I'm writing an HTML email which functions perfectly well in the browser. But I've just been sending it by copying what's in the browser window and pasting it into the mail app on my computer and sending it that way. This doesn't do a lot of the things I want it to like resizing with the window and staying centered in the page.
How do big companies send HTML emails? because the positioning always works in a lot of the emails I get from them.
First HTML emails rely on tables so make sure you are coding your email using a table structure and not coding it how you would a normal webpage. Second make sure all your CSS is inline. Third you can send your emails using email automation services like MailChimp, Marketo, Constant Contact, GetResponse, etc.
If you want to send yourself a test email you could use a service like PutsMail for free.
You might also try following this tutorial to help you with creating a responsive email template.
Rule 1: Code like it's 1999 and use tables.
Rule 2: On all tables, set "width:100%; max-width: 600px;margin:auto;". You can replace the max-width with any value you want. The first two properties will make sure that the email fits the width of mobile devices. The second property will keep it centered.
There are a lot more rules and exceptions to the rules, but these are some good basics to start with when it comes to responsive design.
Related
I'm just trying to send a little Christmas e-message around my friends/family, I've built it to be fully responsive etc the way I always do. However as it's just for friends I'm not going to send it via MailChimp which usually sends everything for me no problem.
The way I'm trying to send it is by opening the index.html file, selecting all, copying, then pasting into Gmail. This has always worked fine for me in the past, and does work. However this is my first responsive email that I'm trying to send this way, and it seems the media queries don't get brought across this way, at least not in the gmail -> hotmail test that I just did (Resizing window etc does nothing, just shows the desktop version).
Is there a better way of sending an already built HTML email, rather than just copying/pasting in Gmail?
Unfortunately, Gmail does not support the <style> tag. Media queries can only be called in the <style> tag, and not inline, therefore Gmail doesn't support them.
Here is the support chart.
I would suggest you stick to an ESP like Mailchimp for sending html email. But while you are playing around in Gmail, here is a tool that may help you debug issues with your email code.
The selected answer is not actually correct! Gmail strips IDs and classes from the email body itself, but the style tag IS retained.
You can use the following:
*[summary~='fakeclassname'] {
styles: here;
}
"Summary" is one of the attributes that Gmail does not strip out. After it occurred to me what Gmail was actually doing to emails I found this article that breaks it down in detail:
http://freshinbox.com/blog/interactive-emails-in-gmail-using-css-attribute-selectors/
There are helpful links on that page that get deeper into Gmail-specific targeting.
Note: the Gmail app does strip the style tag, and with a rising market share (Android no longer has a native app and pushes people to use the Gmail app) should be considered a starting point for mobile-first email development.
How do you add HTML into an email in Blackberry?
I've tried multipart emails, but that does not seem to work. I am asking how to send an HTML formatted email from an application running on a Blackberry, if I am wording too vaguely, please let me know how to rephrase my question
All HTML emails work the same way - the HTML is in the email body and any images must have a fully-qualified url (http://...).
CSS support is limited and must be defined inline statements (style="") on each element (no stylesheets). Background images are not supported. Tables must be used for layouts (awful but true).
You are talking about the HTML mailers, which are tricky and depend on the client Machine, where they will be eventually seen. Your HTML should be fully table layout based, Styles need to be inline. Below is an HTML mailer that is like almost perfect to display correctly on any device, whether it is MAC or PC or iPad or Blackberry.
http://www.dreamincode.net/iem/display.php?M=2016&C=f945ef50b90408df6b2eb3054df75e79&S=63&L=1&N=25
If you view the source of this page, you would come to know how the mailers need to be build out.
To send the mailers as a mass mailing list you need an Email Marketing Software's.
Does the HTML/CSS for an html email newsletter need to be in table format, or can I use DIVs with equal assurance it will display well cross email-client? I've downloaded a number of templates to see how they're done, upon which to base my own, and they all seem to use tables.
Any insight much appreciated, thanks!
⚠️ Update 2021-06-10: This is a very old answer. I'm not sure how accurate it is 10 years after it was written. Mail clients are hopefully more compliant today ⚠️
When it comes to email HTML, note that all best practices from web development goes out the window. To make the look consistent, you should:
Use table based layouts
Use the old-school attribute styling for tables
Use ONLY inline-styles, and only very simple such. <style>-tags are discarded by many clients.
Skip using <html>, <head> and <body> - They will be discarded by most clients anyway.
If you embed images, try to make sure that the e-mail looks decent even if images are not loaded. Many clients require the user to mark the email as "safe" before displaying images.
You can read more detailed versions of the above points here:
http://articles.sitepoint.com/article/code-html-email-newsletters
http://dennisdeacon.wordpress.com/2008/06/09/top-10-email-best-practices/
http://www.catswhocode.com/blog/best-practices-for-coding-html-emails
Like everyone here has said, use tables and inline all your css... but there is an ecosystem of email apps to help you build emails.
I've been using Mailrox (https://www.mailrox.com/) for most of my email builds recently and it seem to be pretty damm good and outputting perfect HTML emails, if you're building one from a design, even though it's in beta.
