Email accessibility myths: Why you’re leaving people out (and how to easily fix it)

You spent hours perfecting your email. It’s polished. It’s beautiful. You love it. But what if 1 in 6 people on your list couldn’t even read it, not because they weren’t interested, but because they physically couldn’t?

Roughly 16% of the world’s population lives with a disability that affects how they experience digital content, including your emails. That’s not a niche group. That’s your subscribers.

Many marketers skip accessibility, not out of bad intent, but due to persistent myths. Let’s bust them and show how easy it is to stop leaving people behind.

Myths about email accessibility

They sound harmless at first. But these beliefs are the reasons some of the most engaging emails fail to connect. And they’re holding email marketers back from doing better, even though better is just a few small changes away.

These myths sound like:

1. No one complains, so it must be fine.
2. Accessible emails look dull and limited.
3. It’s too hard or time-consuming.

Let’s break them down, and break them apart.

Myth 1: No one complains, so it must be fine

This is a commonly believed myth, and it’s easy to see why it persists. You’ve never received a complaint. No one’s written to say, “I couldn’t read your message.” So it must be fine… right?

The truth is, people often don’t speak up. Not because everything’s okay, but because they’ve spent years silently adapting, or simply given up trying. Some people may not be fully aware of the challenges they face. They just know that some emails are harder to interact with. 

And this myth falls apart the moment you look closer:

1. The scale of disability is bigger than you think

People tend to imagine “accessibility” applies to a tiny group. But the real numbers are staggering:

• 2.2 billion people have visual impairments;
• 1.2 billion live with dyslexia (15% of the world’s population, which has reached 8 billion people); 
• 8% of men (1 in 12) and 0.5% of women (1 in 200) are color blind;
• 5% of people with epilepsy have photosensitive epilepsy;
• 110–190 million have very significant motor skill disabilities.

2. Many accessibility needs go unnoticed

It gets even more concerning… Some of your subscribers with disabilities don’t even know they have them, as some go undiagnosed for years. Others come and go. But all of them affect how people experience your emails:

• many people with dyslexia aren’t diagnosed until their late teens or adulthood. Some never are. They just think reading is harder for them than for others, and blame themselves;
• color blindness often goes undetected, especially in school. About 40% of people with color vision deficiency don’t find out until after they finish high school. Until then, they just think they’re “missing something;”
• then there are those who use assistive technologies situationally or temporarily: People recovering from eye surgery, and those who check emails while commuting, may rely on screen readers or voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, Bixby, or Google Assistant to get through their inbox;
• millions live with low vision, where text that’s too small, too light, or too close together becomes hard — or even impossible — to read. They might not use assistive tech or be new to “low vision” thing, but they depend on clear fonts, strong contrast, and thoughtful layouts — the kind accessibility guidelines are built to support.

Sure, we get that people might need assistive tools temporarily, but how do long-term challenges go unnoticed for so long? Because they feel personal. Invisible. Easy to dismiss, even by people living with them.

Sometimes, to recognize a problem, you first have to know it’s a problem, not a personal thing.

3. It happens more often than you think

Some people go years or even a lifetime without knowing they have a disability. They’ve learned to cope or assumed the struggle was personal, not something others experience too. Let me share some real-life stories:

1. When I was writing about accessibility years ago, I started learning more about dyslexia. Around that time, my neighbor told me she was worried her teenage son didn’t like reading. He avoided it and said it was too hard. I suggested they check for dyslexia and it turned out, he actually had it. Until then, he just thought he was bad at reading.
2. And my grandpa? He used to avoid videos and events with flashing lights. I assumed it was just a personal preference. But those clips actually made him feel physically unwell. Only recently did I realize he might have had a mild form of photosensitive epilepsy — undiagnosed, but very real.
3. One of my friends is color blind. I didn’t know until I sent him an email with a game where green meant “correct” and red meant “wrong.” No labels, no icons. He had no idea how he did. That’s when I found out. He’d known for years, but it had never come up.

These aren’t edge cases. These are our people. Our friends. Our family. They want to engage, and we can make it easier for them.

