Email is one of the most open, accessible platforms around and we'd like to do our part in keeping it that way. Our stance on making newsletters accessible is no secret (we wrote a whole article about the subject!)—everyone should be able to enjoy reading and writing newsletters. And email providers should offer the tools for folks to do so—including Buttondown.
Why do accessibility folks gravitate here? Practicing what you preach matters. That's why we do our best follow the latest WCAG guidelines news and take into consideration inclusive web design tips from the experts themselves (some of which are Buttondown customers, as seen below!) when designing new features.
The editor is the center of a newsletter, making it, possibly, the most important feature for accessibility. We took that into account by making Buttondown's editor intuitive and simple to use. Our editor turns Markdown into clean, semantic HTML, sends a plain-text version of every email alongside it, and hosts fast, lightweight archives that don't bury your writing under scripts and pop-ups.
Buttondown's author facing app has been designed with various accessibility functions, making it easier for all writers to write and send their newsletters. We've made it so screen readers announce page titles when navigated, buttons function descriptors, and "changes saved" when saving edits and settings. A "skip to content" link is provided on pages to easily bypass the masthead and navigation in one click. Going even further, we've added in code checks to catch clickable elements that lack keyboard support.
Buttondown's unique preflight feature automatically checks for common accessibility issues like missing alt text, generic link text lacking descriptors, and dark-mode-unfriendly colors.
All of our archives layouts are minimalistic by default and can customized to fit your content, all the while staying easily accessible for readers. Buttondown has a wide variety of fonts for personalizing your newsletter, including Lexend, a special variable font tailored to accommodate folks with diverse forms of visual and cognitive typographical sensitivity. Honestly, using Buttondown, you’d have to go out of your way to create a designed layout that is not accessibility friendly.
Many accessibility focused customers love Buttondown for our RSS-to-Email, automations, integrations, paid subscriptions, analytics, and attachments features. Buttondown offers even more capabilities with our robust API!
We still (and will always!) have work to do on the accessibility front, but know that it’s a high priority for us. Our goal is to keep improving Buttondown to ensure newsletters remain fun and inclusive. We hope you'll join use in this endeavor, whether you sign up for Buttondown or not.
Accessibility newsletters on Buttondown
| Newsletter | Description |
|---|---|
| A11y Weekly | David A. Kennedy's weekly dose of web accessibility news and practical tips, delivered every Monday. |
| Accessibility Tip of the Week | One simple, actionable accessibility tip each week from Accessible Community — most can be done before the next one arrives. |
| Inclusive Design for Goblins | Anna E. Cook's tips and tools on accessibility and inclusive design. |
| Nic's accessibility thoughts | Accessibility news and real talk about digital inclusion from Nic Steenhout. |
| Practical Accessibility | Updates from Sara Soueidan's acclaimed course on building accessible interfaces. |
| The A11Y Project | Updates from the community-driven effort to make digital accessibility easier for everyone. |
If you have any trouble reading this page or an accessibility concern with Buttondown itself, please let us know about it. We take accessibility issues seriously and will always respond to questions or concerns in a timely manner.