You could also try pre-built templates from Mailchimp or Campaign Monitor, but it sounds like you have a design for your email so maybe Mailrox would be best.
If you really want to get into building emails I'd say forget most of what you know about modern webdesign and master table layouts and use the links from PatrikAkerstrand.
Litmus is also great for testing your hand-coded designs. They give you previews of your email in (pretty much) all the email clients.
Hope this helps.
Many email-clients aren't able to render css. I would use tables to format your mail and use images for anything else.
As it's already been mentioned - your HTML emails should be built using tables (and not divs). You can add CSS as well - both using an external stylesheet, but this will not be picked up by all email clients, so it's actually more reliable to add your css in-line. Even when doing so, some attributes might be ignored by certain email clients, so your best bet is still using HTML attributes whenever these are available. "You must do this because the some clients, such as Gmail, will ignore or strip out your tag contents, or ignore them." Source: http://webdesign.tutsplus.com/articles/creating-a-simple-responsive-html-email--webdesign-12978
That aside, I've also learned through trial and error that even images must be cropped to the exact size you want them displayed in your email. Outlook if terrible at picking up HTML attributes for width / height for images, and i have seen a few nasty stretched emails, only because these attributes were ignored and the images was displayed full size.
I'm trying to figure out where to put some code in an email. You know how you can get newsletters with styling and images, etc? I wanted to send some out but I cant figure out where to put the code. Do you add the images as attachments? Do you put the code in the body?
or should you upload the .html file as well?
Build the page as a normal HTML page. Use TABLES (yes, TABLES) for your layout. You can use inline CSS, but you cannot use a stylesheet. All images must be fully-qualified (http://yoursite.com/images/). Don't make it wider than about 650 pixels. No JavaScript.
View your newsletter HTML in a browser
Do a select-all, and copy
Paste it into a new message and send it to yourself
See what you end up with
Try other mail clients
Various mail clients will mess with your markup and your styles. What works on Gmail will look like poop on Outlook etc. It will be an exercise in frustration. Test, test, test.
Assume all images will NOT BE SHOWN when the user originally views the email.
Here's a good guide to what works and what doesn't:
http://www.campaignmonitor.com/css/
My advice: keep it simple - a logo and some text and a link to the real newsletter. Making email newsletters is a fine art, and frankly, people prefer to read them in a browser where they behave like a web page.
Sending out HTML emails eigh?
There can be a lot of problems you will quickly encounter, mostly revolving around each email client having their own different way of handling things. The aim here is to keep your email as small, simple, and unbroken as possible.
The message:
Each language has it's own requirements, you need to check with the language you are using to see what is easier, to do it inline as part of the mailing script, or to have it inserted through a HTML file, etc. So for more details here, post the language you're using.
Layout:
This is where message simplicity comes in. The best layouts are usually the most simple ones, especially considering not all email clients are 100% HTML standards compliant. You won't know how big your client's viewing window for the email will be nor can you force it to any size or pop it out. Remember that it's goal is to be a message, not a webpage. Usually simple flexible/elastic tables will do the trick just fine if you have anything more advanced than simple paragraphs.
Images:
Link everything statically (statically means http:\\www. ....mypicture.png as opposed to dynamic linking which looks like this \images\mypicture.png) hosted from your server. The reason for this is so that you will have no broken links, your email will be smaller in size (as opposed to attatching). The downside is that some clients may ask about showing pictures. The cold hard truth is that this cannot be avoided no matter which method you use (See for more details).
Links:
Again, link everything statically. Local/dynamic link's won't work and your recipients will be mighty unhappy.
CSS
Either have your CSS classes at the top, or everything in-line (< ... style="..." />). You don't want to attach a CSS file, it's messy and unconventional.
Scripts
Inline or at the top of your file, for the same reason as above.
Additional Documents
If you want to include PDF's or DOCX's, etc, the best and most common methodology is just like images, to host on your server and simply include a static link in your email to them. It keeps file size down and you don't have to worry about what each and every email browser/reader is going to do.
How do I get html content to stay in relative position and format from one browser/email to another? When developing e-newsletters, the format appears differently in one email server than in another (when testing to two of my emails).
Example: when I open the email in my gmail, the padding around the images is where I want it, but when opening it in my work Outlook, the padding is almost nonexistent.
Example: the font appears according to the style sheet in Outlook, but changes when in gmail.
How can I secure the style sheet and the positioning to keep the appearance constant?
E-mail clients are notoriously terrible at rendering HTML (especially Outlook and Lotus Notes). You will typically be writing crippled HTML with inline CSS styles. This will not get better in the near future.
Make your design as simple as possible, and you will have less trouble making it look right on many clients. The actual best practices for writing HTML will depend mostly on which clients you plan to support.
Some helpful articles that give insight into common solutions for HTML e-mail rendering problems:
Article at A List Apart
Guide at ReachCustomersOnline
There are some easy web services that can check your newsletter on multiple clients and give you screenshots of the results. They are usually worth the money:
Litmus
MailChimp
CampaignMonitor