Email is one of the most universal communication tools we have at UMBC, and one of the most commonly overlooked places where accessibility breaks down. Whether you’re sending a department update, a meeting invitation, or a campus-wide announcement, the way you format your email affects whether every recipient can actually read and understand it. For users who use screen readers, have low vision, or rely on assistive technology, a poorly formatted email isn’t just inconvenient -- it’s a barrier. The good news: accessible emails are also clearer, better organized, and easier for everyone to read.

These tips apply to Gmail, UMBC’s primary email platform, but the principles carry across any email client.

1. Write a Descriptive, Meaningful Subject Line

Your subject line is the first thing a screen reader announces. Vague subject lines like “FYI,” “Update,” or “Important” don’t tell the recipient what to expect or how urgently to act.

• Be specific: “Staff Meeting Agenda – Thursday, July 10” is more useful than “Agenda.”

• Skip the emoji in subject lines. Screen readers read the emoji name aloud (e.g., “check mark button” and this can bury your actual message.

• Avoid all caps. Screen readers may spell out letters individually, and all caps are harder to read visually. 

• Front-load the most important information: “Action Required: Submit Your Training Confirmation by Friday.”

2. Keep Your Structure Simple and Scannable

Long blocks of unbroken text are hard for everyone to read, and especially difficult for screen reader users who need to navigate content linearly. Use structure to make your emails easier to process.

• Use short paragraphs. One idea per paragraph is a good rule of thumb.

• Use real lists (Gmail’s bulleted or numbered list buttons in the formatting toolbar) rather than typing dashes or asterisks manually.

• If your email covers multiple topics, use Gmail’s bold text to create visual section breaks, but use it sparingly so emphasis stays meaningful.

• Avoid using tables for layout in email. Table rendering is inconsistent across email clients, and tables can be confusing for screen reader users.

3. Make Your Links Descriptive

Links in emails are frequently formatted as raw URLs or vague phrases. Both create problems for screen reader users, who often navigate emails by jumping between links.

• Instead of “Click Here” or “Please register using this link: [long link]” you should write: “Register for the July accessibility workshop.” Then embed the link to the descriptive phrase. 

  • In Gmail: Highlight the text you want to link, press Ctrl+K (or Cmd+K on Mac), and paste the URL. The visible text, not the URL, becomes the link.

• Avoid linking entire sentences. Link only the meaningful phrase.

4. Use Color and Formatting Thoughtfully

Color can add visual emphasis, but it should never be the only way you communicate information. Recipients with color blindness or low vision may not perceive color differences the way you intend.

• Don’t rely on color alone to indicate importance. Pair color with bold, italics, or explicit language (“Note:” or “Reminder:”).

• Ensure text color has sufficient contrast against the background. Gmail’s default black text on white background is already contrast-compliant. Avoid overriding it with light gray or other low-contrast colors.

• Use bold and italics for emphasis sparingly. Excessive formatting is as hard to read as none.

5. Add Alt Text to Images in Gmail

If you include images in your email -- for example, logos, banners, charts, or photos -- they need alternative text so recipients using screen readers understand what the image conveys.

• In Gmail: Insert an image, then click it and select “Edit alt text.”

• Write a brief description of what the image communicates, not just what it looks like.

• If the image is purely decorative (a banner or divider), consider whether it’s necessary to use it at all. Decorative images in email can slow load times and add clutter.

• Never embed essential information, especially text like event information, only in an image. If the image doesn’t load or can’t be read, that information disappears.

6. Send Attachments That Are Actually Accessible

An email can be well-formatted, while the file attached to it is not. Before attaching a document, take a moment to confirm it will work for every recipient.

• Run the Accessibility Checker in Word or PowerPoint (Review > Check Accessibility) before attaching. It flags missing alt text, poor color contrast, and other common issues.

• For PDFs, export from the source file rather than scanning a paper document. Scanned PDFs are images of text, not readable text, and are inaccessible to screen readers by default.

• Check that your document has a logical structure: real headings, readable lists, and meaningful link text. The same principles that apply to your email apply to what you attach to it.

When in doubt, put the information in the email body instead. The most accessible attachment is one that doesn’t need to exist.

7. Test Before You Send

Before sending a high-stakes email to a large group, take 60 seconds to review it with accessibility in mind:

• Read your subject line out loud. Is it clear without any surrounding context?

• Read your link text out loud. Does each link tell you where it goes?

