HTML emails have certainly been a breakthrough technology. They have made email one of the most promising marketing channels that brings the maximum revenue. The only problem is that HTML emails render differently in every email client and if not done correctly, they may lead to a broken layout with rendering issues. Email Uplers can help create pixel-perfect responsive email template, tested across 40+ email clients and 15+ devices, thereby ensuring impeccable rendering irrespective of the source used to access it.
If your emails do not look good, your subscribers will stop engaging with them and in the worst case, mark you as spam. Consequently, it will hamper your sender reputation and email deliverability.
To help you overcome any rendering challenges, we are here with 9 easy-to-understand tips that you can implement right away.
1. Avoid using JavaScript and <iframe>
JavaScript is mainly used in website development to create interactive designs. However, email clients do not support this coding language and block scripts. As JavaScript can hide malicious content, it is best to do away with it. The same holds for <iframe> HTML elements that help insert ads, video, audio, or forms in websites but email clients block them.
2. Always use web-safe fonts like Arial, Courier, and Tahoma
Custom fonts can lead to rendering issues if the email clients do not support the font or the subscriber’s device does not have that font installed. Therefore, you must use web-safe fonts that are compatible with all email clients and devices. In case you plan to use custom fonts, you must always provide proper fallback or ‘view in browser’ link to ensure a pleasant subscriber experience.
3. Refrain from using “float” and “clear” coding
The CSS float and clear properties do not work on Outlook. Instead, you can use hard line breaks in your email code.
4. Add background images with caution
As Outlook 2007, 2010, and 2013 use the Microsoft Word rendering engine, they need a vector markup language (VML) to render the background image properly. Therefore, if you want to use background images, you must add special codes so that there are no rendering issues.
5. Include suitable Alt-text with all visual elements
Many email clients block the images by default. Hence, you must always include suitable Alt-text with every visual element in the email. This is also important from the accessibility point of view.
6. Place the CTAs as HTML text
If your subscriber cannot see the CTA, you will not get any conversions. It is, thus, advisable that you place the CTAs as HTML text. Avoid putting any CTA text in the images or background images. HTML text and images cannot be used interchangeably. When designing CTAs, you should always add a background color with organic hyperlinks as most of the users will hover the cursor over the button before clicking through. In addition, the text height should be 13-14 pixels and the button size should be between 47 to 50 pixels so that it is easily tappable on mobile devices.
7. Code emails with the help of table tags rather than div tags
Developing emails using div tags can lead to padding problems and several other rendering issues. While divs work well for website development, tables are the safest bet for email coding. They help maintain the email structure despite the issues created by Outlook. With the help of tables, you can add additional HTML elements, not available with divs. Table tags also improve mobile responsiveness of your emails, thereby making it easy to consume.
8. Maintain the HTML file size at 102kb
Gmail clips emails more than 102kb. To counteract this issue, you must remove all the unnecessary style tags and attributes or any commented code from the email. As a practice, do not copy the code directly from text editors like Microsoft Word because it will add additional tags to the email. Also, Gmail deletes any style blocks more than 8142 characters. So, design the style block accordingly.
9. Design the templates using pixels, not percentages
Using percentages to design email templates will skew the message layout. If your email has too many content blocks, the design gets all the more complicated, leading to increased chance of rendering issues. By specifying the size in pixels, it will improve rendering as it helps in more effective handling of padding.
10. Go for inline CSS rather than CSS stylesheets
Email clients do not support CSS styling sheets. Microsoft Outlook adds spaces in the email when you use CSS styling sheets. Hence, as an alternative, developers can use inline CSS for their emails.
11. Limit the email width to 600 pixels
If you want to ensure flawless rendering across all email clients and devices, you must keep the email width to 600 pixels. Almost all popular clients support this coding rule when it comes to single-column layouts. You might have to make certain iterations if you are using two or more columns.
12. Do not use custom bullets
Bulleted lists are the most commonly used elements in email design. Stick to standard bullets rather than custom bullets to prevent any rendering challenges.
How Email Uplers Can Help?
With extensive experience of a decade, Email Uplers has had the privilege of working with customers like Disney, DHL, and Ogilvy. Throughout these years, we have created a huge number of responsive email HTML templates that render well, regardless of the email client and device used to access them.
Just provide us a brief of your design and the PSD/AI/Sketch/PDF file and we will churn out a beautiful responsive HTML email in line with your branding guidelines. Our team of 150+ developers are well-versed with all the latest trends, limitations of email clients, and coding hacks that help in imparting the most pleasant experience to the subscribers.
And the best part is that we have the fastest turnaround time of 8 hours.
Summing it up
Email clients are getting more sophisticated with each passing day. They are extending support to advanced email designs like interactivity, AMP, and gamification. However, some rendering issues keep cropping up despite all the care developers take. Through this article, we have shared a deep insight into overcoming the commonly encountered rendering problems. Follow these tips and you will surely see a difference in your email performance.