Outlook Email Accessibility Best Practices

Relevant to: faculty, staff, and students

This article contains information considered accurate at the time of publishing. Technology updates, changes in University security practices, policies and procedures may effect the information in this article - updates to articles are scheduled on a periodic basis and will address any required changes.

Introduction

Many of the same principles that apply to creating accessible documents apply to creating accessible emails. The Knowledge Base articles "Creating Accessible Documents" and "Checking Color Contrast Against WCAG Requirements" will cover much of what you need to know. This article will provide an overview of the most important points to consider regarding email accessibility.

Fonts and Alternative Text

• Choose a sans-serif font that is 12pt or larger. Calibri, the default font in Outlook, is a good choice. Tahoma, Arial, and Helvetica are other good options for readability.
• Make sure all images have alternative text.
  • This includes any logos in your signature. To add alternative text to your logo or any other image, right click on the image and select "view alt text."" The alternative text window will open, and you can add alternative text. Be sure to describe the image in context and include any text in the image.

  

Documents

• Make sure any documents (PDFs, Word documents, Excel files) you are attaching to your email are accessible.
  • Run the accessibility checker in Word, Excel, or Acrobat prior to attaching your document. In Microsoft products, you can locate the accessibility checker by going to "Review," then "Check Accessibility," and then select "Check Accessibility" again.

    

  • Checking the accessibility of a PDF is a different process. If possible, it is always best to refer to the source document and ensure that is accessible before exporting to PDF. *Remember to select "Save as PDF" and never "Print to PDF".
  • If you have a PDF that you need to send in an email and you cannot access the original document, you can check the accessibility in Acrobat. You can do this by adding the Accessibility button under Tools. Once it is added, select the accessibility icon and then select "Full Check". *Note that you need Acrobat Pro to fix any accessibility issues with a PDF.

    

    

  • For additional information on document accessibility, visit the EITA Accessibility page or the accessibility trainings in the Employee Learning Hub.

Colors

• If you are using a text color other than black in your email, make sure it meets color contrast requirements against a white background. Refer to the article on Checking Color Contrast.
• If you need to highlight or use another text color to draw attention or emphasize a point, provide an additional way for a user to understand the emphasis that does not rely on color alone. A good way to do this is by adding an asterisk next to the point, like this:
  • *Pay attention to this information in red.
• Avoid using decorative/colorful backgrounds for your emails; stick to white.

Other Tips

• Make sure all links have meaningful names, instead of "click here" or a long URL.
• When sending meeting invites, provide accessibility information (for example, indicate if the meeting will have ASL interpretation, CART, etc.) Provide enough information about the purpose of the meeting, and send the agenda ahead of time when possible (and make sure the agenda is accessible).
• Before sending an email, run the accessibility checker in Outlook. Select "Review" and then "Check Accessibility".