What is accessibility in email design?

You're designing an email template. You pick a beautiful navy background with gray text. Looks great on your phone. But if you're colorblind or have low vision, those colors blur together. That's where accessible email design comes in. It means making visual, structural, and content choices that work for users with different abilities, not just the majority.

Let's break down the three pillars. Visual accessibility means sufficient color contrast (4.5:1 for body text is the standard), readable font sizes (14px minimum), and dark mode compatibility so your email doesn't invert weirdly. Structural accessibility means semantic HTML, logical reading order, and proper heading hierarchy so screen readers can navigate your template. Content accessibility means descriptive alt text for images, clear link text (not "click here"), and plain language that doesn't confuse.

Here's the reality: if you're building for accessibility, you're building better emails for everyone. Large text helps mobile readers. Clear structure helps skimmers. Want to spot issues in your templates before you send? Test your renders with email client testing. Then review responsive design constraints to make sure your accessible choices work everywhere.