There are considerations to keep in mind for writing and sending emails in an accessible way. This resource will highlight some considerations when sending accessible emails and support communication within departments and to outside stakeholders. This is not a comprehensive list but rather a starting point.
Font Choice and Size
Default in Microsoft outlook is Calibri 11 and HTML setting. This font style as a sans-serif font is considered accessible for non-print and you may also consider something like Arial. Making 12 point font size your default can help support accessibility, but generally everything above 11 point is considered accessible.
Chunking Content and Headings
If you have different topics to your email it is important to use header styles (which is found under the “format text” menu or bold the titles of each section or topic. Please do not underline (or use a combination of bold and underline as that makes content even less accessible). See the point below about limiting topics in your email.
Limit Topics in Email
Marketing studies have been done on best practices for emails in terms of subject lines and length. Generally having an email that is longer than one non-mobile screen means that the content that receivers have to scroll to find will remain unread.
Though shorter emails increase engagement (Lorente-Páramo et al., 2020) a balance must be struck with lengthy emails receivers have to scroll through and receiving more emails with different topics. Some strategies to consider are moving to a 2-3 times a week format as digest emails if you know you will have a lot of information to share regularly, or sending emails when important time sensitive information needs to be shared. Ultimately having a subject line that highlights the content will give you a better chance that the receiver will open and read your email.
Alt Text All Images (Even Your Signature Block Logo)
When you include an image in the email you can right click (on PC) to find the edit alt text menu where you can describe your image. For example, please see the logo below that is used in the RGASC staff email signatures.
For the logo above, screen-reading software will read: “University of Toronto Mississauga logo and Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre logo”
Creating Lists or Points of To Dos
If there are time sensitive to dos, having points towards the end of the email will help highlight those next steps for readers.
Have Meaningful Hyperlinks
If you are including links to registration forms, or websites of more information, make sure your hyperlinks are meaningful. This means avoiding click here and instead use a description of where the link will take you such as “register for reading group” or “sign up for notices”
Resources
Drip. (2022). Are Your Emails Too Long? Here’s the Ideal Email Length (Backed by Research) https://www.drip.com/blog/ideal-email-length
Lorente-Páramo, Á. J., Chaparro-Peláez, J., & Hernández-García, Á. (2020). How to improve e-mail click-through rates – A national culture approach. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 161, 120283–. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120283
Niagara College.(2021). Accessible Emails. https://accessibilityhub.niagaracollege.ca/articles/communications/accessible-emails/