I was told by a specialist eyesight doctor there’s a degree of concern with regards the sight ability of youngsters today. A number of universities have discovered that many of their students have increasing levels of accessibility needs. It has obvious implications for email marketing.
The causes for this impairment is currently in dispute, but there seems to be evidence that short-sightedness in children, just one of the possible causes, has doubled over the last 25 years. It’s apparently the same around much of the world. Whether one should believe that the Covid pandemic is making children’s eyesight worse, as reported, is open to question, but what is certain is that we should consider accessibility when designing our marketing emails and websites.
It’s likely that there are multiple causes. For instance, the increasing knowledge and skills of paediatricians has meant that many more premature babies are surviving, and this can be linked to eyesight problems. Put yourself in their place. You’d be grateful if you were sent a marketing email, or visited a website, where the producers had concentrated on accessibility being a prime factor in its design.
It’s not all selfishness of course. We all know somebody who struggles with small type.
The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) website is, rather obviously, an example of one designed specifically for those with sight difficulties. There is a page, https://www.rnib.org.uk/about-rnib/web-accessibility-statement, which gives an introduction to their methods. It’s well worth reading.
If you can state that you actively work to ensure your marketing emails and your website conforms with WCAG 2.1 Level 2.1, you will reassure anyone with sight problems. It puts you ahead of the majority, who don’t seem that bothered. I’d suggest a specific email address for anyone with accessibility to contact if they have a problem with your website or emails.
Do you have regular accessibility audits?
It seems possible the problem of children’s eyesight will only get worse as time goes on. By making modifications to your business model now, you are demonstrating you are responsible email marketer, and probably cornering a section of the market that will only get larger.
