12. Accessible Emails

Email is how offices run — announcements, newsletters, and day-to-day requests. The same habits that make a post accessible make an email easy for everyone to read.

Start with a clear subject and structure

• Write a specific subject line that says what the email is about.
• Use real formatting — headings and the list buttons — for longer emails; don’t fake structure with dashes, extra spaces, or ASCII art.
• Prefer a single-column layout; it reads predictably with a screen reader and on phones.

Images and links

• Many email apps block images by default, and screen readers skip images with no alt text. Never put key information only in an image — write it in the text too, and add alt text to images.
• Avoid sending a newsletter as one big image — it is unreadable to a screen reader and to anyone with images turned off.
• Use descriptive link text (“register for the training”), not “click here” or a bare URL.

Make it easy on the eyes

• Keep good contrast and a comfortable font size; avoid light-grey text on white.
• Don’t rely on color alone (such as red text) to flag something important — add a word.
• Keep a simple signature: real text for your name and contact details (not a picture), and alt text on any logo.

Attachments

• Make attachments accessible before you send them — see Chapter 10 (documents) and Chapter 11 (presentations) — or paste the key content into the email body.

Emails checklist

• Specific subject line; real headings/lists for longer emails.
• No key information trapped in an image; images have alt text.
• Not sent as one big image; single-column and readable on a phone.
• Descriptive links; good contrast; meaning not shown by color alone.
• Attachments are accessible or summarized in the body.