Myth 2: Accessible emails look dull and limited

Some designers worry that making emails accessible means sacrificing creativity. But is that the full picture?

Let’s take a closer look at the constraints, and why they’re not as limiting as they might seem. Most can be handled with small, thoughtful tweaks.

Little spoiler: At the end of this section, we’ll show two almost identical versions of the same email — one accessible, one not.

The real design constraints of accessibility

1. No fake formatting of headings

Instead of making regular text look like headings by increasing font size or bolding it, use proper <h1>–<h6> tags. It may feel less flexible visually, but it helps screen readers understand structure and makes content easier to scan for everyone. 

2. Coded bullets, not pretty symbols

Pretty icons like ❯ or ★ might look good, but without proper list markup (<ul>, <li>), assistive tech can get confused. The solution? Use semantic HTML for lists, and add styling later. Modern builders allow you to customize bullets the way you need, but they remain coded (meaning, optimized for screen readers).

3. Punctuation isn’t optional

It may seem like a small thing, but punctuation in list items and even in microcopy matters, especially for people with dyslexia. It helps guide the eye and creates clear stops and breaks. Many emails skip it to look cleaner, but that small omission can make reading harder for those who already struggle.

4. Clear labels, not just color

Using color to show feedback, like green for “correct” or red for “error,” is totally fine, but it shouldn’t be the only way to convey meaning. Be sure to add a label like “Correct” or “Incorrect.” Or include descriptive text like “green,” “red,” or “brown” to specify item colors.ʼ

Let me share two examples here:

Email not optimized for color-blind recipients:

This email shows last week’s match results — winning teams are marked in green, and those that lost are marked in red.

 

Email optimized for color-blind recipients:

(Source: Email from HubSpot)

This is an interactive quiz where feedback is given not only with colors but also with labels indicating whether the answer is correct or not.

This small adjustment makes your emails easier to understand for people who are color blind and ensures screen readers can interpret them accurately. It’s not a constraint, it’s clarity, and it benefits everyone.

5. Gamification and interactivity — a work in progress

Email games, sliders, quizzes — we love them. Making them visually accessible is very doable. Just:

• avoid relying on color alone (green = correct, red = wrong);
• use clear labels like “Correct!” or “Try again”;
• avoid fast-moving elements that can’t be paused.

However, code-level accessibility is still evolving. AMP and kinetic HTML don’t always play well with screen readers or keyboard navigation. Experts like Mark Robbins believe we’re close to a solution, and smart patterns are already emerging.

Still, let’s be real: Most marketers don’t use interactive content often. According to the Email Markup Consortium, 99.89% of all emails are not accessible, and most are static. If interactivity is rare, blaming accessibility for limiting it just doesn’t hold up. 

6. Align text with how people read

Always left-align your copy for left-to-right (LTR) languages, and right-align it for right-to-left (RTL) ones. Avoid justification and center-alignment. This isn’t just a formatting rule, it respects how people naturally read and improves legibility for everyone.

7. Don’t overload your layout

You don’t have to ditch visuals or motion — just don’t go overboard. Flashy, fast-moving GIFs with 3+ flashes per second (especially more than one per screen) can make emails overwhelming or even harmful for readers with vestibular disorders, ADHD, or epilepsy. Use animation intentionally. One strong GIF beats five that scream for attention.

Let’s compare two almost identical versions of the same email: one accessible, one not.

 

What changed? Not much, just a few thoughtful tweaks:

• increased line spacing from 100% to 150% to improve readability, especially for people who zoom in or have dyslexia;
• aligned text to the left instead of center;
• added punctuation to bullet points;
• improved color contrast of the button (from 2.4 to 4.86, meeting the WCAG minimum of 4.5);
• switched from decorative image bullets to properly coded HTML bullets.

Same content. Same style. Different experiences.

Fixing them took me literally 10 mins. Speaking of time…

Myth 3: It’s too hard or time-consuming

This one sounds fair at first. You’re on a deadline, juggling five tasks at once, and now someone says you need to make your emails accessible too?

