Using a program like Photoshop to come up with stacked image slices seems to be becoming more and more common. It is easy to understand why as it means designers are no longer bounded by all the limitations of HTML in email. They can go beyond simplistic layouts and utilize all sorts of design flourishes and typographic treatments.
But is this a good trend?
I’m almost always opposed to this technique. Or at the very least I urge it to be used cautiously and with eyes wide open to the downsides.
Here’s are some good reasons why you should consider NOT using image slicing for your emails…
1. Search-ability within Email Inboxes
If your entire email content is just images, then if someone is searching their inbox using a keyword, your email is unlikely to be returned as a result unless the keyword happened to be in the subject line.
There is a way to overcome this with alt text or something clever but are really designers going to that level of effort to tie text content to the images?
2. Accessibility!
Lawsuits over websites that are inaccessible to the visually impaired are becoming more common.
How about your emails? Are you opening up a litigation vector here? Or at the very least do you have blind or impaired users that you are being unkind and unsympathetic to?
3. Images Aren’t Forever
I was recently searching for an email a few years old. It was a marketing email about some products. I was able to find the email but I was met by an email with the content almost entirely made up of these unhelpful error icons…
Most email image hosting isn’t forever and that is understandable. But if any of your email content is evergreen, you may want to consider whether your email images are as well.
4. Copy and Paste? What’s that?
If a user wants to copy text from your email or send it to a friend, they are out of luck – at least without going to a bunch of effort.
5. Dark Mode Empathy
I love dark mode for my phone’s email inbox. Sometimes I process email late at night or early evening.
If someone is using dark mode on their desktop or mobile and your images are on a bright white background you are skirting around their viewing preference. The email might also be dark in some areas but oddly interspersed with your designed-imagery.
6. Weight of the Email
How big in kilobytes is your email? Some “heavy” email will be more likely to hit spam filters.
And what about those on slow connections or mobile with data limits? Will they be able to view the images in a reasonable time frame? Are you sucking away their data?
7. Image Are Often Blocked
Many Email Programs like Outlook will block images unless someone explicitly allows them. This is a nice security feature but it could bite you.
If the user opens the email to find a lot of blank image spaces, they need to see clear signs that it’s a legitimate email. Otherwise, they may lose interest because the content doesn’t provide any indication of its value or safety.
8. Readability of Text Overlaid on Images
When you have overlaid text on an image you force the user to do some sort of zoom-in on the image if it is too hard for them to read. Some email programs may not even allow that or it is cumbersome.
As they zoom, the text doesn’t cascade and re-shape into readable chunks – they will likely have to move it back and forth if they are on mobile. Since there is no responsiveness, the normal cascading and reshaping that should occur with text blocks is gone.
Many users with diminishing vision (ahem boomers) will have their phones (and even computers) defaulted to larger text sizes and scaling so they don’t have to strain. Are you sure your pixel-perfect design is worth the aggravation they’ll experience with your image that doesn’t respect those settings?
9. Ratio of Text to Images May Trigger Spam Filters
I don’t have clear data here but I’ve heard that the ratio of too much imagery to too little text is considered a spam signal and could result in lower deliverability rates.
In Sum…
I’d recommend coming to terms with the limits of email and being ok with that. You can intersperse images and text and still have an effective email.
Work with the way email is used, not selfishly designing so you can feel good about the beauty of the design. In most cases I think the end result of mixing text content and images is more effective and shows an admirable empathy for the user.
So much of this comes down to respect for the user’s inbox home. Your email is a guest there, I’d suggest abiding by the rules of the house.
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