How to Make Your Emails ADA Compliant: Complete Guide to Email Accessibility
July 9, 2025
Making your emails accessible isn't just good practice—it's a legal requirement. With ADA compliance lawsuits on the rise and WCAG 2.1 AA standards becoming the norm, ensuring your emails are accessible to all users is crucial. In this comprehensive guide, we'll show you exactly how to make your emails ADA compliant and how MailMoxie's accessibility testing can help you meet these requirements.
Why Email Accessibility Matters
The Legal and Business Case for Accessible Emails
What is WCAG 2.1 AA Compliance?
WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) 2.1 AA is the international standard for digital accessibility. For emails, this means:
Key Accessibility Requirements for Emails
1. Color Contrast and Typography
❌ Common Issues
- • Low contrast text on backgrounds
- • Small font sizes (under 14px)
- • Poor spacing between lines
- • Color-only information
✅ Solutions
- • 4.5:1 contrast ratio minimum
- • 16px+ font size for body text
- • 1.5 line spacing minimum
- • Don't rely on color alone
How MailMoxie Helps
MailMoxie's accessibility testing automatically checks color contrast ratios, font sizes, and spacing to ensure your emails meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards.
2. Image Accessibility
❌ Common Issues
- • Missing alt text for images
- • Decorative images without proper markup
- • Complex images without descriptions
- • Text embedded in images
✅ Solutions
- • Descriptive alt text for all images
- • Empty alt="" for decorative images
- • Long descriptions for complex images
- • Avoid text in images
How MailMoxie Helps
MailMoxie scans your emails for missing alt text, identifies images that need descriptions, and provides specific recommendations for image accessibility.
3. Link and Button Accessibility
❌ Common Issues
- • Generic link text ("Click here")
- • Links that open in new windows without warning
- • Small click targets
- • Color-only link indicators
✅ Solutions
- • Descriptive link text
- • Warn users about external links
- • Minimum 44px click targets
- • Multiple link indicators
How MailMoxie Helps
MailMoxie identifies generic link text, checks link accessibility, and provides suggestions for making your calls-to-action more accessible.
4. Structure and Navigation
❌ Common Issues
- • No clear heading structure
- • Poor content organization
- • Missing skip links
- • Complex table structures
✅ Solutions
- • Proper heading hierarchy (H1, H2, H3)
- • Logical content flow
- • Clear navigation structure
- • Simple, accessible tables
How MailMoxie Helps
MailMoxie analyzes your email structure, checks heading hierarchy, and identifies navigation issues that could affect screen reader users.
5. Mobile Accessibility
❌ Common Issues
- • Small touch targets
- • Horizontal scrolling required
- • Pinch-to-zoom disabled
- • Poor mobile navigation
✅ Solutions
- • 44px minimum touch targets
- • Responsive design
- • Allow zoom functionality
- • Mobile-friendly navigation
How MailMoxie Helps
MailMoxie tests your emails across different devices and screen sizes, ensuring they remain accessible on mobile devices and tablets.
How to Test Your Emails for Accessibility
Send Your Email to MailMoxie
Send your email to your personal MailMoxie agent address. This can be done from any email client or marketing platform.
Pro Tip: Test every email campaign before sending to ensure accessibility compliance.
Get Accessibility Analysis
MailMoxie's AI will analyze your email for WCAG 2.1 AA compliance, checking color contrast, alt text, link accessibility, and more.
What You'll See: Accessibility score, specific issues identified, and actionable recommendations for improvement.
Fix Issues and Retest
Follow MailMoxie's recommendations to fix accessibility issues, then send the updated email for another test to ensure compliance.
Best Practice: Keep testing until you achieve a high accessibility score (90%+).
MailMoxie's Accessibility Testing Features
WCAG 2.1 AA Compliance
AI-Powered Insights
Mobile Accessibility
Screen Reader Support
Common Accessibility Mistakes and How to Fix Them
Mistake 1: Poor Color Contrast
Problem: Light gray text on white backgrounds or dark text on dark backgrounds makes content unreadable for many users.
Solution: Use MailMoxie's color contrast analysis to ensure all text meets the 4.5:1 contrast ratio requirement for normal text.
Mistake 2: Missing Alt Text
Problem: Images without alt text are invisible to screen readers, excluding users with visual impairments.
Solution: MailMoxie identifies images missing alt text and provides guidance on writing descriptive, meaningful descriptions.
Mistake 3: Generic Link Text
Problem: Links with text like "Click here" or "Read more" don't provide context for screen reader users.
Solution: MailMoxie flags generic link text and suggests more descriptive alternatives that explain the link's purpose.
Mistake 4: Small Touch Targets
Problem: Buttons and links that are too small are difficult to tap on mobile devices, especially for users with motor impairments.
Solution: MailMoxie checks touch target sizes and ensures all interactive elements meet the 44px minimum requirement.
Start Making Your Emails Accessible Today
Don't wait for a lawsuit to make your emails accessible. MailMoxie's comprehensive accessibility testing will help you meet ADA requirements and reach more users with your email campaigns.
Ready to make your emails accessible?Start testing your emails for ADA compliance with MailMoxie today and ensure your messages are accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. Protect your business and reach more customers with accessible email campaigns.
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