Because, given the values espoused byADEMEI wanted to have some fun checking whether their newsletters respected eco-design best practices and accessibility in particular.
So we're going to make a thorough diagnosis of this newsletter. For the record, this analysis was carried out by Olivier Fredon, Jonathan Loriaux and myself.
Accessibility
- No language declaration on HTML: the
tag is empty. - Alternative texts are always the same behind the "Ademe-infos" images.
- Some button texts (CTAs) are non-explicit "C'est parti!", "Tour d'horizon", "ici". 2 times "click here" in the mentions.
- The color contrasts of CTAs pass the "minimum" level of rules WCAG (AA) but not the "improved" level (AAA)
- The same goes for the two "before you leave" links
- Lack of alternative text on social network icons.
- The small "click here" unsubscribe link
Eco-design
- HTML weight: 107kb. Even if you'd ideally like to be under 102kb to avoid being truncated on Gmail, it's still very optimized given the newsletter's length.
- Optimized image weight. That's rare enough to be worth mentioning. Congratulations.
- A call for google font "ubuntu" only for CTAs and the key figure: is it really relevant?
From the editorial side
- No preheadertoo bad.
- When I open the newsletter, the images aren't loaded by default, and the first thing my eye sees is the date of dispatch, which in my opinion doesn't do anything for readers. When the images are loaded by default, the first thing I see is the text of the ADEME INFOS visual. I don't learn anything new either.
- I find it lacking an editorial signed by someone from ADEME with a strong headline which sets the tone for this issue of the newsletter. This would provide a link between the news items. Here, we have an accumulation of various news items.
- Scrolling down a bit, the first title is a repetition of the item I just read 1 second ago. I learn nothing more.
- I appreciate prioritizing information in the blocks: category, title, text, CTA. If you only read these reference points, you'll already learn a lot. I would have highlighted the category less. The eye goes first to the category. For me, the title is more important than the category.
- CTA texts lack harmonization: sometimes it consists of I + conjugated verb, sometimes it's an infinitive verb, sometimes it's a non-explicit text.
- There is no clear reminder of missions ADEME, nor links to services and tools. We could imagine a reassurance block to close the newsletter.
- A few key words lack bolding, as reference points when reading diagonally.
- I'd like to add a add to calendar link in the agenda block.
- A newsletter is meant to be sharedI'll add a "FORWARD" or "SHARE" button to the email header (with a mailto link). The logo would then switch to the left and the CTA to the right. And why not a block encouraging sharing right in the middle of the newsletter?
Deliverability
- DMARC is in "reject" modeperfect.
- The sending domain is a subdomain of the site domain perfect.
- Link tracking and image hosting are on a sub-sub-area so perfect too.
- The postal address is included in the body of the email, which is great!
- The BIMI protocol is not present, it could be for even greater security (BIMI contributes to the fight against phishing) and visibility (BIMI enables the logo to be displayed next to the sender's name).
In summary
This newsletter is very well eco-designed, and deliverability practices are very well managed. But there's clearly room for improvement on the accessibility side, and a few suggestions on the copywriting side.