Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Top Tips for E-Communications Layouts


Posted by Laura Powers

Marketing materials delivered via email should be branded, well-designed and full of rich audience-centric content. When going through the stages of design, it is important to keep in mind best practices and industry standards. One design item we are frequently asked about is email width and sizing. The maximum sizing that is recommended is 600 pixels wide, the typical width of an email viewing pane.

Contactology.com explains that even as computer display monitors become larger, the email industry standard remains around 600 pixels wide due to the small number of folks that have a computer with smaller screen resolution. If the content of your campaign exceeds 600 pixels in width, some webmail clients may require the user to scroll horizontally to view all of your content. When a user has to take the extra step of clicking the scroll bar to see all your content, the campaign faces the danger of not capturing the user’s full attention.

The service provider Vertical Response also recommends that users stick to 600 pixels wide for email layouts to plan for the preview pane. The average pane is 600 pixels wide by 200 pixels tall, but that is going to vary by recipient since each individual’s preview pane is adjustable. Make sure that easily digestible content is at the top of the page that will drive the recipient to take action or read more.

MailChimp.com, another popular e-communication service provider, has a wide variety of resources available for email communication best practices and tips. How to Use Templates is a useful guide for understanding structure and layout standards.

In conclusion, many factors go into successfully planning and managing company e-communication campaigns. The goal is to have your target audience view, read and share the email’s content easily. When planning the design it is important not only to incorporate the brand, colors and images, but to follow industry standards and best practices even for something that may seem simple like layout size.

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