Email responsive design is a path to email campaign success – Almost everyone has an email account and, chances are, you use email for business purposes. Email is a powerful communication tool that should not be underestimated. In fact, email marketing is still one of the most effective digital marketing strategies out there!
If you want to make the most of your email marketing efforts, it’s important to make sure your emails are responsive – that is, they look good and are easy to read on any device. In this blog post, I’ll discuss why email responsive design is so important, what goes into making a responsive email template, and some benefits of testing your email campaigns using A / B testing. Want to increase your email campaign ROI? Find out how…
Email has been around for decades and is not going anywhere – In the early days of email, most people accessed their email via desktop computers. Now, people are just as likely to check their email on a smartphone or tablet. In fact, according to a study by Upland 61.9% of all email is now opened on mobile devices. It appears this trend is only going to continue, which means it’s more important than ever to make sure your email campaigns are mobile friendly and use email responsive design.
What is Email Responsive Design?
Simply put, email responsive design is the process of making sure your email looks good and is easy to read on any device. This can be accomplished in a number of ways, but the most common methods are fluid email design and responsive email design.
Fluid Email Design
Fluid email design is the simplest form of email responsiveness. With fluid email design, your email content is written in HTML and CSS that automatically scales to fit any screen size. This means that whether someone is viewing your email on a desktop computer, a tablet, or a smartphone, they’ll be able to read it without having to zoom in or scroll horizontally.
Responsive Email Design
Responsive email design is a bit more complex than fluid email design, but it offers some additional benefits. With email responsive design, your email content is written in HTML and CSS that automatically adjusts to fit any screen size. In addition, responsive email design allows you to hide or rearrange email content on smaller screens, so you can control what your subscribers see when they open your email on a mobile device.
Responsive email design best practices – Now that you know what email responsive design is and why it’s important, let’s discuss some best practices for creating responsive email templates.
Best Practices for Email Responsive Design
Use a single-column layout
When it comes to email responsive design, less is more. A simple, single-column email layout is easy to read on any device and ensures that your email content scales down gracefully on smaller screens.
Keep your email content short and sweet
No one wants to scroll through a long email on their smartphone. Keep your email content short and to the point, and focus on delivering value to your subscribers. Place your CTA (call to action) as close to the beginning as possible.
Use large, easy-to-read fonts
Small fonts are hard to read on small screens. Stick with large, easy-to-read fonts like Arial or Helvetica, and make sure your email content is written in a clear and concise manner.
Limit image use
Images can be tricky to view on small screens, so it’s best to avoid them whenever possible. If you must use images in your email, make sure they’re properly sized and compressed so they load quickly on mobile devices.
Use email responsive design templates
If you’re not a web designer, there’s no need to worry – there are plenty of email marketing platforms that offer pre-designed, responsive email templates. MailChimp (and others), for example, offers a wide variety of email templates that are designed to be mobile-friendly.
Benefits of Email Testing
Email testing is important to make sure your email looks good on all devices.
Some of the standard benefits include:
- Ensuring email looks good on all devices.
- Helping identify potential problems with email design.
- Providing peace of mind that email will be seen correctly by all subscribers.
A/B testing
A/B testing, also known as split testing, is a method of comparing two versions of an email to see which one performs better. With A/B testing, you can test different email subject lines, call-to-action (CTA) buttons, email content, and more to see what works best for your audience.
Test on multiple devices
It’s important to test your email on as many different devices as possible, including smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. This will ensure that your email looks good and is easy to read no matter where your subscribers are reading it.
Use an email testing tool
There are a number of email testing tools available that can help you test your email on multiple devices and in different email clients. Some of the most popular email testing tools include Litmus, Email on Acid, and Send With Us.
Conclusion
Email responsive design is important because it ensures that your email content is easy to read on any device. By using a single-column layout, large fonts, and avoiding images, you can create an email that is easy to read on small screens. In addition, email testing is important to make sure your email looks good on all devices. By using an email testing tool, you can test your email on multiple devices and in different email clients.
You can learn much more about email responsive design, by visiting our Small Business Email Marketing posts. As well as find out more about responsive mobile email.