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Re: E-mail

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From: Chagnon | PubCom
Date: Feb 14, 2013 12:32PM

Interesting topic. I haven't come across any formal guidelines, and it's definitely appropriate for this discussion list.

HTML emails should always have a plain ASCII text versions embedded into the email. You should be able to Google this to learn how it's done.

This dual strategy accommodates both AT users as well as those recipients who have HTML email disabled for security purposes, which is common in large enterprises.

My off-the-top-of-my-head guidelines are:
— For the HTML version, you must use a table to layout the design (I know, I know, but that's how it's done), so keep the layout table as simple as possible to more easily accommodate different AT.
— Avoid having one story or topic thread to multiple columns or cells.
— One topic or story per table cell, make sure that the graphics are in the same cell with the text, Alt-text on graphics.
— Since you can't link to an external CSS stylesheet, use inline CSS styles where you can define H1, H2, Lists, etc.
— Plan to do a fair amount of hand-coding with classes and attributes on the individual HTML elements in your design.
— Make sure each story has a link to a version on a live webpage.
— Build in as much WCAG as possible without breaking the email (yes, they often fail).

The ASCII plain text is identical to what you're receiving on the list. No formatting, no graphics.

—Bevi Chagnon