HTML vs plain-text email: pros and cons
Check the overview of both email formats based on pros and cons. I’ll also cover best practices here. These are like general guidelines you as a marketer should keep close at hand.
HTML emails:
- Visuals and rich content: HTML emails allow for the inclusion of images, CSS styles, dynamic content, and other multimedia elements. These can make them more visually appealing and engaging (depending on the industry).
- Compatibility issues: Not all email clients render HTML content consistently, which can affect how your email appears to the recipient. This inconsistency can sometimes lead to broken layouts or unviewable content. This goes double for mobile devices and clients like Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail.
- Tracking and analytics: HTML emails enable detailed tracking of opens, clicks, and other interactions through embedded tracking pixels and coded links, which can provide valuable insights for optimizing campaigns.
Plain-text emails:
- High deliverability: Plain-text emails are less likely to end up in the spam folder and generally have higher deliverability rates because they contain no hidden code that spammers could exploit.
- Simplicity and compatibility: These emails consist solely of text and are stripped of any formatting, which ensures they work across all email clients and devices without issues.
- Personal feel: Due to their simplicity, plain-text emails can feel more personal and direct, potentially leading to better engagement in scenarios where a straightforward message is preferred.
Best practices for email marketers and marketers in general:
I’d advise you to understand the audience’s preferences and the purpose of your email when choosing between HTML and plain text.
For example, a marketing campaign showcasing a new product might benefit from the rich visual capabilities of HTML, especially if it’s a physical or interactive product. Whereas, a product update/feature announcement might be more suited to a plain text format for clarity and universal compatibility.
To stress, the choice between HTML and plain text should be guided by the specific goals of your email campaign, the nature of your content, and your audience’s preferences.
However, I’d also suggest you try MIME multipart_alternartive
and hybrid emails. Just to keep in mind, MIME multipart_alternartive
is for email developers, not marketers. However, I’d like you to understand the overarching principle so you can request it from the dev.
So, what are they?
MIME multipart_alternartive
– is a content type that appears in the server-side code of the email. It allows you to send both the HTML and plain text email to a recipient and, of course, they don’t get both at the same time. Instead, the plain text version of the email serves as the fallback if for some reason the recipient can’t get the HTML. Check our templates and code examples featuring this trick. - Hybrid emails – are emails with only basic HTML. They retain much of the functionality of typical HTML emails but are mostly text-based and usually only have CTA buttons as an interactive element.
HTML email
By definition, HTML (HyperText Markup Language) emails are sophisticated versions of standard emails that include formatting, styles, links, and multimedia content, making them resemble web pages more than traditional text messages.
Use cases:
- Marketing campaigns: Extensively used in marketing to showcase products with vibrant images, animations, and even embedded videos to capture the recipient’s attention.
- Customer engagement: By incorporating interactive elements like quizzes, polls, or embedded videos, HTML emails can transform a passive reading experience into an engaging interaction, increasing the likelihood of customer interaction and conversion. (Remember, you need to be sure these are deliverable and that your audience responds well to them)
- Transactional communications: For updates like shipping notifications or order confirmations, HTML emails can include real-time tracking and interactive elements, providing a seamless experience for customers. But note that these are far from marketing emails, click here to check the key differences.
Benefits:
- Personalization and segmentation: Advanced tools and AI can help tailor HTML emails to the preferences and behaviors of individual users, significantly increasing the relevance and effectiveness of the campaigns. And, of course, we got a tutorial on how to do it.