HTML Email

HTML email uses markup and styles to create visually rich messages with layout, images, and buttons.

Definition & Examples

What is HTML Email?

HTML emails use HTML and CSS for structure and styles, enabling layouts, images, and buttons beyond plain text. They can include responsive design for mobile devices.

How it works

• Markup: semantic HTML with inline CSS for broad client support.

• Responsiveness: media queries and single‑column layouts (see responsive design).

• Accessibility: alt text, sufficient contrast, and real text instead of image‑only copy.

• Compliance: visible identity and unsubscribe for marketing emails (editor footer).

Why it matters

• Brand presentation: visual identity and components carry into email.

• Engagement: clear hierarchy, imagery, and buttons can lift CTR.

• Flexibility: supports personalization blocks and dynamic content.

Best practices

• Keep layouts simple; prefer a single column for mobile.

• Optimize images and host heavy assets; include alt text.

• Provide a plain‑text alternative to improve deliverability.

• Avoid image‑only emails; mix real text with visuals.

HTML vs Plain vs Rich text

Common pitfalls

• Heavy hero images push CTAs below the fold. Fix: prioritize content and CTA.

• Over‑complex layouts break in clients. Fix: test across clients and simplify.

• Missing unsubscribe or identity details. Fix: include required footer content.

Related terms

• Plain text email

• Responsive design

• Email deliverability

Key takeaways

• Use HTML email for visual hierarchy and brand expression.

• Keep it accessible, responsive, and content‑first.

• Always include a plain‑text version and required footer elements.
  As an email marketer, understanding the various tools and email formats at your disposal is crucial for creating effective email marketing campaigns.

One of these important tools is the HTML email, a cornerstone in designing engaging and visually appealing email content. Unlike its simpler counterparts, plain text and rich-text emails, HTML emails allow for a much broader scope of creativity and interactivity in your email marketing strategy.

This quick guide will help you understand everything that you need to know about HTML emails, exploring best practices, when you should consider using them, benefits and downsides, as well as alternatives.

Let’s dive in.

What is a HTML Email

HTML (which stands for HyperText Markup Language) email is a type of email that uses HTML and inline CSS to structure and style its content. 

ELI5: This means that HTML emails can include various design elements such as colors, fonts, images, and links. Essentially, they are designed to look like webpages, offering a rich visual and interactive experience to the recipient.

Key Features of HTML Emails

There are many key features that make HTML emails well… HTML emails. Let’s take a look:

• Design and Layout: HTML emails can be styled extensively with CSS, allowing for complex layouts, branded designs, and visually appealing templates.

• Interactivity: These emails can include interactive elements like buttons and hover effects, further enhancing user engagement.

• Multimedia Integration: Embed images, GIFs, and even videos directly within the email, making the content more dynamic and engaging.

• Personalization and Segmentation: With HTML, you can personalize content more dynamically, tailoring emails to fit the interests and behaviors of different segments of your audience.

Here is an example of an HTML email from Apple. As you will see, they utilize this style of email to draw the reader into their new product launch, utilizing numerous visuals and different formatting methods throughout the email. 

Benefits of HTML Emails

HTML emails are powerful tools in email marketing for several reasons. 

For starters, they help in creating brand recognition through consistent design and styling. 

The ability to include multimedia elements and interactive content can significantly increase engagement and conversion rates. 

The added flexibility in design and personalization allows email marketers to tailor their messages more effectively to their target audience, potentially leading to higher ROI.

It should be easy to see why e-commerce businesses or any business selling physical products could likely benefit from HTML emails. 

Downsides of HTML Emails

While HTML emails clearly have a handful of benefits that should make an email marketer happy, they aren’t perfect and do come with their fair share of downsides.

They require more time and expertise to design and test. If not done currently, there is a significant risk that the emails will display differently (and improperly) from desktop to mobile and across various email clients. 

There's also a higher chance of being flagged by spam filters if not coded properly. 

Plus, the need for images and other multimedia elements to be downloaded can lead to longer loading times, which might affect user experience negatively.

HTML Email Best Practices

When sending HTML emails, following best practices can significantly increase the effectiveness of your message. Here are some key points to consider:

• Responsive Design: Ensure your emails are mobile-friendly, as a significant portion of users access their email on mobile devices.

• Test Across Email Clients: Use tools to test how your email looks in different email clients (like Gmail, Outlook, etc.) and devices. HTML emails require more tweaking to ensure that they look the same across multiple clients.

• Optimize Images: Use compressed images to reduce load times without sacrificing quality.

• Include a Plain Text Version: To improve deliverability and accessibility, include a plain text version of your email content.

• Keep it Accessible: Use semantic HTML and alt tags for images to ensure your emails are accessible to everyone, including those using screen readers.

By following these best practices, your HTML emails are more likely to be well-received and actioned by your recipient.

HTML Email Alternatives

Alternatives to sending HTML emails focus on simplicity, compatibility, and content delivery while sacrificing the need for complex design or interactive elements. The two main alternatives to consider as an email marketer are plain text emails and rich text emails.

A plain text email is an email composed solely of text without any rich media elements such as images, custom fonts, or hyperlinks. 

Rich text emails are similar to plain text emails but allow the use of different fonts, colors, sizes, as well as the ability to bold, italicize, or underline text. 

Key Takeaways

HTML emails utilize html and css to customize the look and feel of an email in a way that makes them more similar to a webpage than a plain text email.

HTML emails require more technical aspects from an email marketer to ensure high deliverability and engagement.

HTML emails may perform better in some industries (ecommerce) than others.

Plain text and rich text emails are the simpler alternatives to HTML emails.