Microsoft Outlook

Ensure that you have included a clear and concise subject line. Emails compete for our attention every day. Subject Lines alert the reader to the content of an email by providing a preview of the email content, helping recipients determine relevance and urgency. To maximize effectiveness, subject lines should be clear, concise, and compelling.

Headings are signposts that structure text and allow readers to more easily navigate their way around an email. More than bolded or italicized words, headings provide extra information about the structure of the document at the code level. 

Using Styles to Apply Headings

Creating headings in Outlook involves more than simply bolding or emphasizing text. Instead, headings are managed by what Outlook calls styles, built-in formatting characteristics that can easily be applied to text. Styles can be applied by highlighting your text and navigating to the Messages tab. 

Note that styles in Outlook cannot be modified. In Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, the user can modify headings by changing the font, color, and size. However, Outlook offers a less advanced Styles pane. 

Avoid manually creating lists using numbers, symbols, and tabbing. Apply preset list styles for both bulleted and numbered lists. These can be applied by navigating to the Messages tab and/or the Format Text tab. 

Message tab

Format Text tab

Note that preset list styles cannot be modified in Outlook.

When crafting your email, choose appropriate fonts and font sizes. Avoid decorative fonts like script fonts, serif fonts, WingDings, etc.; they are not easy for all users to read. Opt for easy-to-read fonts like Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, and Futura instead. Additionally, ensure that all body text is at least 12 pt. to ensure readability. 

Edit Text

There are three locations in which you can edit font choice and size. 

1. The Message tab
2. The Format Text tab 
3. The Mini Toolbar

The Message and Format Text tabs appear above the Outlook ribbon when composing an email. The Mini Toolbar can be accessed by right-clicking on the highlighted/selected text you wish to edit. 

Ensure that text, diagrams, charts, and other meaningful content meet a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for regular text. For large text (18+ pt or 14+ pt bold), a minimum contrast ratio of 3:1 is acceptable. Use online contrast checkers like WebAIM to ensure compliance with accessibility standards.

Avoid using images as the primary email content, as this creates significant accessibility barriers.

• Screen readers read images as "image" since they cannot extract text from image files.
• People with visual impairments may struggle with poor color contrast or small font sizes.
• Image-based text cannot be modified using assistive technology. 
• Images may be blocked, distorted, or flagged as spam by certain email clients. 

Alternative text (or alt-text) is the short written description that typically appears in place of an image. The purpose of alt-text is to textually describe a visual image in such a way that someone who can't see the image can understand that image's meaning. This is especially important for screen reader users. When screen readers encounter images in an email, they read them as images. Unless alternative text (alt-text) describing what is in the image, chart, or graph is provided, a screen reader will simply announce “Image” and move on.

To set alternative text for an image in Outlook, right-click on the image. From the drop down menu, select Add Alternate Text. 

An Add Alternate Text pane will appear. Type your Alternate Text in this pane. Save your text by selecting OK. 

Descriptive links provide users with proper context for links. In other words, they tell the user exactly where they will go if they click on a descriptive link. This ensures all users can easily understand and navigate your document.  

• For more information on descriptive links, download our Guide to Writing Descriptive Links. 

Insert Descriptive Links

To insert a descriptive link, type or select the text you wish to display as a link. Then, navigate to the Insert tab. 

Select Link. An Insert Link pane should appear. Verify that the link text you want displayed is correct. Paste the link URL in the web address box. 

Use attachments sparingly. When possible, avoid attachments in favor of embedded content or external links. If attachments are necessary, ensure the following: 

1. Attachments have descriptive file names.
2. Attachments are accessible in their original source file (run the Accessibility Checker). 

Insert an Attachment

To insert an attachment, navigate to the Insert tab. Select where you are pulling this file from. 

Run the Accessibility Checker to test for accessibility issues. This checker scans your email for potential issues that might prevent people with disabilities from accessing the content properly.  It will highlight the issues, provide suggestions on how to fix them, and then prompt you to fix these issues.

To access Outlook's Accessibility Checker, navigate to the Options tab. Select Check Accessibility. The Accessibility Checker pane will open on the right side of the screen.

For optimal accessibility, launch your Accessibility Checker and Editor pane prior to composing your email. This will alert you to grammar and accessibility issues while you work.