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Email Marketing · Email design and accessibility

Email design and accessibility checklist for 2026

Short answer

A complete email design and accessibility checklist has 4 setup items and 2 things to audit against. Work through setup in order, then schedule a quarterly review.

Setup checklist#

  • ☐ Use a single-column layout that reflows on mobile.
  • ☐ Set alt text on every meaningful image and empty alt on decorative ones.
  • ☐ Maintain 4.5:1 contrast and at least 16px body text.
  • ☐ Include a plain-text alternative and test in dark mode.

Audit checklist#

  • ☐ Confirm you are not: text embedded in images with no alt.
  • ☐ Confirm you are not: tiny grey text on light backgrounds.

Ongoing monitoring#

  • ☐ Weekly: review provider dashboards (Postmaster Tools, SNDS) and bounce logs
  • ☐ Monthly: re-run the setup verification after any vendor or DNS change
  • ☐ Quarterly: full audit against this checklist

Frequently asked questions#

Does dark mode change email colors?

Some clients invert or adjust colors. Test in Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail dark modes and use transparent PNGs where possible.

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