WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: email campaigns

for

From: John E Brandt
Date: Oct 8, 2014 8:29AM

Most of the group mail services provide an option to send both an HTML and non-HTML version of the same message. However, many folks forget to do both (or don't bother). The non-HTML versions are not pretty because the links that get created are very long because they include tracking code.

In addition, many of the templates that are provided to the user are not very accessible or usable. I'm guessing that mail protocol cannot use CSS so the layout is done with tables and the use of graphics for text.

There is usually a way to add ALT descriptions to images in these system, but again, unless you know what you are doing, it is not easy to accomplish.

With some effort, I was able to create a fairly accessible design in Constant Contact. The problem was the footer which is generated by a server-side process added images without ALT descriptions. I asked CC to fix this and...well, you know how that goes...

~j

John E. Brandt
jebswebs: accessible and universal web design,
development and consultation
<EMAIL REMOVED>
207-622-7937
Augusta, Maine, USA

@jebswebs
www.jebswebs.com