When individuals discuss electronic mail accessibility, they normally deal with content material and design — clear language, sturdy distinction, readable fonts, and visual buttons. However there’s a 3rd layer that always goes unnoticed: the code.
With out accessible HTML, assistive applied sciences like display readers and keyboard navigation instruments can’t interpret your electronic mail correctly — even when it seems to be good on the floor.
On this article, we’ll present what accessible electronic mail code should embrace — and easy methods to make it manageable with out sacrificing high quality.
1. What accessible electronic mail code should embrace and why
Whereas design points like low distinction or small textual content are simpler to identify, most important accessibility issues occur behind the scenes — in HTML.
In response to the E mail Markup Consortium’s 2025 report, 99.89% of emails comprise severe or crucial accessibility points, and most are code-related. These issues don’t present up in visible previews — however immediately have an effect on how display readers and keyboard customers expertise your electronic mail.
A number of the most typical points and their impacts:
98.14% lack the dir attribute (e.g., dir=”rtl”) on the <html> and <physique> factor to outline studying route, which may break layouts for right-to-left languages and make it unattainable for assistive instruments to learn the emails correctly;
96.67% are lacking the <lang> attribute, leaving display readers unable to detect the right language;
86.24% of format tables don’t have position=”presentation”; thus, display readers deal with them like knowledge tables, which creates confusion and slows down navigation;
76.78% don’t embrace an <h1> contained in the content material, making it tougher for display reader customers to find the beginning of the particular electronic mail content material, particularly in emails with repeated parts like headers or menus.
These aren’t edge circumstances — they’re widespread.
To make sure that your electronic mail code is accessible, embrace:
paragraphs (<p>): wrap every significant piece of textual content in a <p> tag to outline a transparent studying construction;
coded lists: use actual <ul> and <li> parts, not visual-only bullets or emojis;
headings (<h1>–<h6>): present construction and assist display reader customers navigate the content material;
logical studying and tab order: construction your HTML in a clear top-down circulation;
position=”presentation” on format tables: prevents display readers from decoding format tables as knowledge tables;
alt attributes: embrace significant alt textual content for each picture; use alt=”” for ornamental visuals;
keyboard assist: use actual HTML parts like <a> and record gadgets;
language and route attributes: set each lang and dir on <html> and <physique> to assist assistive tech render content material accurately
Accessible code doesn’t simply verify a field; it makes your emails usable for everybody.
Curious reality: Lacking alt textual content isn’t only a usability situation; it’s additionally one of many prime causes manufacturers get sued for digital inaccessibility.
2. How Stripo helps with accessible code
The excellent news? You don’t need to construct all of this from scratch. Stripo’s templates are designed with accessibility in thoughts and already embrace many important code parts:
dir attribute: Course (ltr or rtl) is about robotically in your electronic mail’s code. If you happen to change it within the UI, the dir worth updates immediately in HTML;
lang attribute: The language of your electronic mail is about within the template settings. It’s utilized to each <html> and <physique>, so display readers and translation instruments can detect it accurately;
position=”presentation” on format tables: This position is utilized robotically to format tables throughout export, so display readers don’t deal with them like knowledge tables;
editable alt textual content: Each picture block consists of an alt discipline by default. You’ll be able to write your individual or use the built-in AI to generate useful, significant descriptions;
coded bullet lists: Lists constructed with Stripo use correct <ul> and <li> tags. You’ll be able to fashion them any means you want, and so they’ll nonetheless be totally accessible.
If you happen to’re utilizing a beforehand constructed electronic mail, don’t fear. We add these attributes and tags throughout the export course of, whatever the export technique.
So whenever you construct emails with Stripo, you’re already ranging from a technically strong basis — saving time, lowering handbook work, and serving to guarantee your messages are extra inclusive by default.
3. Code is only one half — content material and design matter, too
Accessible code builds the muse, however it’s solely one of many three pillars of electronic mail accessibility. The opposite two are content material and design, and they’re totally in your fingers.
Whereas Stripo helps with the technical half, solely you’ll be able to be sure that the phrases you write and the visible decisions you make are accessible to everybody.
Some fast reminders:
keep away from flashing GIFs. There needs to be solely 2 flashes per second; in any other case, they’ll set off epilepsy seizures. For a similar motive, you shouldn’t use overly shiny colours;
guarantee adequate shade distinction between textual content and background;
don’t depend on shade alone to point out that means — additionally use phrases;
don’t spotlight vital data with shade alone. Use each shade and daring however by no means underline;
write significant alt textual content for photographs;
add hyperlinks to pictures solely when crucial — ornamental photographs shouldn’t be clickable;
preserve copy clear and legible: left-aligned for LTR, and right-aligned for RTL; keep away from center-aligned or justified textual content,
and lots of extra.
Wrapping up
Whereas content material and design usually take the highlight, it’s the code that determines whether or not display readers, keyboard navigation, and different assistive instruments may even make sense of your message.
The excellent news? Making your code accessible is totally doable and simpler than many suppose. With the best practices and instruments, like Stripo, a lot of the heavy lifting will be achieved for you.
Nevertheless, accessibility doesn’t finish with code. It really works greatest when all three pillars — code, design, and content material — come collectively:
code makes your electronic mail technically readable and navigable for display readers and keyboards;
design ensures legibility and readability for recipients with shade blindness, low imaginative and prescient, motor abilities impairments, and extra;
content material brings readability, that means, and respect, utilizing copy that everybody can perceive, not just a few.
When these layers work in concord, your emails aren’t simply compliant; they’re inclusive by default.
Accessible electronic mail is feasible. And it begins along with your code.
Create accessible emails with Stripo