Poll: Do you write HTML email?
Thursday August 2, 2007
HTML email can be a lot of fun. It allows you to create fancy email messages that elicit better response than messages in plain text or with attachments. But some people really hate HTML email and others don't have email clients that can read HTML email (or they simply turn it off). If you write HTML email do you think about the pros and cons? What made you decide to write HTML email? If you don't write HTML email, why not? Do you refuse to read it, too?
Comments
HTML email is not only the usual default but it is back as my preferred format for newsletters and email campaigns. The reason it became disliked was due to a bad reputation for viruses and spam. Virus protection improved and anti-spam got tough so spammers went plaintext leaving html email free and back in the hands of genuine designers and developers.
I leave my HTML turned off. I have one known sender that sends HTML stuff – I turn on the HTML only for her. Then back off again.
The random garbage text spammers use to defeat filters makes the spam really simple to spot, when viewed as ‘plain text’. I use Mozilla/SeaMonkey for my email and browsing.
As a professional email developer, the email we send out always goes in 2-part – html to convey the best message with compelling graphics and copy, and text only for those who do not like or cannot receive html. the text only always includes a link to a server copy of the html email. For personal emails I use text only, that always serves the purpose just fine.
I personally only use html email when the occasion calls for it. Thunderbird just asks me whenever I send what I would like to send it as (including a both option), and depending on the situation I may or may not use HTML. It’s usually as simple as “does it have heavy formatting I want to save that changes how the email is read?”
As a freelance web designer and developer I get requests for html mass mailers and I’ve never gotten a request for a mass mailer in just plain text, it just doesnt look cool
I send out an e-magazine that is done in HTML. I like the HTML because it allows me to use the same background as my web site thus conecting the two. I do have a problem with some folks servers rejecting it as spam (AOL) but once they add me to their buddies or friends list all is well.
Used to do the HTML thing for emails when it was brand new and “cute” to these fingertips.. Colorful borders, fancified texts, appropriately colored parts of ASCII roses..
These days, cognitively speaking, if I have no choice but to receive a site’s correspondence in HTML and it’s too “busy”, especially if it rudely sprawls two screens wide and thensome, it’s outta here and I’m onto the next in line in my inbox in a flash..
Cyber hugs..
I use HTML email for both emailed customer receipts and packing invoices. Once a customer purchases a product from any of our websites, our payment gateway silent posts to a PHP script that generates these messages. The customer is emailed one immediately, and we receive an email that we can print from Thunderbird (using Edit as New to avoid printing headers and footers) as a packing invoice. It’s immediate, perfectly convenient, it carries any of our different company logos (determined via the PHP script), and it looks very professional. So far, in the past year I’ve received only one message from a customer who said, WHAT DOES THIS MESSAGE MEAN? Apparently that customer didn’t have his HTML email turned on.
Most people send html email and don’t even know it. It’s just more crap for the servers to have to push.
I prefer getting html emails. But I don’t write emails with html. Theres just still too many people that for whatever reason don’t accept or view html emails, and I don’t want to be excluding people just because it’s what I personally prefer. So for now I still don’t use them.
I design HTML emails all the time. Store images on a webserver and test it in a variety of browsers and clients. Always make a provision for non-html email people.
I prefer to get HTML emails. They’re pleasant looking and present links and info in a logical way, just like a web page would.
As a user, I use Yahoo for my email. I can receive HTML emails but Yahoo won’t let me turn on the feature to write HTML emails with my current browser (Konqueror).
I too used to do all my personal emails in HTML in the early, how-cool-is-that days.
I like html emails, but here in Mexico, people don’t have th culture of sending this kind of messages. May be they are affraid of the viruses and spyware.
Never !
Hi,
I would like to know about HTML email.
Sincerely,
Kalyan..
When I read and send email, I’m interested in communication, not prettiness. I resent the great masses of coding that some programs insert into HTML, and am quick to delete whatever takes too much time to load/display. Just because you -can- make pretty emails does not mean you -should-. “Pretty” is over-rated; just give me the meat.
In my opinion HTML is the only way to communicate via e-mail. You have options to create bold text, text with a larger font or a different font, you can color special lines or paragraphs you can add a small image or clipart.
In other words it just looks better
I would like to know more about HTML email. How do you create them?
I don’t use HTML because I don’t know how, yet.
just like aida i also dont now how to write HTMl emails
Using HTML it is possible to insert objects of interest other than simple text
I probably would if I knew how, any advice?
good
i would like to know about html email.
i would like to know about html email.
Dear Jennifer,
I would like to know about HTML email.
Sincerely,
William
WHAT THE HECK IS IT, ANYWAY????????????????SS
To everyone who doesn’t know how to write HTML email:
Did it ever occur to you to search this site for that subject? About.com also has an Email Guide with lots of articles on the topic.
Or if you don’t want to search here, you could search Google for the same topic.
I’m sorry that I didn’t link to how to do HTML email in this post. But that is why I had the “I don’t know” answer in the choices.
Plain text only. HTML email is dangerous and unnecessary other than for those who are qualified, certified safe senders who know what they are doing, to send out newsletters and marketing materials to opt-in lists.
Nope, I dont write it, I do read it though, but I will never see those pretty images
gmail processes the html, but not any embedded scripts or images.
I discovered email stationery for Outlook Express back in 2001 and enjoyed the creativity so much that I took a course and learned how to write my own code in HTML and VBScript. It is a great time waster but oh so much fun. There are lots of groups and newsgroups where we can share our creations and admire what other people make.