When individuals discuss e mail accessibility, they often concentrate on content material and design — clear language, robust distinction, readable fonts, and visual buttons. However there’s a 3rd layer that usually goes unnoticed: the code.
With out accessible HTML, assistive applied sciences like display screen readers and keyboard navigation instruments can’t interpret your e mail correctly — even when it seems excellent on the floor.
On this article, we’ll present what accessible e mail code should embody — and how one can make it manageable with out sacrificing high quality.
1. What accessible e mail code should embody 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 include severe or crucial accessibility points, and most are code-related. These issues don’t present up in visible previews — however straight have an effect on how display screen readers and keyboard customers expertise your e mail.
A number of the most typical points and their impacts:
- 98.14% lack the dir attribute (e.g., dir=”rtl”) on the and component to outline studying path, 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
attribute, leaving display screen readers unable to detect the proper language; - 86.24% of format tables don’t have position=”presentation”; thus, display screen readers deal with them like information tables, which creates confusion and slows down navigation;
- 76.78% don’t embody an
These aren’t edge instances — they’re widespread.
To make sure that your e mail code is accessible, embody:
- paragraphs (
): wrap every significant piece of textual content in a
tag to outline a transparent studying construction;
- coded lists: use actual
- and
- parts, not visual-only bullets or emojis;
- headings (
- logical studying and tab order: construction your HTML in a clear top-down circulation;
- position=”presentation” on format tables: prevents display screen readers from deciphering format tables as information tables;
- alt attributes: embody significant alt textual content for each picture; use alt=”” for ornamental visuals;
- keyboard help: use actual HTML parts like and listing objects;
- language and path attributes: set each lang and dir on and to assist assistive tech render content material appropriately
Accessible code doesn’t simply test a field; it makes your emails usable for everybody.
Curious truth: Lacking alt textual content isn’t only a usability challenge; it’s additionally one of many high causes manufacturers get sued for digital inaccessibility.
2. How Stripo helps with accessible code
The excellent news? You don’t must construct all of this from scratch. Stripo’s templates are designed with accessibility in thoughts and already embody many important code parts:
- dir attribute: Route (ltr or rtl) is ready robotically in your e mail’s code. In the event you change it within the UI, the dir worth updates immediately in HTML;
- lang attribute: The language of your e mail is ready within the template settings. It’s utilized to each and , so display screen readers and translation instruments can detect it appropriately;
- position=”presentation” on format tables: This position is utilized robotically to format tables throughout export, so display screen readers don’t deal with them like information tables;
- editable alt textual content: Each picture block consists of an alt area by default. You may write your individual or use the built-in AI to generate useful, significant descriptions;
- coded bullet lists: Lists constructed with Stripo use correct
- and
- tags. You may type them any means you want, and so they’ll nonetheless be totally accessible.
In the event you’re utilizing a beforehand constructed e mail, don’t fear. We add these attributes and tags in the course of 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, decreasing guide 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 inspiration, but it surely’s solely one of many three pillars of e mail accessibility. The opposite two are content material and design, and they’re fully in your fingers.
Whereas Stripo helps with the technical half, solely you possibly can be certain 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 will set off epilepsy seizures. For a similar purpose, you shouldn’t use overly vivid colours;
- guarantee enough colour distinction between textual content and background;
- don’t depend on colour alone to point out which means — additionally use phrases;
- don’t spotlight essential info with colour alone. Use each colour and daring however by no means underline;
- write significant alt textual content for pictures;
- add hyperlinks to photographs solely when obligatory — ornamental pictures 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 plenty of extra.
Wrapping up
Whereas content material and design usually take the highlight, it’s the code that determines whether or not display screen readers, keyboard navigation, and different assistive instruments may even make sense of your message.
The excellent news? Making your code accessible is fully potential and simpler than many assume. With the best practices and instruments, like Stripo, a lot of the heavy lifting could be finished 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 e mail technically readable and navigable for display screen readers and keyboards;
- design ensures legibility and readability for recipients with colour blindness, low imaginative and prescient, motor abilities impairments, and extra;
- content material brings readability, which 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 e mail is feasible. And it begins together with your code.
Create accessible emails with Stripo
