When building emails for a global audience, localization and accessibility should go hand-in-hand. It's not enough to simply translate content - you must ensure it's accessible to all recipients, including those using assistive technology like screen readers.

This guide explores best practices for combining localizations with accessibility to deliver emails that are understandable, perceivable, and usable for everyone.

Why Localization and Accessibility Matter Together

  • Compliance: Many countries have accessibility requirements. Combining accessible design with localized content helps meet these standards globally.
  • Inclusivity: Localizing content ensures users across regions and languages can understand your message. Accessibility ensures users of all abilities can consume it.
  • Assistive Technology Needs: Screen readers rely on correct language attributes (lang) and text alternatives (alt) to interpret the content accurately.
  • RTL Support: Right-to-left languages (Arabic, Hebrew) require proper directionality attributes like dir="rtl" to maintain structure and readability.

Best Practices

1. Use Semantic HTML in All Localized Versions

  • Be cognizant of which elements you are using to display your content. Aim for using structure-defining elements such as <h1>, <h2>, <p>, <ul>, and <a>.

  • Maintain semantic integrity when translating content. For example, headings must remain headings – h1 should not be translated to bold strong.

    • Many translation management services will hide the html elements so translators can't accidentally update these elements. Using Dyspatch's testing and approval workflow, teams can QA to ensure all translated content is accurate.

  • Avoid layout tables for anything other than layout. Never use tables for structure or hierarchy.

    • Going back to the top point, use structure-defining elements, instead of creating a table with its own styling for headings.

2. Declare Correct lang Attributes

Screen readers rely on the lang attribute to apply correct pronunciation rules.

<html lang="en">
  <body>
    <p>Welcome to our service!</p>
  </body>
</html>

Good news! Dyspatch handles this automatically for all localizations.

3. Handle Right-to-Left (RTL) Languages Properly

For languages such as Arabic or Hebrew:

<html lang="ar" dir="rtl">
   <body>
      <p>مرحباً بكم في خدمتنا!</p>
   </body>
</html>

More good news! Dyspatch also does this automatically for all localizations too.

4. Localize All Translatable Elements

Accessible emails require translating every user-facing sentence - not just visible ones. This includes:

  • Alt text - Every image should have descriptive, localized alt text:
<img src="banner_en.png" alt="Spring sale on home essentials" />
<img src="banner_fr.png" alt="Soldes de printemps sur les articles essentiels pour la maison" />
  • Plain text - Don't forget about translating the plain text version of your email. Many clients and screen readers rely on plain text emails.
    • Translate the plain-text version fully
    • Use meaningful link text instead of raw URLs where possible
    • Maintain heading structure using Markdown or simple separators

Dyspatch separates all translatable content, ensuring that translators can localize both visible and non-visible elements, including plain-text versions and image alt text.

5. Readability & Typography Across Languages

We recommend that text content should be:

  • At minimum 14px for body text
  • Use 1.4–1.6 line height to support multiple languages
  • Avoid overly condensed or decorative fonts
    • Use sans-serif fonts to increase clarity across languages and to test your emails
  • Keep sentence structure simple. Avoid idioms or metaphors that may not translate well
  • Watch for text expansion from translating content. Some languages require more space (e.g. German)

6. Color Contrast & Visual Accessibility

  • Maintain a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for text
  • Check color contrast after translation — longer words may appear smaller or wrap differently
  • Create dark-mode-friendly palettes to ensure contrast is accessible across modes

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Does Dyspatch change the lang attribute in the HTML for every exported locale?
    • Yes! Dyspatch handles this automatically for every language that is exported.
  • How are localized email files exported?
    • Downloading File Export: Localized files are saved in the Localizations folder, with each language version generated as a separate HTML file for easy access and management.
    • Direct Integration Export: Files will be exported either as a single HTML file containing conditional logic for multiple languages, or via the sending platform’s localization functionality, which delivers each language as its own separate file.
  • How does Dyspatch keep localization markup and semantic HTML intact during translation?
    • Dyspatch separates content from code by using modular blocks. Translators work only on text fields, while the underlying HTML and layout remain untouched.
  • How do workflow approvals catch accessibility or localization issues early?
    • Dyspatch supports multi-step workflow approvals where content is reviewed by translators, editors, and accessibility experts before publishing. Users can leave comments, send tests, and utilize device previews before exporting the email to the sending platform.

Further Reading

For more information about email accessibility, read Dyspatch's Ultimate Guide to Accessibility in Email.

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