentally colored and it shapes your brand identity. You need to make sure that your campaign colors are accessible to a wide range of people. People who are colorblind or have some visual impairment may have difficulty processing certain shades. Try to avoid using these colors in your campaigns. Even if they are necessary, ensure that the color is not the only element in your email that conveys information. Contrast ratio is another important factor to consider. Users will struggle to distinguish the colors of your text from your background if they are similar in color. This will result in poor user experience. High contrast between the background and foreground elements of your website (text, clickable links, call-to-action buttons) will improve readability. You can use any of the many online contrast checkers if you have trouble determining the color contrast.
Optimize your Emails for Screen Readers
Screen readers are used by people with visual impairments and other cognitive disabilities to read emails. It is essential to optimize your emails for screen readers in order to make them accessible. Screen readers are not able to read information the same way as us. Screen readers can’t jump to the most important part of an email, unlike us. They process emails in a linear fashion. Here are some tips you can keep in mind to make your emails screen-reader-friendly.
- In your emails, include skip navigation links. This will allow users to navigate to the most important section of an email.
- Use the “lang attribute.” This attribute will ensure that the email is interpreted in the language the user selected for the screen reader when they installed it. This means that emails written in another language may not be correctly translated to users.
- Use semantic HTML markup to your emails. This allows you to define the meaning of every element in your email. These tags can be used to alert the screen reader about headings, paragraphs and the presence clickable buttons. Email navigation is made easier by semantic elements, which provide context for the screen reader.
- Write descriptive alt texts. Because screen readers depend on screen readers to communicate images to users, they must be as clear as possible. Your alt texts should help readers see the visual elements within your emails.
Don’t Use Too Many Images
Images can be a great way to spice up emails, but they can also cause problems for the user experience if used too often. Screen readers will not be able interact with images. Instead, they will interpret the alt text. You will be caught out by spam filters if you don’t maintain the right balance between text and images. A ratio of 20% text to 80% images is ideal. Images should be used to enhance your email copy and to add visual interest to your template. They shouldn’t communicate any important message.
Make your Content Easier To Consume
This includes many things. Let’s start with font. It is important to choose the right font size for your email. The ideal font size is between 14-16px, according to most experts. Another important factor that affects readability is font-weight. This refers to the thickness of your font. 78% of readers prefer fonts that are mid-rang thick. There are two types of fonts that brands can choose from: sans serif and serif. Avoid rendering problems by using web-safe fonts for your email messages.
These fonts are the most popular for web safety:
- Arial
- Times New Roman
- Georgia
- Courier
- Verdana
Let’s now discuss structure. Instead of presenting your content in lengthy paragraphs, try breaking it down into multiple subheadings. This will make navigation much easier for your readers. Don’t forget to include spacing. Your email copy must be free to breathe. Your subscribers will be put off if they are forced to read through text blocks that are too tightly grouped together. Make sure there is enough space between consecutive lines and subsequent paragraphs.
Lastly, alignment. Your copy should not be “justified”. Justifying your copy can cause readers to have a difficult time reading your email if it has inconsistent word spacing. Normaly, it is best to align the text left-aligned.
This email accessibility checklist will help you if you are new to email accessibility.
Wrapping it Up
Brands are expected to create an inclusive environment in the current system. They can take a first step in this direction by making email accessibility available. It also increases their reach and helps them avoid legal problems. These factors all add up to give them an edge over their competition. This ultimate guide, co-created with GetResponse by Email Uplers, explains more about email accessibility.
Scoop.it Blog published the article A Comprehensive Guide to Make Your Emails Accessible in 2022.
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