In this blog, we’ll go over three things to look for when making sure the emails you send out are accessible.
Adequate Font Size and Color Contrast
If you’ve got a lot to say, it can be tempting to choose a smaller font. Sometimes even the default font, 12pt, can have some users reaching for their cheaters. That’s why it’s a good idea to keep your ideas concise and try to bump that font up to at least 14pt.
On that same note, you also want to make sure that you’re using adequate color contrast. The official minimum contrast ratio is 4.5:1. And there are variety of free tools you can use to check this. Designs that use high contrast also tend to do a better job getting users attention than low contrast alternatives.
A Picture And a Thousand Words
So the marketing department came up with a snazzy ad. Why not just slap that .jpg into the email body, send it out and call it a day? Well, for one thing, what happens if a user can’t load the image? Oops. And users who access your emails using assistive technologies will also be left in the dark.
So what do you do? Any image that is important to the message of your email should have an alt text tag. This ensures users on assistive devices—or who can’t load the images—don’t miss out on important context. It’s also a good idea to avoid, as much as possible, putting a lot of text in your images.
Meaningful Links—With Meaningful Titles
It’s important to make sure your users know exactly what any links you’re including actually do. Hyperlinks that say things like “Click here” or “Learn More” don’t really tell your users what exactly is going to happen if they access the link. Sure, these might make sense in context, but these links aren’t always accessed in context. Some users may be toggling between a list of links using assistive software. And in that instance, they’ll be met with a list of however many “Learn More” or “Click Here” links without any way of knowing which is which. So make sure your hyperlinks have adequate context.