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In the April 2025 edition of WiseTalk, WiseStamp’s Natalie Stenge sat down with Gil Magen, Head of Product Marketing at accessiBe for a candid conversation about digital accessibility, a critical but often misunderstood topic. Their discussion brought clarity and practical tips, especially in areas that overlap with WiseStamp’s mission.

First, what is digital accessibility?

Just as ramps, accessible parking spaces, and braille signage are standard in the physical world, digital experiences must be designed to include everyone. With over 1.3 billion adults worldwide living with a disability, accessibility is not optional.

Accessibility improvements also enhance general user experience. Captions, originally intended for users who are deaf or hard of hearing, are now used widely by people watching videos on mute. This is just one reminder that accessible design benefits all users.

Today, digital accessibility is a business essential. It means using web-safe fonts, correct color contrast, screen-reader friendly copy, and layouts that support easy navigation for all users.

1. Accessibility Applies to Every Touch Point, Including Emails

The conversation began by addressing a common misconception: digital accessibility is not limited to your homepage. It is not even limited to your website. Just as all public spaces are expected to be physically accessible, all digital content must be accessible as well – from landing pages and ebooks, to sales one-pagers and decks. And yes, even emails.

And of course, emails and email signatures are particularly relevant for the WiseStamp audience. We often enjoy receiving beautifully designed newsletters from our favorite brands, whether announcing a seasonal promotion or unveiling a new product.

But what happens when someone who is color-blind opens their inbox and struggles to read the text in a festive email header? What happens when they cannot see your contact information clearly in your email signature? If they encounter barriers like these, it sends a clear message that accessibility is not a priority for your brand. And that is not the impression any organization wants to leave.

Here’s how WiseStamp helps:

  • Ensures all employee email signatures are screen-reader friendly, responsive, and accessible across devices and email clients
  • Uses email-safe fonts, proper color contrast, and HTML structure to prevent accessibility issues
  • Maintains consistency without relying on manual updates from individual employees

2. Accessible Email Signatures Affect Brand Trust

Another important takeaway from the discussion is the growing connection between accessibility and brand trust, especially among younger audiences. 

It is no longer enough for brands to simply offer great products or services. Today’s consumers, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, expect brands to reflect their values in every interaction.

As Gil put it, “94% of Gen Zers say that social responsibility affects their decision-making… they don’t want to be portrayed as a non-inclusive person.” 

If a brand fails to prioritize inclusivity and accessibility, it risks alienating this influential generation. For many, accessibility is more than a feature. It’s a reflection of whether a brand genuinely cares about all of its customers.

Your email signature, while small, is a daily point of brand interaction. If it’s not accessible, it sends the wrong message. A poorly formatted signature or one that is difficult for people with disabilities to navigate can undermine your company’s efforts to be seen as socially responsible and inclusive.

How WiseStamp helps:

  • Embeds inclusive branding into every employee signature by default
  • Keeps messaging aligned with your brand values, from banners to legal disclaimers
  • Enables DEI-conscious design choices without sacrificing accessibility or consistency

3. Signature Management Supports Security, Compliance, and Accessibility

A conversation about digital accessibility wouldn’t be complete without touching upon the real business risks of neglecting it in your content strategy. Gil points out that accessibility issues today impact more than just legal compliance. It is not just about penalties; it is about the brand reputation impact.

Failing to prioritize accessibility can expose organizations to lawsuits, yes, but more importantly, it can damage customer trust and hurt a brand’s public image. In today’s competitive environment, maintaining brand credibility and minimizing exposure to risk means treating accessibility with the same seriousness as data security or privacy compliance.

Email signatures are a part of that larger risk landscape. If left unmanaged, they can introduce vulnerabilities – like missing legal disclaimers, broken links, or poor readability for users with disabilities – that can quietly chip away at a company’s reputation. Centralized control over signatures ensures that every outbound email reflects the organization’s security standards, compliance obligations, and commitment to inclusivity.

How WiseStamp helps:

  • Enforces organization-wide compliance with legal disclaimers and accessibility standards
  • Minimizes the risk of user-modified or non-compliant email signatures
  • Prevents common errors like broken links, missing alt text, or inaccessible fonts that could trigger legal or reputational risk

Security and compliance today extend to every communication your company sends. WiseStamp ensures that email signatures are not a weak link but a strong extension of your company’s security and brand integrity.

4. Automation Supports Both IT and Marketing Goals

Another important theme from the conversation is the role of automation in making accessibility and brand consistency achievable at scale. 

Gil has an important tip for this: “there are tools that can do most of the heavy lifting for you.” Businesses no longer need to rely on manual processes to maintain accessibility and compliance across their digital assets. Instead, automation allows organizations to meet these growing demands without overburdening IT or marketing teams.

Email signature management is a prime example of where automation can make an immediate impact. Without the right tools, managing individual employee signatures, and ensuring they are both compliant and on-brand, quickly becomes a time-consuming and error-prone task. IT teams are often pulled away from higher-priority security initiatives, while marketing teams struggle to maintain visual and messaging consistency across hundreds or even thousands of outbound emails.

WiseStamp solves this problem by centralizing control and automating updates. It empowers IT to manage security, compliance, and visibility, while giving marketing the flexibility to maintain branding, accessibility standards, and promotional elements. With seamless integration into systems like Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and Azure AD, WiseStamp ensures that signature management is no longer a manual burden but a streamlined and reliable process.

How WiseStamp helps:

  • Requires no coding knowledge or end-user training
  • Allows IT to oversee security, compliance, and infrastructure integration
  • Enables marketing teams to control brand design and accessibility standards with ease
  • Integrates directly with Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and Azure AD for scalable deployment

5. Email Is Your Most Frequent Touchpoint – Make It Count

One of the strongest messages from the conversation is that accessibility, branding, and trust are not confined to your website. Gil warns, “it’s not just websites. It’s email, it’s sales content… all of the touchpoints you have.” Every communication your organization sends reflects your brand, and email is often the most frequent and visible touchpoint.

While websites and social media campaigns receive a lot of attention, most customer relationships are built day by day through emails. These small interactions collectively shape the way your brand is perceived. An email that is difficult to read or inconsistent with your brand identity does more than create a bad impression. It signals that your organization may not prioritize accessibility, attention to detail, or user experience.

Your email signature is a critical part of that daily communication. It is an opportunity to build trust, reinforce professionalism, and demonstrate your brand’s commitment to inclusivity. When signatures are well-designed, accessible, and consistent, every email strengthens your credibility rather than chipping away at it.

How WiseStamp helps:

  • Turns email signatures into a daily reinforcement of your brand’s commitment to inclusion
  • Supports responsiveness and readability across devices, email clients, and regions
  • Makes it easy for distributed teams to stay consistent and accessible in every message they send

Final Thought: WiseStamp Builds Scalable, Inclusive Email Identity

The conversation closed with a clear reminder that accessibility and brand consistency are essential parts of a company’s digital identity. As Gil Magen put it, these are “foolproof ways to make sure that even your email signatures are both on-brand and also keep up with your company values of the accessibility standards.”

WiseStamp helps enterprises extend accessibility into everyday communications by managing email signatures at scale, making it easy for marketing, IT, DEI, and legal teams to stay aligned.

More importantly, accessibility is no longer just about compliance. For modern marketing professionals, it is a brand power move. It strengthens loyalty, expands reach, and shows leadership in a marketplace where social responsibility is a key differentiator.