# Create and Send Messages Get into the details of creating and managing messages across every channel — from push notifications and in-app messaging to preference centers and feature flags. # Accessibility in messaging > Learn the tools and best practices for creating inclusive and accessible messages in Airship. Accessibility ensures all users, including those with disabilities, can receive and understand your communications, interact with your brand, and engage with your products or services. The evolving landscape of accessibility regulations and legislation coming into effect, such as the European Accessibility Act, amplifies its importance. This guide will help you create accessible content for those with a wide range of abilities, including those with visual, hearing, physical, and cognitive disabilities. > **Note:** While Airship provides tools to support accessible message creation, you are responsible for ensuring your content meets applicable accessibility requirements and standards, such as the [Web Content Accessibility Guidelines](https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/) (WCAG), a set of internationally recognized technical standards for accessible content. ## Understanding your audience To build accessible content, it's essential to understand the diverse ways your audience may interact with information due to varying abilities and conditions. Consider the following for each area of disability: | Disability type | Considerations | | --- | --- | | **Visual** | Visual disability can range from mild vision loss, including color vision deficiencies, to total blindness. Your users may rely on screen readers to listen to text, adjust text size and colors, or use refreshable Braille. | | **Hearing** | Users with hearing impairment rely on transcripts and captions for audio content. They might need media players that allow adjustment of caption size and colors and have controls to stop, pause, and adjust volume independently. | | **Physical** | Physical disability can affect muscle control, movement, or sensation. Users often rely on keyboard support for interaction and need large clickable areas, sufficient time to complete tasks, and visible indicators of focus. | | **Cognitive** | Cognitive disability may affect how people understand information, hear, move, see, or speak. Such users benefit from clearly structured content, consistent labeling, predictable interactions, various navigation options, and settings to turn off distracting elements. Simpler text, supported by images, is also beneficial. | ## Accessibility best practices Creating accessible content doesn't require perfection. Starting with small, thoughtful choices and improving over time can make a big difference in the short and long term. The following best practices apply across all messaging channels. ### Content structure and flow How you organize and present your content significantly impacts accessibility. Well-structured content helps users navigate and understand your messages more effectively. Follow these best practices for content structure and flow: | Best practice | Implementation detail | | --- | --- | | **Break content into clear sections** | Use headings, bullet points, and lists to improve scanability and comprehension for all users, especially those relying on screen readers or keyboard navigation. | | **Use built-in heading styles** | Use built-in headings such as Heading 1, Heading 2, and Heading 3 in visual composers or H1, H2, and H3 in HTML to structure your content visually and logically. Don't rely on bolding or increasing font size to create visual headings, as screen readers will not recognize these as headings. | | **Maintain heading order** | Organize heading levels hierarchically. For example, Heading 3 should always follow Heading 2, which should always follow Heading 1. This helps users of assistive technologies navigate and understand the document's structure. | | **Maintain a sequential hierarchy** | Don't skip heading levels, where Heading 3 follows Heading 1 without Heading 2 in between, as it breaks the structure and can confuse screen reader users. | ### Readability and clarity Clear, readable text benefits everyone, but it's especially crucial for users with cognitive disabilities, visual impairments, or those using screen readers. Consistent formatting and simplicity can go a long way. A good rule of thumb is to write short and clear sentences. Aim for a seventh-grade reading level to ensure content is easy for everyone to understand, including those using screen readers or who have cognitive processing difficulties. Follow these formatting best practices for readability and clarity: | Element | Best practice | | --- | --- | | **Font size** | Select a body text size of at least 14 pixels with proportionally larger headings for adequate readability. | | **Line and paragraph spacing** | Line-height should be around 1.5. Paragraph spacing should match the height of one line. | | **Text alignment** | Avoid justified text, which creates uneven word spacing that can be difficult to read for people with dyslexia or cognitive disabilities. | | **Emphasis** | Use bold, italic, and uppercase sparingly, as overuse of those can make content hard to read, especially for people with dyslexia or visual impairments. | | **Links and buttons** | Clearly label link and button text in a way that