eDM & SMS Specialist eDM & SMS Specialist

5 Golden rules of coding eDM

 1. Use Table 

Styles in emails are the most difficult stuff to be handled in creating eDM. It is because email clients will read the coding in different ways. Some of the email clients even ignore the style coding. Therefore, table, which is widely supported by email clients, is recommended for coding style. Yet, do not set the style for the table only. Instead, set the style for each cell.

<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" border="0">
        <tr>
                <td width="80"></td>
                <td width="280"></td>
        </tr>
</table>                                                   (Campaign Monitor)

Moreover, make sure there is no whitespace which is not necessary in table cells. Some email clients will put extra margin or padding around the table, and thus affect your overall design.

 2. Use Inline CSS Style 

Remember inline CSS style is a must in making email template. This is because Gmail, which is one of the popular email clients, will ignore the CSS styles between <head> and <body>. So, remember to move all your CSS styles inline.
 3. Do not use shorthand CSS code 

Let’s start with one example. #FFFFFF, this color code can be read by different email clients. Yet, if you use #FFF, some email clients cannot understand it and will ignore this style. Moreover, if you would like to adopt specific font styles, declare them one by one clearly, say font-size, font-family, etc.

 4. Declare specific style 

Furthermore, some email clients will automatically adjust your styles if you do not declare. For instance, if you have designed your email with special font size and font color, make sure you have declared them during coding. This is same for link color as well, as email clients will show the links in blue by default. So you will need to declare specific styles if you would like to adopt special design.

* Font hint: 
Use some web safe font styles which can render properly in different email clients. The styles cannot be shown if the email clients do not support those styles.

** Hint of testing for Gmail:
Gmail always show the email in purple by default. If you keep sending to Gmail account for testing, your email will never render as you expect. Therefore, if you have to test your email in Gmail, delete all the testing emails sent before every time you send a test email.

 5. Simple is the best 

So, is it too complex for you? If yes, giving up the styles is the best choice. Let me tell you the truth, simple design is the best for email campaign. It is undeniable that an email should be attractive enough to catch recipients’ attention. But too much coding may cause SPAM issue which you are trying to get rid of. Email clients may regard your email as SPAM if too much coding is involved.

*** Hint: Do not embed any videos or forms in email or your email will be blocked.

Last but not least, which is the most important tip you must not forget: Do test your eDM in different email clients. Do not expect that you can make an eDM which is perfect for all email clients. The cruel truth is that email clients interpret your eDM in different ways and the only solution is to test with email clients in order to make sure your eDM looks tidy in most of the email clients.

Let us know if these tips help you!
 
Source: 

<< PrevBack to IndexNext >>