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Email Accessibility Checker

Paste your email HTML. We score it against WCAG standards covering alt text, color contrast, structure, and dark-mode rendering. More accessible emails get read and forwarded more, which feeds the engagement signal that drives inbox placement.

Want the bigger picture? Read content and creative best practices in the Email Almanac.

Paste the HTML source of your email. We check it against WCAG standards and email accessibility best practices, entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.

How this tool works

Six weighted checks, one score

  1. 1

    Images and alt text

    Every image needs an alt attribute. Missing alt on a linked image is critical because the alt text becomes the link text for screen readers. Filename-style alt text gets flagged too.

  2. 2

    Color contrast

    We compute the WCAG 2.1 contrast ratio for every element that sets both a text and background color inline.

  3. 3

    Semantic structure

    A lang attribute on the root element, sequential heading levels, role="presentation" on layout tables, and strong and em over b and i.

  4. 4

    Links and buttons

    Generic link text like "click here", full URLs used as link text and image-only links with no alt all make links hard to navigate by keyboard or screen reader.

  5. 5

    Text and readability

    Tiny font sizes, cramped line height, justified text and long all-caps blocks each hurt readability for a wide range of readers.

  6. 6

    Dark mode

    A color-scheme meta tag, a prefers-color-scheme dark media query, and text colors paired with light backgrounds so nothing vanishes when a client inverts your email.

Six categories, 100 points

  • Images and alt text20
  • Color contrast20
  • Semantic structure20
  • Links and buttons15
  • Text and readability15
  • Dark mode10

Contrast we flag below

4.5:1
Normal text
3:1
Large text

When to use it

Reach for it in these moments

  • Before a new template goes live

    Run the final HTML once. Fixing contrast and alt text in the master template fixes it for every future send at once.

  • When you inherit a design

    Templates bought or handed over often fail contrast in footers and skip alt text on hero images. A quick check surfaces both.

  • Compliance and legal review

    Accessibility laws increasingly apply to email. A documented score and issue list is a useful starting point for that conversation.

Email Almanac

  • Not sure what this means?

    Ask a real person. The Email SOS Hotline is free help with any email problem, no pitch.

    Ask the Email SOS Hotline

  • Keep this result

    Send it to your inbox, to share with your team or compare after a fix.

    Run a check, then email it

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