Webinar recap: What the European Accessibility Act means for email

What is the European Accessibility Act (EAA)?

The EAA is an EU-wide directive passed in 2019. It officially takes effect on June 28, 2025, and sets a baseline for digital accessibility across a wide range of industries and technologies including email.

While it was built for the EU, the EAA works similarly to GDPR and other compliance legislation meaning it will affect any business that serves EU customers or users. The goal is to make sure digital communications are usable by people with vision, hearing, cognitive, or motor disabilities.

Why this matters: Not just for compliance, but for connection

Becoming accessible because it’s mandated is something we have to solve for, but we should do it anyway because we’re good humans, but also because by not being accessible we are isolating and excluding entire audiences and communities.

A massive part of your audience is impacted by lack of accessibility

Accessibility isn’t a niche issue it affects a significant portion of your email list.

That’s 16% of the global population. If your emails aren’t accessible, you’re creating barriers for real people who want to engage with your content. Screen reader users alone represent a potential $59 million in lost revenue.

Accessibility improves clarity and usability for everyone

Accessible design isn’t just about screen readers or legal standards. It makes emails easier to read, navigate, and interact with for all users. This includes folks on mobile devices, users with slow connections, and people dealing with distractions (which, let’s face it, is everyone sometimes).

So even if you’re not thinking about accessibility every time you hit “send,” your recipients are feeling the effects.

How to design and build more accessible emails

Structure matters: Visual hierarchy and a clean layout make a big impact.

One of the most immediate improvements you can make is how your emails are visually structured which is just a fancy way of saying how we organize visual information.

That means:

• Left-aligned text.

• Clearly defined headings.

• Logical reading order from top to bottom.

Avoid cluttered layouts or designs that rely on visual flash. If your email looks like a puzzle, it’s going to read like one, too.

Use semantic HTML and descriptive elements

Behind every accessible email is well-structured code. Use semantic tags like <h1>, <h2>, and <p> instead of styled <div>elements. Always include descriptive alt attributes for images and avoid using images to convey critical information without a text fallback.

It’s also important not to rely solely on color to convey meaning or storytelling (red is bad, green is good). Use labels, patterns, or icons alongside color cues.

Follow accessibility standards

Say it with us “WCAG… Wackaaaag…Wucagh?” It’s a difficult acronym to pronounce but we do love to say it. One thing the EAA doesn’t do is tell us exactly what the EAA accessibility standards are, and they don’t really need to since these standards are well established.

WCAG, or Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are guidelines created by the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) to ensure content accessibility on the internet for people with disabilities. You can find the guidelines here.

Test your work

Accessibility isn’t really set and forget. You should get in the habit of using screen readers, keyboard navigation, and contrast checkers as part of your QA process. Tools like axe, WAVE, JAWS, or even other browser dev tools can catch common accessibility issues.

What Mailgun and Mailjet are doing to help

Also, shameless plug incoming, ESPs will also have accessibility checkers and tools built-in to make your email process easier and more compliant. We won’t sell you on us too hard in this post but check out the links below if you need more info on these testing tools.

Both out teams are rolling out updated guidance, templates, and features to support EAA compliance. That includes:

• Accessibility-friendly templates

• Ongoing documentation updates

• Tools and resources

Mailgun and Mailjet are bringing accessibility tools to you via Mailgun Inspect (available in-app in Mailjet as well as Mailgun.)

Mailgun Inspect includes accessibility tools for ADA and EAA compliance.

1 in 6 people benefiting from email accessibility. Mailgun Inspect’s accessibility tools ensure your emails meet current and evolving standards, with automated scans for contrast, screen reader support, and more.

• Make content more inclusive with semantic HTML checks.

• Flag missing alt text, poor contrast, or structural issues.

• Reach every subscriber, regardless of ability or device.

Wrapping up: Next steps

Think of EAA prep like deliverability hygiene, it’s an ongoing process, not a one-time fix. Start by auditing your top-performing templates, train your team on accessibility basics, and document your updates.

If you’re already using Mailgun or Mailjet, you’ve got the tools. And if you’re not sure where to start, we’ve got a library of resources and plenty of practical advice to get you going.

FAQ

Q: Will this apply to companies outside the EU? A: If you do business in the EU or send emails to EU customers, this applies to you. It’s like GDPR, you don’t need a .fr domain to fall under the law. EAA also covers anyone who has EU citizenship even if they are living in the U.S. or elsewhere.

Q: Are there actual fines for noncompliance? Will there be a grace period? A: Typically, fines will kind of have a bit of a grace period. It's not like you turn this on and then suddenly everyone's getting hit with fines, but ultimately yes, so get your ducks in a row now.

Q: Should we audit every email we’ve ever sent? A: Begin with your highest-touch templates first, and if you're missing one, apply your brand kit to your email designs.

Check your highest-touch templates first, the ones that your customers are going to see the most. Make sure that you are checking those for accessibility first.

Q: Does Mailgun test email accessibility? A: Mailgun Inspect will be providing access to over 40 accessibility checkpoints Not only for the EAA but also WCAG.

These checkpoints include:

• Color and contrast ratios

• Alt text validation

• Screen reader compatibility

• Keyboard and input accessibility

Q: What if we use AI for writing alt text? A: Do not use AI for alt text. Typically what happens is AI will get it wrong. You can of course always edit it – add that human touch – but it’s important to remember not to lean on it too much.

Q: What kinds of disabilities should we design for? A: When we think about disabilities in email, we're thinking about visual disability, maybe some motor skills, but often left out of the conversation are things like ADHD, dyslexia, auditory processing.

Q: What’s the biggest opportunity we’re overlooking? A: If we are not taking this cohort of people into account, we're leaving over $59 million on the table. You're leaving a lot on the table by not taking accessibility into account, on top of it just being the right thing to do.