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Number of posts in this thread: 5 (In chronological order)

From: Swift, Daniel P.
Date: Tue, Aug 23 2016 7:02AM
Subject: email: HTML vs. plain text
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There was a recent discussion at our organization. From an accessibility perspective, are plain text emails better than HTML emails? My assertion is that each has its benefits and shortcomings when it comes to audience. I was given the charge of finding out "which is really better?" - thoughts?

-Dan

From: Jamous, JP
Date: Tue, Aug 23 2016 7:09AM
Subject: Re: email: HTML vs. plain text
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I like HTML as a screen reader user. However, if the emails are large in size, which make JAWS or Outlook hang until they render the HTML, then text based is the best.

If I am using code samples, HTML emails are not always good, but text based are.

You have to find out what type of content you're sending out.




**************************************************

Jean-Pierre Jamous
Digital Accessibility Specialist & Developer
UI Accessibility Team

The only limitations in life are those we set for ourselves

**************************************************

From: Jennifer Sutton
Date: Tue, Aug 23 2016 10:17AM
Subject: Re: email: HTML vs. plain text
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I think the decision should not relate to personal screen reader users'
opinions, but it should rather relate to what your company prefers and
decides it best to convey messages to all.


Both can absolutely be made accessible, so I'm a bit baffled that this
is even a question.


I can't remember the last time I saw any company distributing plain text
emails, so I wouldn't ever expect that.


If you choose to use HTML, below my name are links to a few articles in
a current series on this topic.


Jennifer



Accessibility in Email (Intro):

http://blog.rebelmail.com/accessibility-in-email/


Accessibility in Email Part II:

http://blog.rebelmail.com/accessibility-in-email-part-ii/


And here's a "bonus" --
Why You Should Care about Accessibility in Email Marketing:
https://medium.com/@silcucc/why-you-should-care-about-accessibility-in-email-marketing-2f7443acb422#.owjazin4r

From: Swift, Daniel P.
Date: Wed, Aug 24 2016 6:16AM
Subject: Re: email: HTML vs. plain text
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Thanks Jennifer and JP. Jennifer - I pretty much said the same thing as you when I was asked "which is better". I'll check out those articles and see if there is anything more that I can gain and I'll provide the appropriate people with my findings. Thanks!

-Dan

From: _mallory
Date: Sun, Aug 28 2016 3:23AM
Subject: Re: email: HTML vs. plain text
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In the Front-End world, it's usually said to send both-- because of the
wide difference between email clients. As a mutt user, I hate HTML email
because opening the text browser removes some of my commands, while many
screen reader users I know like the semantics they get with HTML.

_mallory

On Wed, Aug 24, 2016 at 12:16:40PM +0000, Swift, Daniel P. wrote:
> Thanks Jennifer and JP. Jennifer - I pretty much said the same thing as you when I was asked "which is better". I'll check out those articles and see if there is anything more that I can gain and I'll provide the appropriate people with my findings. Thanks!
>
> -Dan
>
>