But here’s the truth: Designing accessible emails doesn’t mean doubling your workload. In fact, once you learn a few basics and set up smart workflows, it takes barely more time at all.

Let’s break it down with real numbers and real tools.

1. Start with accessibility in mind

Trying to retrofit accessibility at the last minute does feel overwhelming. But if you plan for it from the start, it’s just part of the process. Use accessible colors, proper heading structure, and tested layouts from the get-go, and you’ll save yourself time later.

2. Color contrast check — 5 minutes

Use any tool you like. I use Accessible Colors, and there are plenty of them. It takes under 5 minutes to test your background and text color combinations. Once you find a palette that works, you can reuse it across campaigns.

3. Imagery contrast check — 5 minutes

Use tools like Coblis to upload your images and see how they look to people with different types of color blindness — or to someone who can only see shades of gray. This helps ensure your key messages and visuals aren’t getting lost.

4. GIF speed — 10 minutes to test, 5 to fix

Fast, flashing GIFs can be disorienting or even harmful. Tools like Photosensitive Epilepsy Analysis Tool (PEAT) let you check animation speed, and tools like Ezgif slow things down in minutes. Or, better yet, just start slow from the beginning.

5. Alt text — under 2 minutes per image

Writing descriptive alt text is quick — and essential. If you use Stripo, you can generate highly descriptive alt text with AI in under a minute. Just a fact: Missing alt text is one of the most common reasons accessibility lawsuits happen.

6. Accessible code — depends on your workflow

If you hand-code your emails, the Email Markup Consortium has excellent guides to help you write accessible HTML. But if you’re using Stripo, good news — our code is accessible by default.

7. Final check — 10 mins

Want to go the extra mile? Test with tools like Email on Acid’s Campaign Precheck, and screen readers like VoiceOver. The first time I used a voice-over, it took about an hour to learn how to use it. Now it takes about 5 minutes to use. 

So, how much more time does it actually require?

For me, building a fully accessible email takes about 30 minutes more than a regular one, and that number keeps shrinking. But every minute spent means you’re not leaving people behind.

Ideas to make the production of accessible emails less time-consuming

1. Start designing with accessibility in mind: It’s much easier to build accessibility in from the beginning than to fix things at the end. Pick accessible colors, use proper headings, write alt text as you go — and you’ll save yourself extra rounds of edits later.
2. Reuse what works: Build accessible email elements like headers and footers once, then save them as modules and reuse them. These pieces stay accessible no matter who adds new content. All you have to do is update imagery, copy, and alt text.
3. Document your decisions: Create a simple style guide with your brand’s accessible colors, font sizes, alt text rules, alignment preferences, and contrast guidelines. Share it with your team. When everyone follows the same playbook, every email stays on track, no matter who’s building it.

Not sure where to begin? Start small

You don’t need to make every email perfect from day one. Add alt text to your images. Use a stronger color contrast. Make headings real headings. One small fix at a time, that’s how accessibility becomes part of your workflow, not a burden. 

Quick wins for email accessibility

Here’s what you gain when you maintain accessibility in your emails:

• you meet legal requirements: Most countries that mandate accessibility follow WCAG 2.1 or 2.2, so aligning with these standards keeps your brand compliant;
• you do the right thing: Everyone on your list — regardless of ability — can read and interact with your emails. You’re not leaving anyone behind;
• you earn loyal customers: When people can clearly understand and act on your message, they’re more likely to trust your brand and stick around.

Accessibility might seem challenging at first, but it’s an investment in your audience’s experience. In fact, it often pays off in ways teams don’t expect. Better performance. Fewer risks. Happier subscribers.

Wrapping up

Today, accessibility isn’t just a nice-to-have — in many regions, it’s the law. But even if it weren’t, it’s still the right thing to do. It doesn’t require much extra time, especially when you start with accessibility in mind, reuse accessible modules, and keep a simple style guide. And the results? Your emails become more usable, inclusive, and appreciated. You protect your brand, and you win more loyal customers.