If you are reading this than you know the joys of trying to code your email for all of the various email applications out there. Outllook, AOL, Gmail, Hotmail each have their own quirks and rendering methodologies and getting your email to display in all of its splendor and glory in each is well…a pain in the ass.
So now that you are reading this article hopefully you’ve stopped banging your head against your desk and I have you attention for a minute or two. Here are the resources I have used and found helpful to aid you in your process.
- I would start with the Email Standards Project. Here you can find a list of all the major web email clients and how they stack up to the Email Standards Project acid test. When coding, this will give you a head start on what each email client supports and what will render properly before you decide to really flex your creative CSS muscle.
- Another great resource is from Campaign Monitor. You can take a look at the CSS support for both desktop and web email clients so you don’t have to figure it out for yourself. You can download the 2008 CSS guide in PDF, Excel format or view it on their webpage.
- Now that you know what you can and can’t do you will need to test your work. Litmus has a great email testing tool that allows you to view your work in every major desktop and email client application. You will see exactly what you recipients see without having to open 10 different email accounts checking each one every time you make a change.
- If you need a good place to start or some plain ol’ fashioned inspiration. Here is an added bonus. 30+ Free HTML email templates that will look good in all the major email clients tested by Campaign Monitor. They are organized by Left Sidebar, Right Sidebar and Single column layouts.
Well, I hope this helps gets you started or figure out why that image just won’t line up. I want to hear from you. What resources are you using to keep your emails inline?
