This month we’re taking a closer look into the importance of email accessibility. It has become a core part of email design and as designers we are always thinking about the impact our design decisions could have on the reader.

With that in mind we have compiled a helpful checklist with some of the key things we consider when designing emails for clients. We’d recommend taking time to think about each, in order for your emails to be read and understood by the largest percentage of your audience.

1. Keep a clear and consistent hierarchy in your messaging
   Make headlines and titles obvious, with the main call to action near to the top of your email. This will help ensure the email can be scanned quickly and understood by someone who has difficulty reading large amounts of text.
   
   

2. Simplify your layouts
   Don’t over clutter your designs, and make your message flow in an obvious and logical manner. Allow plenty of space between elements to make your message easier to understand.
   
   

3. Avoid including text in images where possible
   Be mindful that if you include any key information as text within an image it may not be seen by everyone. Use web text where possible so it can be read by screen-readers and voice assistants. Using web text also allows the reader to make text larger if needed.
   
   

4. Check your contrast levels
   Allow for high contrast between background and foreground colours - especially when it comes to text and making sure it’s legible. Minimum contrast level should be 4.5:1. 
   
   

5. Don’t use colour alone to convey a message
   Important information and messaging could be lost by those with visual impairments. For example, a passage of text that has been highlighted in a different colour won’t stand out to someone who is colour blind. However making that text either bold or underlined, as well as changing its colour, will make it stand out whether the colour can be seen or not.
   
   

6. Make sure text is legible
   Check your text isn’t too small, or the leading too tight, to ensure it is as easy to read as possible. Our best-practice minimum text size for body copy is 14px.
   
   

7. Consider your text alignment
   Left-aligned text is easier to read and understand, so we suggest this for passages of text than run longer than one or two lines. For short amounts of text center-alignment is ok. Text should never be justified however, as this leads to uneven spacing between words which makes the text much harder to read.
    
   

8. Maintain design consistency
   Set expectation levels for the user. For example, if you’ve underlined a text link then make sure all text links are underlined and following a similar guidance.
   
   

9. Have clear call to actions
   Buttons should have a minimum tappable size of 44px2, any smaller and it can be hard for users to tap on mobile or smaller devices.
   
   

10.  Any interactivity is made obvious

    Interactive elements need to be clear and obvious so the user understands how it works. Those using screen readers in particular will need to be made aware of any interactive elements. By adding a small sentence above any interactivity such as ‘tap to reveal’ will really help improve the user experience.  
    
    

At ActionRocket we can help you to understand more about accessibility and how it affects your email audience. Our aim is to get every brand to be creating emails with accessibility in mind. If you think your emails could be more accessible we’d love to help, get in touch with us at hello@actionrocket.co.