Digital Accessibility

Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5200 USA

Email and SMS

Email and SMS communications should be easy for everyone to read, understand and act on. Simple steps like using clear structure and readable formatting, meaningful link text, sufficient color contrast, concise alt text for images, and accessible attachments help people using assistive technologies—and improve communication for all audiences. Use the resources on this page to learn how to create accessible email and text messaging content.

Who is responsible?

  • Anyone who creates and sends emails, disseminates newsletters or announcements (including attachments).
  • Owners of official channels, such as email lists and SMS/app notification tools.
  • Staff in colleges, units and departments who create or edit communications.
  • Vendors and partners producing or distributing messages for the university.
  • Web and marketing administrators who set standards, provide training and monitor compliance.

What standards do you need to meet?

All University-produced, maintained or distributed electronic communications must comply with the required WCAG 2.1 AA standards. These guidelines are referenced in WMU’s Web Accessibility Policy and in the ADA Title II federal regulations.

What to do?

Use the following best practices to help ensure your email and SMS messages are accessible to all users.

Email (Microsoft Outlook)

  1. Structure and formatting: Write with short paragraphs, true headings, and lists; avoid layout tables when possible. Use live, HTML-based text whenever possible instead of embedding text in an image.
  2. Readable type: Use clear, legible fonts like Montserrat, Arial, Helvetica or Verdana, with simple, left-aligned layouts. Set body copy at 12–14 pt minimum, headings from 14 pt to 22+ pt with clear visual hierarchy, and never reduce disclaimers below 9 pt. Maintain line height at least 1.15× the font size, avoid ALL CAPS, and avoid long centered lines to ensure easy reading.
  3. Images and graphics: Provide concise, meaningful alternative text for all informational images that describes the content and function. Limit alt text to 125-150 characters when possible, with longer descriptions provided separately for complex images. Do not send image-only emails. Avoid flashing animations.
  4. Descriptive links: Replace bare URLs with meaningful text ("View fall schedule"). Including arrow symbols with calls to action to doubly signify that it’s a link.
  5. Make buttons easily tappable: Buttons and clickable icons should be a minimum of 44px width and height. Consider making buttons full width on mobile devices. A minimum of 20px of whitespace should surround all links.
  6. Color and contrast: Ensure readable colors; don’t use color alone to signal meaning. Optimize your emails for dark mode when possible.
  7. Attachments: Send accessible files only (tagged PDFs; accessible Word or PowerPoint). If this is not feasible, provide an HTML or plain-text equivalent or link.
  8. Avoid problematic media: Skip flashing or auto-playing GIFs and videos; link to a captioned video instead.

SMS and app notifications

  1. Text: Keep it concise and plain. Write short, clear messages; avoid jargon and uncommon abbreviations.
  2. Images and graphics SMS/MMS does not support alt text, so include a brief description in the text or point to an accessible HTML page.
  3. Hyperlinks: Use meaningful text in the links. Use short, human-readable URLs and clearly explain what users can expect.
  4. Timing: Respect timing and control, avoid rapid multi-message bursts; include standard opt-out language (e.g., "Reply STOP to cancel") and honor opt-out requests.