How can I improve the accessibility of my emails?

I recently attended AbilityNet's TechShare Pro 2020 conference. In this post, I'm going to share a top tip I learned from Microsoft.

When creating an email in Outlook 365 you can check for any accessibility issues.

Checking Email Accessibility

Once you have composed an email, open the Review tab and select Check Accessibility.

This opens the accessibility inspector that identifies any issues and will help you to fix them.

Informing colleagues that you prefer accessible content

A further tip is to state that you prefer accessible content in emails you receive. This can help to promote the use of accessibility features and makes colleagues more aware of the importance of accessibility.

To do this, enter the settings area of your web-based Outlook email. It's a cog icon appearing at the top right of the screen.

Search for the word access in the search box and select Accessible Content.

Tick the box next to Ask senders to send content that's accessible.

As a result of this setting, when a colleague in your organisation using Outlook 365 writes you an email they see this onscreen warning if they included any inaccessible content. Helpfully for the sender, selecting Review accessibility issues opens Outlook's accessibility inspector to advise how to resolve issues it finds.

Spread the word

The speaker at TechShare Pro even recommended adding a phrase like "This email has been checked for accessibility" in email signatures. To help me to remember to run the Check Accessibility tool, I adjusted my Outlook ribbon to include a new tab with just the Check Accessibility button.

Find out more

• Make your Outlook email accessible to people with disabilities.
• Microsoft Office Accessibility.
• Accessibility support for Outlook.