Digital Accessibility – What Does That Mean for Your Email Marketing?

The German Accessibility Improvement Act requires many companies to make their websites and apps easier to use for people with disabilities. What does this mean for your email marketing? We've got tips to help you create accessible newsletters.

There’s a new law coming in June that’s going to shake things up in the digital world, just like the GDPR did in 2018. It’s called the German Accessibility Improvement Act, or BFSG (German: Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz) for short. It’s based on the European Accessibility Act, or EAA. But what’s the big deal, and what does it mean for your email marketing?

Digital Accessibility is Becoming Mandatory for Many Businesses

The German Accessibility Improvement Act, which goes into effect on June 28, 2025, aims to significantly improve the accessibility of digital content and services for people with disabilities. This affects not only public administrations, but also many companies that need to make their online presence accessible. This legal requirement is not just a legal obligation, but also a step towards more social participation and equality.

The Different Types of Digital Accessibility

Digital accessibility basically comes down to three main requirements:

• 1. Physical Accessibility:
  Digital content and services are prepared for display with assistive technologies for people with physical disabilities, e.g., screen readers.
• 2. Technical Accessibility:
  Content is presented in the best possible way regardless of the device or software being used, e.g. responsive newsletters or websites.
• 3. Content Accessibility:
  Content is presented in a clear and easy-to-understand manner, making it accessible regardless of educational background.

Who Does the BFSG Apply to?

The BFSG is mostly about making products and services accessible to people with disabilities. This includes services offered “in electronic commerce” on websites or in online stores. If a contract can be made online, like when you book something or order something, then the website or store usually has to follow the rules of the BFSG.

What Does the Accessbility Act Mean for Your Newsletters?

It’s not totally clear from the legal cases if newsletters also fall under the BFSG. The history of the law seems to suggest that newsletters should be considered as part of the communication mix. For example, emails about transactions, important service info, or offers could be seen as relevant e-commerce. But it’s not totally clear since there isn’t a clear legal precedent on this.

“There isn’t any existing case law on whether or not companies are required to make newsletters accessible. So, we can’t say for sure how to answer that question. The purpose and origin of the Accessibility Act support a broad interpretation and extension to newsletters. That’s why I suggest making newsletters accessible.”

Dr. iur. Gerrit Mesch, Attorney at Law

Should you make your newsletters accessible?

Even if the legal situation here is not (yet) entirely clear: We suggest making your newsletters accessible. If the BFSG applies to your company, you must make your entire website or online store accessible—not just individual areas. Even if the BFSG only applies in Germany, accessible content and services benefit everyone.

Seamless, accessible communication includes more than an accessible website or store; it also includes downstream communication.

Accessible newsletters are essential for ensuring communication is universally accessible. If you’re already putting time and money into making your website accessible, you should also apply the same standards to your email marketing. There are a bunch of good reasons to make your newsletters accessible:

Why Does Digital Accessibility Matter?

Digital accessibility is more than a mere compliance issue. The goal is to ensure that people of all abilities have equal access to digital content and services. An accessible website or newsletter not only means a better user experience for people with disabilities. It also means greater reach and overall customer satisfaction.

About 13 million people with disabilities live in Germany. Many of them are unable to live independent and equal lives because of various barriers. This is 15% of the total population in Germany.

• In Germany, about 8% of men (around 3.3 million) and 0.4% of women (around 172,000) have problems seeing colors, like red and green.
• Approximately 19% of the German population over the age of 14 is hearing impaired.
• Approximately 12% of the working-age population in Germany (about 6.2 million people) cannot read or write well.

Even short-term physical illnesses like a broken arm or ongoing issues like a noisy environment show how important digital accessibility can be for a lot of people. Because it all adds up:

Digital accessibility is essential for 15% of people, necessary for 30%, and helpful for 100%.

5 Reasons for Accessible Newsletters

• 1. Legal Conformity
  The introduction of the BFSG will make digital accessibility mandatory for many companies in Germany.
• 2. Greater Reach
  Accessible content allows you to reach new audiences and more people.
• 3. Improved User Experience
  Accessible websites, stores, and newsletters make it easier for all users to navigate and understand, e.g. by using simple texts and organized content.
• 4. Stronger Customer Loyalty
  Making your offers and content easily accessible increases customer satisfaction. Satisfied customers are more likely to use your services and products and become long-term customers.
• 5. Strengthening Your Brand
  Last but not least, accessibility can also make your company look better. Show people that you’re a modern company that’s all about inclusion and participation. Accessibility can also be a big competitive advantage.

Practical Tips for Accessible Newsletters

How can you make sure your newsletters are accessible? These 10 tips will help you optimize your emails for all recipients:

1. Clear Structure: Make your newsletter easier to navigate by using meaningful headings and paragraphs.
2. Responsive Design: Make sure your newsletter looks good on all kinds of devices and email clients. You can easily check this with the CleverReach design and spam test.
3. HTML Standards: Use clean HTML code. The free CleverReach newsletter templates are already optimized for accessibility!
4. High Contrasts: Use strong color contrasts to make it easy for people to read, especially for people with visual impairments.
5. Text Instead of Images: Provide all relevant information in text form, not just images or graphics.
6. ALT Texts for Images: To help screen reader users understand the content, provide images with descriptive ALT text.
7. Reader-friendly Fonts: Choose legible fonts and sufficient font sizes of at least 15 px to increase readability.
8. Unique Links and Buttons: Make links and call-to-action buttons easy to see and click, and name them clearly.
9. Comprehensibility: Write in short, concise sentences and avoid or explain technical terms.
10. Test, test, test: CleverReach offers an Accessibility Test that checks your newsletter for over 40 criteria and gives you specific suggestions for improvement.

Want more tips? You can find a more detailed overview of the requirements and tips for creating an accessible newsletter in our free checklist.

Free checklist: Accessible newsletters

We have compiled numerous tips and requirements for accessible newsletters in a checklist. Download it now for free and tick it off point by point!

Download

Accessible Newsletters with CleverReach

The Accessibility Improvement Act is an important step towards a digital landscape that is accessible to all. With accessibility in email marketing, you have the opportunity to not only comply with the law, but also increase your reach and customer satisfaction.

Our goal is to help you use CleverReach to design attractive and accessible newsletters for every device and recipient. We’ve got you covered with design and spam tests, as well as Accessibility Tests.

The Accessibility Test allows you to automatically check your newsletters against over 40 accessibility criteria and see at a glance which criteria are already met and where you may still need to work.

Helpful Links On BFSG and Digital Accessibility

We know: Meeting accessibility requirements and maintaining an overview is challenging. That’s why we’ve put together a concise list of helpful resources and sources for you.

• Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG): The law passed in 2021 is available on the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs website. (German)
• bfsg-gesetz.de: Access the information you need to know about the Accessibility Improvement Act (BFSG) in the FAQs. (German)
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG): International standards for the design of accessible content
• Checking Contrasts: Online tool for checking colors and contrast ratios.
• Accessibility Tests for Newsletters: CleverReach allows you to test your newsletters for over 40 accessibility criteria.