Accessible Emails

When creating email, follow the Content Accessibility Fundamentals, which include guidance on:

• Headings: For lengthy emails, use headings to help organize the content and make it easier to read.
• Lists: Use lists to structure your content and make it easier to read.
• Link text: Write descriptive link text and avoid using URLs as link text.
• Alternative text for images: Always include descriptive alternative text for images, unless the images are purely decorative. See National Disability Institute's Creating Accessible Emails video for information about adding alt text in Outlook.

• Before attaching a document to an email, ask yourself if it's the best way to communicate the information. Could you simply add the content of the document to the body of the email?
• If it’s absolutely necessary to attach a file to an email, make sure the document is accessible. See accessible PDFs, accessible Word documents and accessible PowerPoints for more details.
• If you do attach an event flyer to an email, make sure that all of the text in the flyer is included in the email body text.
• Important information like event date, time and location should always be included in the email body text.

Including images in your email can add visual appeal to support your message. However, it's important to ensure image accessibility.

• Include alt text on images.
• Do not include images of text.
• Do not include an image of a flyer in the body of your email.

See Microsoft's Improve image accessibility in email video for information about adding alt text in Outlook.

Avoid including auto-playing video content.

• Avoid overusing emojis or relying on them to communicate messaging. If you do use them, add them to the end of your message rather than in between words.
• Don't use emojis to replace words.
• Avoid using emoticons created with punctuation and keyboard characters. They lose their meaning when read with assistive technology.

Avoid using animations in your emails.

• When adding your signature, use actual text for your name and contact information to ensure accessibility.
• Avoid including images in your signature.
• Be sure to follow the college's Email Signature Guidelines.

• Email Signatures
  The use of MCC’s old signature generator is also no longer recommended. The signatures generated with that tool included a spelled-out URL for the MCC Website and 8.5-point text, which is below the recommended size for WCAG 2.1 AA. If you are using an email signature generated by the old tool, you can update it:
• In Outlook on your desktop, go to File, then Options, then Mail, and click on the “Signatures…” button.
• In Outlook for the Web, go to File, then Account Info, then Signatures.

Remember that the minimum recommended font size is 12 points and that any links should use descriptive link text. Also, remember to include alt text for images, such as the MCC logo.