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What Should I Be Concerned With When Designing HTML Email?


Despite many similarities between coding web pages and HTML email, there are major differences that can make or break a nice design.

The problem is that the wide variety of email applications people use tend to display HTML in inconsistent ways.

Here's an Example

To demonstrate the types of problems email designers run into far too often, compare the following:

 

These images are screenshots from two popular email applications, Thunderbird and Gmail. We sent an identical email to both, and yet they display almost entirely differently.

So What Should Designers Do?

The answer: test, test, test!

The only way to ensure consistent HTML design rendering is to send copies of your self-designed email messages to as many popular email applications as you can, then make sure they appear in a consistently readable way.

Popular Email Applications to Test

Here are the most common email applications subscribers use to check their messages in:

 

More Tips From One of Our Designers

Bob, designer of many of our HTML templates, has published a well circulated article about ways to improve your HTML email designs for consistency across email clients (warning: requires basic knowledge of HTML):

6 Easy Ways to Improve Your HTML Emails

Don't Want to Worry About Email Design Problems?

Each of our 103+ email templates have been vigorously tested against all of the above email applications to ensure consistent rendering.

If you'd like to use HTML messages without the pain of testing, just load in a template and start typing.



Still Have Questions?

If after reading this article you still have questions, contact us for a personal response from our Customer Solutions team.

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