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Accessibility Challenges in Email Design

ACCESSIBILITY CHALLENGES IN EMAIL DESIGN +John Smith Gmail Calendar Documents Photos GMail Mail - COMPOSE YourBank Click to see more Inbox (42) Important Sent Drafts Trash Julia Lunch? O Grocery New coupons O Taxman Send your bill O Spambot More junk mail Nearly 49 million Americans have some type of disability. These disabilities can range from color blindness and full blindness to cognitive and neurological disorders. Like most people, these users utilize email and the web on a daily basis, presenting some interesting challenges when it comes to designing web and email content. Here, we take a look at these obstacles and offer tips for designing with these Americans in mind. TYPES OF DISABILITIES COGNITIVELY AND NEUROLOGICALLY DISABLED VISUALLY DISABLED PHYSICALLY DISABLED Visually disabled users range from those who are partially colorblind to Those with physical limitations can find emails with busy design For users with this particular type of disability, receiving emails that have those who are fully blind. Colorblind individuals find it hard to distinguish schemes or multiple elements particularty troublesome. Physically overly complex design, inconsistent navigation, or distracting elements could potentially hinder their ability differences in some colors or design disabled users are often incapable elements, such as red and green. of using a mouse. Therefore, the to comprehend the email. Those with visual impairments will likely use screen readers for emails, content in their email should Individuals with these disabilities inform them of a new event, sale, making it essential to create content etc. without the need to click may suffer from dyslexia, autism, that is compatible with the through to a secondary website. strokes, etc screen reader. THE DISABLED POPULATION Americans with disabilities occupy a far The number of those considered to be bl greater percentage of our nation's population than originally thought; 19.4 percent of non-institutionalized civilians in the U.S. live with no residual vision is nearly 2 million. 2 MILLION with a disability. 19.4% 8 percent of males and 1 percent of females are color blind. OR 48.9 MILLION 8% DO 1% MALE FEMALE DESIGNING FOR DISABILITIES TEXT-ONLY OPTION BE MINDFUL OF COLORS Ensure your emails are sent in multi-part MIME format, and offer both plain text and HTML options when your user signs Color brings vivacity to an email. However, for those with color vision deficiencies, complex color schemes in an email can be up to receive your emails. The HTML version will load an email confusing or painful. Consider how content and copy may that contains images while the plain text version will load appear in an email to color deficient users. For example, if text-only content. This will allow your user to decide which is black copy is set against dark red, the elements will become the most comfortable format to read. indistinguishable to those afflicted with achromatopsia. Use colors with high contrasts to help elements stand out from one another. 4 KNOW YOUR HIERARCHY CLICKABLE LINKS Establishing a clear hierarchy is particularly important when Clickable links should be large and placed in an obvious designing for those with cognitive or neurological disabilities. location. The size of the link will be particularly beneficial to Placing important information higher in the email or following a predictable flow will help users focus and naviagte through those who cannot control a mouse with precision. Those with partial visual impairment should not have to struggle to find a clickable link among other distracting images. the email more easily. Gmail - 7-Day Satar Deal - [email protected] 7-Day Safari Deal I Social Deals [email protected] Nov 1(1 day ago) 2 VIEW TEXT ONLY SOCIAL DE ALS 50% OFF 3 SERENGETI SAFARI IN ARUSHA, TANZANIA 4 LEARN MORE HERE SAFARI INCLUDES: 5 7 DAYS ATA FIVE-STAR HOTEL CLICK HERE FOR MORE ESCAPES ALL MEALS DAILY BOTTLED WATER ROUND-TRIP AIRFARE 7 DAYS SAFARI PASS 6 TEXT SIZE KEEP IT RAGGED Use larger font sizes to accommodate visually impaired Avoid using justified copy in your email. Some users may find the harsh rivers and breaks in the paragraph too difficult to follow. Allowing the text to left align and produce a "rag" will alleviate this. Also ensure that line users. Anything below 14 points on a browser screen requires some effort to read. When selecting the typeface that you will be using in your email, choose ones that are evenly spaced and not too condensed. lengths don't become too long: 50-70 characters per line is a good guideline. 7. SCREEN READERS HARMFUL CONTENT While sighted users can visually scan or skip over Content that flashes at certain rates or in patterns can non-relevant content, blind users must listen to the entire cause photo-sensitive seizures in some individuals. content of the email, one email at a time. With this in mind, Avoid flashing content or including links to videos that may have similar content. ensure a healthy balance of text and images in your design, and tailor the written content in your email to deliver the main message. Also consider how compatible your design is with popular screen readers such as JAWS or Window-Eyes. SOURCES: DAVECHAFFEY.COM I PRB.ORG I USABILITY.GIV I ADA.ORG "DESIGNING FOR COGNITIVE DISABILITIES," RUTH ELLISON litmus

Accessibility Challenges in Email Design

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We’ve outlined the most common types of disabilities amongst Americans along with eight email-friendly principles to ensure your messages are usable by all. You also might consider using Litmus' Ema...

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