Laying the Groundwork for Accessible Emails
Tackling the challenge of making the world’s most inaccessible email accessible starts with a robust foundation of HTML, CSS, and semantic text. This approach ensures inclusivity in our email campaigns, taking into account the needs of individuals using assistive technologies. By avoiding all-image emails and focusing on text enhanced by CSS, we enhance accessibility for screen readers.
Our Litmus Weekly newsletter, styled creatively with CSS rather than graphics, exemplifies this method. When you
explore the coding
, the thoughtful use of HTML, CSS, and semantic markup becomes evident, providing clarity and context. To address potential confusion from HTML tables, we apply the
appropriate ARIA role
to ensure they’re recognized as presentation-only elements by screen readers.
The presentation attribute
streamlines user experiences by preventing screen readers from processing every table cell, offering simplicity. Similarly, for decorative elements like our 90s-style bullets, we employ the “aria-hidden” attribute:
Since these bullets serve purely decorative purposes, we conform with the
ARIA guidelines
, enhancing the assistive technology experience by omitting redundant content.
Prioritizing Email Accessibility
In both the
United States
and the
European Union
, one in four adults lives with a disability, while globally, the figure stands at
one in six
. Yet, digital spaces often overlook accessibility, posing challenges for many.
Disabilities range from vision impairments and dyslexia to cognitive and age-related challenges. Failing to make emails accessible means missing a significant audience and neglecting potential revenue, which exceeds
$1 trillion annually
in disposable income.
Seeking email accessibility resources? Litmus offers
built-in tools
to guarantee your emails reach and engage everyone.
Enhancing Images with Alt Text
No retro email newsletter is complete without quirky
animated GIFs
. From a dialing modem GIF at the top to nostalgic visitor counters, we incorporate alt text to describe each image. For instance, the “Dialing progress” GIF includes the description: ‘Dialing progress’ with a computer connecting to a rotating globe with animated dots.
Our team’s yearbook-style photos also have descriptive alt text: “Composite of headshots from the 90s of the Litmus marketing department.” Using alt text not only enhances accessibility for visually impaired users but also ensures the message is clear when images fail to display.
Adopting Progressive Enhancements
Progressive enhancement is about starting with the basics, ensuring email functionality across different platforms, then layering features as capabilities allow. A shining example from Litmus Weekly is the use of the marquee tag, known for its scrolling text ability.
Consider the scrolling date beneath our animated logo—it’s not just another GIF but live, animated text. Although deprecated, marquee enables text animation, naturally accessible to assistive technology. However, animations like marquee can distract some users, so employ them with caution.
Creating Engaging and Accessible Emails
Designing our retro Litmus Weekly was a delightful process, emphasizing that stylish emails need not compromise accessibility. Our design choices prove that accessible emails can be both functional and visually appealing—or occasionally tastefully outdated.
Ready to enhance your email accessibility? Explore our
Ultimate Guide to Email Accessibility
for insights from copywriting to coding.
Unlock endless revenue
Let’s discover how much email-driven revenue is at stake.
Accessibility made simple
Creating accessible emails is no longer optional—it’s required. Discover its impact on brands from two industry experts.
Originally written and published by Jason Rodriguez on April 8, 2021.