We’re excited to share that Swift Digital achieved WCAG 2.2 accreditation at the end of 2024! Discover what this means for your emails.

At Swift Digital, ensuring our platform modules meet usability and accessibility requirements is our priority.
We consider WCAG 2.2 compliance an important part of email and event marketing and are committed to ensuring the platform meets WCAG accessibility standards.
WCAG 2.2 accredited means the Swift Digital platform has been tested against WCAG 2.2 standards and has passed.
To get to this stage, we have made changes and enhancements to the platform to ensure it meets WCAG accessibility across all modules.
The WCAG 2.2 authority then tested these changes and enhancements, and we are pleased to share with you that Swift Digital was awarded the WCAG 2.2 accreditation!
At Swift Digital, ensuring our platform modules meet usability and accessibility requirements is our priority.
We consider WCAG 2.2 compliance an important part of email and event marketing and are committed to ensuring the platform meets WCAG accessibility standards.
WCAG 2.2 accredited means the Swift Digital platform has been tested against WCAG 2.2 standards and has passed.
To get to this stage, we have made changes and enhancements to the platform to ensure it meets WCAG accessibility across all modules.
The WCAG 2.2 authority then tested these changes and enhancements, and we are pleased to share with you that Swift Digital was awarded the WCAG 2.2 accreditation!
WCAG 2.2 Definition
The WCAC definition is a set of principles and technical standards on web accessibility developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
Being WCAG compliant means that your organisation, business, or department must meet certain criteria with its digital marketing platform communications, such as emails, event communications, landing pages, surveys, and websites.
Being WCAG compliant means that your organisation, business, or department must meet certain criteria with its digital marketing platform communications, such as emails, event communications, landing pages, surveys, and websites.
What is WCAG Compliance?
WCAG compliance, or adherence to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, aims to enhance web content accessibility for individuals with disabilities. This encompasses a range of disabilities, such as visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological impairments.
What is WCAG Accreditation?
The Swift Digital platform and its modules are WCAG 2.2 accredited. But what does it mean?
- The Swift Digital platform satisfies all Level A and AA success criteria of the web
- Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 specification has been satisfied
- International recognised standard accreditation
- An accreditation body has provided independent confirmation of the certification body’s competence
WCAG 2.2 Enhancements and Updates to Swift Modules
The team has been working on updates and enhancements to the Swift Digital platform to ensure that each module is compliant with the WCAG 2.2 standard.
We have made changes to the structure and semantic HTML of an email when it is built to meet standards set by WCAG 2.2, and we have made updates to ensure your emails and communications satisfy the WCAG requirement for screen readers and are easy to understand for individuals with disabilities.
We have also raised the standards for error messaging in forms and updated and enhanced auto-complete forms to meet WCAG 2.2 standards, including a full review of tags, semantic HTML elements and labels.
We have also raised the standards for error messaging in forms and updated and enhanced auto-complete forms to meet WCAG 2.2 standards, including a full review of tags, semantic HTML elements and labels.
Accessibility For All Australians
With these changes, the platform not only meets WCAG 2.2 in all aspects, but it also means that we help you, our users, send emails and communications that will ensure that your organisation meets WCAG accessibility requirements when communicating with your audience and stakeholders.
Above all, we work together to ensure all Australians have an equal opportunity when it comes to accessing information.
Above all, we work together to ensure all Australians have an equal opportunity when it comes to accessing information.
Your WCAG Responsibilities
As a software-as-a-service platform provider, we strive to ensure our platform meets WCAG 2.2 accessibility requirements. But it doesn’t end there.
As a user of the platform and a representative of your organisation, it is also your responsibility to ensure that you follow WCAG accessibility requirements when building out your emails, events, surveys and landing pages.
When it comes to designing and building your emails, events, and landing pages, you and your team will need to adopt some best practices to ensure WCAG compliance and that your communications are understood by all.
As a user of the platform and a representative of your organisation, it is also your responsibility to ensure that you follow WCAG accessibility requirements when building out your emails, events, surveys and landing pages.
