This is the billion dollar question. As we’ve discussed here in the past, there are no standards for HTML email. So what looks good in one client (Yahoo) might look like [click] in another (Outlook 2007). Some email marketers, in true K.I.S.S. fashion, recommend keeping the design as basic as possible. Others hire designers to custom build a solid template to work from.
Of course, the whole thing gets even more difficult when there are email client developers, like Microsoft, actually reverting back to older HTML standards for newer email clients, like they did with Outlook 2007 which has less CSS support than the previous version of Outlook had.
But, it’s not a lost cause. There are definitely things that you can do to optimize your HTML so that it will render well in the majority of email clients.
- Test your HTML using the w3c Markup Validation Service and fix any major coding errors (like no end tags, etc.)
- Use an email testing service ($$) such as Litmus
- Do your own testing. Create a test group using as many different email addresses (i.e. Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, domain, etc.) and test your messages against them.
- Use pre-tested HTML email templates when possible.
- Implement the 9 Best Practices for Email Design
One day, thanks to the hard work of the Email Standards Project, we will all celebrate the day when all email is rendered equally. Perhaps we’ll make it an international holiday for email marketers.
Until then, good luck.
These are good points. I think the only semi-reliable method is creating an old table based layout, testing (extensively), then sticking to it.
Not only do you need to deal with different email clients, but in the case of webmail services, there are browser inconsistencies as well!
The 9 Best Practices article is also very useful, particularly when explaining restrictions to others.
I also have an A3 printout of the PDF on http://www.campaignmonitor.com/css/ stuck to the wall above my desk