describes what happens next. This helps screen reader users and those navigating with a keyboard know what to expect. Avoid ambiguous phrases. For example, instead of "Click here", use "Click here to register". | | **Symbols and emojis** | While playful, special characters and emojis may be confusingly interpreted when read aloud by screen readers. For example, 👍🏽 might be read as "Thumbs up, medium skin tone", or 😂, which is typically used to express laughter, might be read as "face with tears of joy." Use them sparingly and ensure they don't replace clear, descriptive text. | ### Images and color Visual design choices directly affect accessibility. From color contrast to image descriptions, these elements must work for users with varying visual abilities and those using assistive technologies. Follow these best practices for images and color: * **Alt text for images:** Provide concise, descriptive alternative text (alt text) for every meaningful image: * In [Scenes](https://www.airship.com/docs/reference/glossary/#scene), use the **Alternative text** field for the Media or List element. * Use the `alt` attribute when providing HTML for [email](https://www.airship.com/docs/guides/messaging/messages/content/email/email/), [Message Center](https://www.airship.com/docs/reference/glossary/#message_center) messages, [landing pages](https://www.airship.com/docs/guides/messaging/messages/content/app/landing-pages/), or [In-App Automations](https://www.airship.com/docs/reference/glossary/#iaa). When using the drag-and-drop option in the [Interactive editor](https://www.airship.com/docs/guides/messaging/editors/interactive/about/), use the **Alternate Text** field for images. * The alt text should accurately describe what is in the image or its function, avoiding generic marketing jargon. * Keep it short, yet specific, ideally 125 characters or less. * Avoid introductory phrases like "image of" or "picture of", as screen readers already announce an image. * Reflect any essential text that appears in the image within the alt text. * If an image functions as a link or call to action, describe the intended action, for example, "Shop the Fall Collection". * For decorative images such as a patterned or scenic background used purely for style, leave alt text fields blank when configuring your message so screen readers know to skip them. In HTML, leave the value empty: `alt=""`. * **Avoid images of text:** Do not embed text within images whenever possible. Screen readers cannot read text in images, and users cannot easily adjust font size or color. If text must remain in an image, ensure it has high contrast, a large font size of at least 18 pt (24 px) non-bold and 14 pt (18.66 px) bold, and descriptive alt text. * **Light and dark modes:** Design your content to adapt appropriately for light and dark modes. This allows users to choose the display setting that's most comfortable for their eyes, reducing strain and improving readability. When creating your content, ensure that: * Text and background colors have sufficient contrast in both light and dark environments. * Images and graphics are legible and don't rely on color alone to convey information, as colors can appear differently or be inverted in dark mode. * The visual experience remains consistent and user-friendly, regardless of the user's preferred display setting. * **Color contrast:** Ensure sufficient color contrast for all text against its background. This helps users with low vision or those viewing content in challenging conditions. These contrast ratio minimums are according to [WCAG 2.2 AA](https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/#contrast-minimum): | Content type | Minimum contrast ratio | | --- | --- | | Standard text (body, buttons, links) | 4.5:1 | | Large text (at least 18 pt (24 px) non-bold and 14 pt (18.66 px) bold) | 3:1 | ![Buttons with 4.5:1 contrast ratio](https://www.airship.com/docs/images/accessibility-button-contrast_hu_dd4ffb2ce369d93c.webp) *Buttons with 4.5:1 contrast ratio* ### Buttons and links Interactive elements like buttons and links are critical touch points in your messages. Making them accessible ensures all users can navigate and complete desired actions successfully. Follow these best practices for buttons and links: | Best practice | Implementation detail | | --- | --- | | **Write clear, action-oriented button labels** | Use button labels that precisely describe their intended action. For example, "Submit order" is preferable to "Submit". Keep the labels concise to prevent truncation. | | **Include content descriptions for buttons** | Provide a concise and descriptive content description, sometimes called an accessibility label or alt text, for each button. Screen readers read this description aloud, which helps users understand the button's purpose and action, especially when the visual label is short or ambiguous. For example, an "Add" button might have a content description "Add item to cart". | | **Make buttons and links easy to select** | Ensure your buttons and links are large enough and spaced sufficiently apart, especially for mobile users with motor disabilities. This reduces errors and improves everyone's experience. We recommend a minimum button size of 44 x 44 pixels. | | **Use appropriate HTML elements** | Use the `` element for navigation, for example, when linking to an external page. Use the `