When it comes to designing and building your emails, events, and landing pages, you and your team will need to adopt some best practices to ensure WCAG compliance and that your communications are understood by all.
10 WCAG Best Practices
To help you and your team, we have put together a list of 10 best practices you can adopt today to ensure you are WCAG compliant.
1. Text-only emails
2. Colour Contrast
3. All Image Emails
4. Email Hierarchy
5. Links
6. Alternative Text for Images
7. Text Size and Font
8. Video Transcript
9. Email Testing Tools
10. Ensure Keyboard Navigation
1. Text only Emails
To follow WCAG standards, ensure your HTML emails offer plain text versions for those with vision impairments. For WCAG compliance, Swift Digital automatically creates a text version of your emails, and subscribers are offered the option to receive emails in text or HTML format. This will satisfy WCAG standards.
2. Colour Contrast
To further ensure your WCAG compliance for accessibility in emails, you should refer to the branding colours that are used. Complex colour schemes can be confusing for those with colour vision deficiencies and do not meet WCAG standards. To move forward and meet WCAG standards, you should use colours with high contrast to help elements stand out. This is particularly relevant when using background colours, links and text. Use a WCAG contrast checker when reviewing the colours used.
3. All Image Emails
To meet accessibility in emails, it is best to avoid all image emails, this is not a practice Swift Digital recommends. What do we mean when we say all image emails? This includes taking images and building the whole email out of images. This does not meet WCAG standards for accessibility. To add to this, some email clients block images (Outlook, we’re looking at you), it is best to use text-based emails to meet WCAG compliance and then add Alt text to describe the image.
4. Email Hierarchy
WCAG compliance means that your emails are easy to follow and structured clearly. A predictable flow in the email is important when designing for those with cognitive or neurological disabilities. For example, you can ensure important content is at the top of the email, and your content follows a predictable format and hierarchy, helping readers to navigate and scan the email more easily. In summary, keep your email layout simple to avoid running into sensory overload for your disabled users. A one-column layout for your emails is preferable to meet WCAG standards accessibility.
5. Links
To meet WCAG compliance, your URL links should be obvious and large enough so that those with vision impairments can locate them among other images. Being mindful of the size and placement of your links also benefits those who cannot precisely control a mouse, as well as those using mobile phones. Don’t use special characters in your links as these will get read out by the screen reader, which may cause confusion.
6. Alternative Text for Images
Using alternative text for images is particularly important in email, as some devices, such as screen readers, do not display images and require a text supplement. Good alternative text should define the image for those who can’t see it. If you are using images with text in them, the alternative text should display the text in the image.
7. Text Size and Font
Typography includes font size, style, colour, height, etc. Using appropriate sizes and fonts will help to meet WCAG compliance. Use larger font sizes to accommodate visually impaired users. When choosing a font that you will be using in your email, choose one that is clear to read and evenly spaced. Larger font sizes will also benefit those reading emails on their mobile device. Aligning your text to the left is also preferable and helps to meet WCAG standards, this is because people prefer to read from left-aligned text, to help maintain character and wording for consistency.
8. Video Transcript
If you are using videos in your emails and communications, then you will need to provide a text transcript of the video. A text transcript is typically a transcript of the captions, with the addition of important on-screen content. Important on-screen content typically include the name of each speaker, introductory text at the start of the video, concluding text and contact details at the end of the video, and text and graphics that convey additional important information that is not included in the spoken content. Another tip is to disable autoplay for videos or audio, or allow users to control playback. Auto-playing content can be disorienting or intrusive for many users.
9. Email Testing Tools
You can use external tools specifically designed to test WCAG compliance in your emails and communications. We have listed three of our favourites below:
Litmus accessibility checker
Email on Acid
Accessibility Insights
10. Ensure Keyboard Navigation
Ensure all functionalities, including menus, forms, and interactive elements, are operable via a keyboard. Test navigation using the Tab key and ensure logical focus order.
If you would like to discuss the WCAG 2.2 accreditation or how to ensure your emails are WCAG 2.2 compliant, please contact your Account Manager and/or our support team at support@swiftdigital.com.au.
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