Outlook 2010 will ignore web standards by using the Word HTML Engine
It was recently announced that Microsoft intends to continue using Word to edit and display HTML email in Outlook 2010. This has been met with shouts of protest from email marketers around the world.
Many email marketing designers are nostalgic for the good old days of Outlook 2003, where Internet Explorer was used to generate HTML emails and all was well with the world. In fact, there have been protests in many online forums (including Microsoft’s) over their apparent move away from support for web standards in HTML email. One of the main launching pads for this debate has been a Twitter-based call to arms by the Email Standards Project.
However, experience in designing successful email templates for a variety of common email readers, both online and offline, has shown that all is not lost when it comes to creating well-designed, user-friendly emails. consistent appearance, even for Outlook 2007 and Lotus Notes. .
As a general rule, email reader support for HTML is still a long way from the support offered by Internet browsers. This means that the best way to ensure that your recipients actually receive your marketing email involves:
– Keep a simple table-based layout, avoiding combined columns or rows: use nested tables to achieve the effect you want;
– Don’t use style sheets (either included in the header or linked separately), use simple inline style declarations instead;
– Avoid using fancy dynamic elements, including JavaScript and Flash.
Outlook 2007 is different and you should expect Outlook 2010 to be the same…
There are a number of additional things to consider when designing marketing emails for Outlook 2007 and 2010, including:
– No support for background images – You won’t be able to use fancy background effects with repeating gradients and overlay text. If you still want to go this route, make sure you apply a proper cell background color so Outlook 2007/2010 users can understand your email when the background image doesn’t appear.
Note that normal still online images can still be used, so think carefully about how you can position them for maximum effect.
If you’re desperate for text to overlap a background effect, this is really your only option.
– Animated .gifs are not supported: Please note that if you include animated gifs in your email marketing campaign, Outlook 2007 will only display the first frame of the animation, so put your most important message/image first.
– Inline style border support is erratic, particularly style borders that are used to define vertical borders only. If you must use them, you can apply a style border to a single-cell table cell; otherwise, expect your email campaign columns to look a bit “staggered” in Outlook 2007/2010. Bordering images (inline style or otherwise) doesn’t work at all.
– Limited support for advanced CSS styling attributes, including width, height, margin, padding, float, clear.
Why use Word to process HTML emails?
A recent whitepaper from Microsoft discussed the use of Word in Outlook 2007. It suggests that it is intended to provide a consistent and familiar email experience to all users of Microsoft Office products, while also enabling Word’s rich text features. for the Outlook email application and improve security by avoiding the use of web browser-based technology.
All of this may sound quite daunting. However, all you need to remember is not to panic. As long as you keep things simple, pay attention to the list above, and most importantly, test, test, and test again – you should be able to create really effective HTML email marketing designs with minimal hassle. Not only that, you can also gain a competitive advantage if your email designs are right and your competitors are not.
Unfortunately, it seems that the rendering of Word in Outlook is here to stay, and pressure from email marketing designers is unlikely to be enough to change things. The sooner you learn the key skills to design for Outlook 2007 and 2010, the better. Your business, clients and consumers will thank you.