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Accessibility

WCAG Accessibility Analysis

Ensure your HTML emails are accessible to everyone. MailLinter analyzes your emails against WCAG 2.0 guidelines and provides actionable suggestions to improve accessibility.

Why Email Accessibility Matters

1B+
People with disabilities worldwide
15%
Of email users use assistive technology
ADA
Legal compliance requirements

WCAG Compliance Levels

A

Level A - Essential

Minimum accessibility requirements. Must-have for basic accessibility.

Key Requirements:
  • Images have alt text
  • Links have accessible names
  • Document has lang attribute
  • Form inputs have labels

Issue Severity Levels

critical
-25 pts

Must fix - blocks assistive technology

serious
-15 pts

Should fix - significant barrier

moderate
-8 pts

Consider fixing - causes difficulty

minor
-3 pts

Nice to fix - best practice

Accessibility Check Categories

Images

Alt text and image accessibility

missing-alt

Image missing alt attribute

critical
generic-alt

Generic alt text like "image" or "photo"

moderate
empty-alt

Empty alt (acceptable for decorative images)

info

Color Contrast

Text readability and contrast ratios

low-contrast

Insufficient contrast ratio

serious
contrast-large

Large text contrast issues

moderate

Links

Link accessibility and purpose

empty-link

Link has no accessible text

critical
vague-link

Vague link text like "click here"

serious
image-link-no-alt

Image link without alt text

critical

Structure

Document structure and organization

missing-lang

Missing lang attribute on <html>

serious
skipped-heading

Skipped heading levels (h1 to h3)

moderate
table-no-headers

Data table without header cells

moderate

Typography

Font size and text formatting

small-text

Text smaller than 12px

moderate
all-caps

Large blocks of all-caps text

minor

Semantic HTML

Proper use of semantic elements

semantic-bold

Using <b> instead of <strong>

minor
semantic-italic

Using <i> instead of <em>

minor

Accessibility Best Practices

Images

  • Always include descriptive alt text
  • Use empty alt="" for decorative images
  • Avoid generic text like "image" or "photo"

Links

  • Use descriptive link text
  • Avoid "click here" or "read more"
  • Ensure image links have alt text

Color & Contrast

  • 4.5:1 contrast for normal text
  • 3:1 contrast for large text (18pt+)
  • Don't rely on color alone for meaning

Structure

  • Include lang attribute on HTML
  • Use sequential heading levels
  • Use table headers for data tables

What's Next?

Email Compatibility Testing

Test your emails across 15+ major email clients and ensure perfect rendering.

Spam Analysis

Validate your emails with SpamAssassin and improve deliverability.

Pro Tips for Email Accessibility

Screen Reader Testing

  • Test with actual screen readers (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver)
  • Ensure logical reading order
  • Verify all interactive elements are accessible

Visual Design

  • Use sufficient font sizes (min 14px recommended)
  • Ensure adequate line spacing
  • Avoid relying on color alone to convey information