Post on 16-Apr-2017
transcript
Wait… WHAT JUST HAPPENED
TO MY EMAIL?!?
#WelcomeToTheInbox
Jason RodriguezCommunity Manager, Litmus
@rodriguezcommajMarketing Lead, Sendwithus
@alexophile
Alex Mohr
Welcome to the inbox, nerds.
#WelcomeToTheInbox
Welcome to the inboxes
Mobile complicates things
The Web ≠ Email
#WelcomeToTheInbox
What can actually go wrong?
#WelcomeToTheInbox
Broken & missing images
Broken & blue links
Broken layouts
How do you find these problems before your subscribers?
#WelcomeToTheInbox
We’ll have to run a test…
#WelcomeToTheInbox
0
22.5
45
67.5
90 High base costs favor big changes
Which is why transactional emails so often get left behind
Perfect, now never move ever again.
0
15
30
45
60Faster testing makes smaller changes more practical
Smaller changes = better feedback and more control
#WelcomeToTheInbox
Data DeliveryDesign
#WelcomeToTheInbox
Let’s look at these again…
#WelcomeToTheInbox
Broken imagesBlue links
Broken layouts
#WelcomeToTheInbox
Broken images
Web
Relative paths work
src=“/img/hero.jpg”
Image paths
Only absolute paths
src=“http://example.com/img/hero.jpg”
ALT textInclude ALT text
Provides context for missing images
<img src=“logo.jpg” width=“400″ height=“149″ alt=“Litmus” style=“font-family: Georgia; color: #697c52; font-style: italic; font-size: 30px;”>
Web
Relative paths work
href=“/about.html”
Broken links
Only absolute paths
href=“http://example.com/about.html”
Blue linksPresent design problems
Colors are off-brand
Accessibility concerns
Low contrast text = unreadable
Old fix
Wrap suspect text and style using CSS
.blue-links a { color: #888888 !important; }
<span class=“blue-links”>March 10</span>
Blue links
New fix
Put this in the <head> of your email:
Blue links
a[x-apple-data-detectors] { color: inherit !important; text-decoration: none !important; font-size: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-weight: inherit !important; line-height: inherit !important;
}
Broken layouts
Always remember:The Web ≠ Email
#WelcomeToTheInbox
divs for structure
floats
external stylesheets
shorthand properties & values
When coding…
tables for structure
align attribute
inline CSS
explicit properties & values
<h1>
<p>
<img>
<a class=“button”>
Instead of positioned elements…
<tr><td>
Use table rows and cells…
<tr><td>
<tr><td>
<tr><td>
Modular designTable rows & cellsFor every section
Emails as LEGOMakes building different templates & troubleshooting easy
ModuleHEADER
ModuleHERO IMAGE
ModuleCOPY BLOCK
ModuleCTA BUTTON
ModuleFOOTER
Inline your CSSNo linked stylesheetsMost email clients won’t display them
Embedded for enhancementsUse styles in the <head> for progressive enhancement
Inline for everything elseAll important formatting should be inline on HTML elements for maximum compatibility
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href=“style.css">
<head> <style> … STYLES … </style> </head>
<td style=“padding: 10px 20px 30px 20px; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 18px; color: #000000;”></td>
Different device & screen sizes break a lot of emails
#WelcomeToTheInbox
Email approaches:Mobile aware, fluid,
and responsive
* In two varieties
*
Mobile aware• Considers the mobile user a priority• One layout for all screen sizes• Single column design; 320-500px• Large text & buttons• Generous white space• Short, concise body copy
FluidEmail width changes to fit inside the window
• Percentage-based widths• Adapts to fit the screen• Text wraps automatically
Responsive• Resize content: make images fit,
make text larger
• Hide content on mobile
• Stack columns
• Move a two-column design to a one-column design
TraditionalResponsive
Traditional Responsive• Relies on CSS media queries• Makes images fluid on mobile• Makes tables fluid on mobile• Tons of control over content
Not supportedEverywhere*
*Looking at you, Gmail… Inbox by Gmail (iOS) Mail (iOS)
Spongy /HybridApproach
Spongy (hybrid) approach• Fluid-by-default tables• Constrained tables using CSS• Conditional tables for Outlook• Content stacking w/o media queries• Complicated w/ complex layouts
<!--[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]> <table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="600">
<tr> <td align="center" valign="top" width="600">
<![endif]-->
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="max-
width: 600px;" > <tr>
<td align="left" valign="top" style="padding: 10px 10px 20px 10px;"> … CONTENT … </td>
</tr> </table>
<!--[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]> </td>
</tr> </table>
<![endif]-->
“Hybrid” or “Spongy” email development
http://labs.actionrocket.co/the-hybrid-coding-approach
http://www.emaildesignreview.com/email-design-best-practice/googles-embarrassing-email-problem-2465/
http://webdesign.tutsplus.com/tutorials/creating-a-future-proof-responsive-email-without-media-queries--cms-23919
https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/2014/07/creating-a-centred-responsive-design-without-media-queries/
@ActionRocket
@flcarneiro
@moonstrips
@mike_ragan
Works everywhere DesktopAndroidGmailiOSWebmail
Keep all of that in mind and email can be wonderful
(even transactional!)
#WelcomeToTheInbox
Always be testing
#WelcomeToTheInbox
Check out these resources…
#WelcomeToTheInbox
Sendwithus Open Source Templatessendwithus.com/resources/templates
Litmus Communitylitmus.com/community
Litmus Bloglitmus.com/blog
Litmus Communityhttp://bit.ly/1KogqN1
Q&A TimeType your questions in the chat window
Try Sendwithus freesendwithus.com/pricing
Try Litmus free for 14 dayslitmus.com/coupon/WelcomeToTheInbox
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