Best practices while drafting your email content in an html editor for Outlook

Best practices while drafting your email content in an html editor for Outlook

Any email content developed in Zoho Campaigns' template editor renders properly for every email client. If you design content with HTML and CSS, some rendering issues may arise in a few desktop clients, especially Outlook. Newer versions of Outlook use Microsoft Word to render email which can result in blocked images and major formatting errors. However, if you write your HTML with a special focus on certain areas, you can avoid most formatting issues.

Here is a list of areas you should give special attention to when composing emails with HTML/CSS:

  1. Padding and width for <div> and <p> tags will be ignored by Outlook. You can use a table instead.
  2. Padding for <a> tags will be ignored by Outlook. Instead, design a table and apply all formatting.
  3. Padding and margins used for images will be ignored by Outlook. Use hspace and vspace on images.
  4. Avoid using a class, instead give all the properties inline.
  5. Specify a line height, otherwise Outlook will use its default height.
  6. Avoid using HTML5 and CSS3.
  7. Background images will not be displayed by Outlook.
  8. GIFs will not run on Outlook. Only the first frame of the GIF will be displayed. If you want to include a GIF, set the most important frame to play first so your information will be conveyed on Outlook and other clients will still run your GIF.
  9. <button> tag will not work properly on Outlook. Design your buttons using a table.
  10. Image width should be given both as attribute and style.
  11. Position style and float will not be supported by Outlook. If you need a two column structure, design it using a table.

    • Related Articles

    • Best practices while drafting email campaign content

      Marketers may encounter a few errors while drafting the content of their email campaign. In some cases, such errors may also affect their email deliverability. These errors can be avoided if some of the basic points are kept in mind when campaign ...

    • Template editor

      The most important element for a successful email campaign is quality content. When the right content meets responsive designs, you can make sure that your email campaign is a huge success. Whether you're an expert or a beginner, Zoho Campaigns makes ...

    • Import HTML

      If you are ready with your HTML designs and related CSS, you can browse and select the HTML file along with the related images and upload them and add them as your own template. Upload HTML content After adding the basic details of your email ...

    • Eight common practices that affect email deliverability

      Email deliverability is the ability to land emails in the inbox of your recipients. If your campaign's deliverability takes a hit, it might be due to certain email marketing practices you follow. Let's dive deep and learn about practices that affect ...

    • Image Editor

      Image Editor is an additional feature added to template editor that lets you customize images in your email templates. With Image editor you can change an image or edit an existing image to suit your exact needs while sending email campaigns to your ...