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It's time to stop treating email accessibility as something that will sort itself out in the next sprint.
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) officially came into force on June 28, 2025. And if you've been following our blog, you already know that the EAA isn't just about websites or apps — it covers the full digital experience your brand delivers. That includes your email campaigns, newsletters, and automated communications.
Yes, really. Your emails are on the list.
So let's break it down: what does email accessibility under the EAA actually mean, what are the consequences of getting it wrong, and how can your marketing team start building more inclusive email experiences today?
When we talk about the EAA, the conversation tends to orbit around web design, UX/UI, and PDFs. But email is just as much a digital communication channel — and one that reaches users directly in their most personal digital space: their inbox.
Under the EAA, companies operating in the EU (or serving EU customers, regardless of where they are headquartered) must ensure their digital communications are accessible to people with disabilities. That includes visual, auditory, cognitive, and motor impairments.
The reasoning is straightforward: if someone with a visual impairment receives a bank statement by email, or a newsletter with a CTA buried inside a non-tagged image, that's an accessibility failure. And an accessibility failure, under EAA, is potentially a legal one.
Non-compliance can result in fines that, depending on national enforcement, can reach up to €12,000. But beyond legal risk, inaccessible emails simply don't reach a significant portion of your audience — and that's a business problem, not just a compliance checkbox.
Accessible email follows the same WCAG 2.2 AA principles that govern accessible web content. But email has its own quirks — rendering differences across clients, stripped HTML, image-blocking — which makes accessibility even harder to get right without intention.
Here's what it looks like in practice:
Semantic structure and logical reading order. Screen readers navigate email the same way they navigate websites — through structure. Using proper heading hierarchy (H1, H2, H3), meaningful link text, and a logical content flow ensures that users relying on assistive technology can understand and interact with your email in a sensible sequence.
Alt text on all images. This is one of the most common failures in email marketing. Every image that conveys meaning — a product photo, a banner headline, a CTA button as an image — must have descriptive alt text. Even if images are blocked by the email client (which happens more often than most marketers realise), that alt text carries your message forward.
Sufficient color contrast. Text must have enough contrast against its background to be legible for users with low vision or color blindness. The WCAG 2.2 AA standard sets a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Tools like the WebAIM Contrast Checker make this easy to test before you hit send.
No information is conveyed by color alone. If your CTA button is green because it means "go," that meaning should also be communicated through text or shape. If an error state turns something red, there should also be a text indicator. Color is a visual cue — it's not universally perceived, and it should never be the only signal.
Scalable and readable fonts. Avoid tiny font sizes. A minimum of 14–16px for body copy is a strong baseline, and using relative units (em/rem) allows users to scale text without breaking your layout. Decorative or script fonts should be used sparingly — they often fail accessibility checks and reduce readability for users with dyslexia or cognitive disabilities.
Descriptive, clear CTAs. "Click here" is not accessible. It gives no context to a screen reader user about where a link leads or what action it triggers. "Download our EAA eBook" or "See our email accessibility checklist" are far better. Every link should make sense out of context.
Plain text alternatives. Where possible, include a plain text version of your email alongside the HTML version. Not all email clients render HTML, and plain text is universally accessible — a simple but powerful fallback.
Accessibility is the right thing to do. But let's also be clear: it's excellent marketing.
Over 1 in 4 adults in the EU has some form of disability. That's a significant share of your subscriber list — and a significant share of purchasing power. Inaccessible emails don't just fail those users; they also tend to underperform in general. Clearer structure, better contrast, and meaningful CTAs benefit every reader, including those without disabilities.
Accessible emails are also more likely to render correctly across different clients, load faster, and be flagged as higher quality by inbox algorithms. Accessibility and deliverability are closer friends than most teams realise.
Before you can fix anything, you need to know what you're working with. Here's a simple starting framework:
If accessible email is new territory for your team, don't try to overhaul everything at once. Instead:
If there's one thing we've said consistently across all our EAA content, it's this: accessibility isn't a task you complete. It's a standard you maintain.
Email is no different. Templates evolve, campaigns change, and new team members join. The goal isn't to "do accessible email once" — it's to build inclusive thinking into the way your team operates.
And that's actually the opportunity here. The EAA created a moment of urgency, but the brands that will win long-term are the ones that use this moment to build better habits, create better experiences, and reach more people.
Your inbox is a powerful channel. Make sure it works for everyone.
Want to go deeper? Download our free EAA eBook for practical checklists, design guidelines, and real-world examples to help you build accessible digital experiences across every channel — including email.
Need help auditing your email programme or making your templates EAA-compliant? Talk to our team.