• Try removing all color from your email mentally. Does it still make sense?

• If you’ve included an image, check that it has alt text.

Accessible email takes only a little more time to write, and makes a significant difference for the colleagues and community members who receive it.

Links are everywhere -- in syllabi, announcements, email, assignments, websites, and Blackboard pages. They’re one of the most useful tools for connecting students to resources and one of the most commonly overlooked accessibility issues. For anyone using screen readers, a link is read aloud exactly as it appears: “click here” or “hxxps // web(dot)com/long-string-of-characters” -- this communicates nothing.

Accessible link text is a small fix with a big payoff for everyone. Let’s explore five tips to improve how providing accessible links can make a huge difference to everyone.

1. Make Every Link Self-Describing

Accessible link text should make sense out of context. Screen reader users often navigate a page by jumping from link to link, without reading the surrounding text. That means each link needs to stand on its own.

• Instead of: “To access the library database, click here.”
  Write: “Access the UMBC Library database.”

Why this matters: “click here” provides no context. Telling someone what happens when the link is clicked and where the link will take them helps them know where they're going.

• Instead of: “The reading for this week is available here.”
  Write: “Download this week’s reading: Smith (2022) on urban planning (PDF).”

Why this matters: Providing clear information about the reading, including the author, year, and file format, helps students know exactly what they are accessing when they click the link.

Here’s a useful test for you to try: Read only the text of your links with no surrounding context. Do you know where it leads? If not, then you need to make sure you provide clear descriptions.

2. Avoid These Common Accessibility Pitfalls

A few link habits are so common that they can feel natural, but each one creates a barrier for anyone using assistive technology.

• As we just explored, it’s critical to avoid using “Click here” -- not all users navigate with a mouse, and it tells users nothing about the destination.

• Create unique link text for different destinations -- it’s important not to use the same words for different links (e.g., two different readings both labeled “Weekly reading”).

• Avoid full web page addresses as link text. A full web page address read aloud character-by-character is inaccessible and confusing. Imagine what it sounds like to hear 150+ letters, numbers, and/or symbols read, one by one, because your link has that many characters.

3. Indicate When a Link Opens a File or New Window

Screen reader and keyboard users benefit from knowing what will happen when they click a link, especially if it downloads a file or opens a new tab. Include a brief note in the link text itself.

• “Download the rubric (Word doc)”

• “View the course policy (PDF)”

• “Watch the intro video on YouTube (opens in new tab)”

This helps everyone plan their workflow, not just those using screen readers.

4. Keep Link Text Concise But Complete

Longer isn’t always better. Link text should be long enough to be descriptive, but short enough to be efficient.

• Aim for 4-10 words for most links.

• Skip filler phrases like “please visit” or “feel free to.”

• Don’t link entire paragraphs. Link a meaningful phrase within the sentence instead.

It’s also important to avoid using “Read more” or “Learn more” -- more about what? If you must use these phrases, tell us what we’re reading or learning more about.

5. Check Your Links in Silktide or Ally

Silktide and Ally will evaluate link accessibility. In your Blackboard course or organization, Ally will check Ultra Documents and uploaded files. Silktide will flag very obvious issues (links that just say "click here," for instance), but it won't flag anything else, so you still need to manually evaluate all of your page links.

If your report flags link issues, here’s how to address them:

• In Sites or Blackboard Ultra, edit the content item and update the link text directly in the rich text editor.

• In uploaded Word or PDF files, fix the link text in the original file and re-upload.

• In your syllabus, use Word’s Accessibility Checker (Review → Check Accessibility) to flag link text issues before uploading.

Link accessibility is one of the fastest fixes in your email, website, document, or course -- and it makes a noticeable difference for everyone who depends on clear navigation to find what they need.

Dr. Ian Anson and his workshop on using various screen capture technologies as an alternative to handwritten feedback.

• Attached Image for 55 People Attend 2nd Annual TechFest
• Attached Image for 55 People Attend 2nd Annual TechFest
• Attached Image for 55 People Attend 2nd Annual TechFest
• Attached Image for 55 People Attend 2nd Annual TechFest
• More Information about 55 People Attend 2nd Annual TechFest

New Sidebar

New Improved Search  

Other Changes

• Attached Image for New Box Experience Now Available For UMBC Users
• Attached Image for New Box Experience Now Available For UMBC Users
• More Information about New Box Experience Now Available For UMBC Users