Good design is not just about what something looks like, it’s also about how it works. Most designers would agree that user experience is an essential part of any design project. At the same time, many people have no idea what user experience is. Email accessibility is important to ensure that everyone, including those with disabilities, can easily understand and engage with your content.
Good user experience is a combination of usability, accessibility, and technical performance.
When all three of these things come together, it leads to a better user experience. What does this mean for the average user? It means that the design is intuitive, easy to use, and efficient. Ultimately, it means that the user is having an enjoyable experience.
Accessibility is no longer a luxury and it’s not something that you can afford to ignore. As you may well know, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 are the standards by which all companies abide when creating their content for the web.
The guidelines are broken down into three main principles: perceivable, operable, understandable.
If a screen reader user can’t perceive your content, if a deaf user can’t use your form, or if a user with a cognitive disability can’t understand your content, you’re not meeting the standards of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
Software companies have been incorporating these guidelines into their products since they were created. For instance, most browsers now have WCAG 2.0-compliant features built in.
Here are some simple ways to help you improve your email accessibility:
1. Use Descriptive Subject Lines:
Write clear and concise subject lines that accurately reflect the content of your email. This helps recipients quickly understand the purpose of the email.
The subject line of an email is one of the most important parts of the email. It is the first thing that the reader sees. The subject line is crucial for helping the reader decide what the email is about. If the subject line is inaccurate or doesn’t tell the reader what the email is about, the reader will not open the email. In fact, research has shown that many people will simply delete emails with vague or inaccurate subject lines.
When you create a subject line for an email, make sure that it captures the reader’s attention and accurately reflects the content of the email. For example, if the subject line is “Website Maintenance”, the reader might think that the email is about something completely different, like website design. If the subject line is “Website Maintenance Completed”, the reader will know that the email is about website maintenance and will be more likely to open the email and read it.
2. Use a Readable Font and Size:
The primary purpose of text is to convey information. When you are reading a page on your phone or a computer screen, the text you see is very difficult to read. This is because the readability is very poor, and it is very difficult to distinguish between characters.
Not all fonts are created equal. Some are hard for people with visual impairment to read. Some are designed to be easy for readers with dyslexia to read. Some are easier to read on a screen than others. The most readable font for online reading is Arial, Helvetica, or Verdana. These san-serif fonts are designed to be simple and clean.
Ensure the font size is at least 14 points or equivalent for body text.
3. Contrast and Color:
High contrast between text and background colors allows people to discern your content easily. Most people with any vision impairment can see high contrast text in a variety of lighting conditions.
Contrast is a key factor in legibility. Contrast is the difference in luminosity between two colors. Luminosity refers to how bright or dark a color appears. You can create high contrast by choosing text and background colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel.
Avoid using color alone to convey important information, and use text or symbols as well. A combination of visuals, text and symbols can help ensure that important information is conveyed to all of your customers, regardless of their vision, computer, or device. Color-blindness is an example of a disability that can make it difficult to distinguish colors.
4. Alt Text for Images:
In order to properly make your email content accessible for everyone, you have to make every effort to make your images accessible as well. This means that every image should have alternate text (or alt text).
Alternate text is a piece of text that is used in place of an image when it can’t be displayed. It is also used by screen readers to describe the image to visually impaired users. This text needs to be short and succinct, but descriptive enough to understand what the image is.
If you would like help with your Email Marketing Campaigns and/or Email Accessibility, Connect With Us. We are MailerLite Certified to help you with setting up email marketing sequences and autoresponder messaging.