Image sizing
Incorrect image sizing is one of the most common problems users run into in Marketing Cloud. If your images are incorrectly sized, your emails likely will not show up correctly for many email clients. Outlook for Windows is where these issues most commonly show up, which is significant since most IU constituents use Outlook and many use PCs.
Tips for avoiding image sizing issues
- Resize all images before uploading to Marketing Cloud.
- Photoshop’s “save for web” feature is what we recommend using. However, you can use whatever photo software you are comfortable with to resize images.
- Framework content blocks with images have placeholders that tell you what size your image should be.
- Keep in mind that an email is at most 600 pixels wide so full-width images should never be larger than 600 pixels wide.
- Use render testing tools like Email on Acid or Return Path if possible to double check that your emails render correctly across devices. If you don’t have render testing tools, be sure to check your emails on a Mac, PC, and mobile device.
General image and graphic best practices
- Avoid or at least minimize designing text directly in images. When you add text directly to images, it might be difficult for many users to read (especially on mobile devices). Additionally, if the images don’t load or if someone is unable to see the image, they won’t be able to see the content. This can cause serious accessibility issues. Instead of having details or text on images, use actual text or content blocks in the email to communicate that information.
- Always use alternative text to describe images that have meaning; if they’re purely decorative, just use a space for the alt text. This means if there are any words on your images (once again, try to minimize or avoid this) you’ll need to spell out those words in the alt text and describe the images.
- Make sure your images help catch the reader’s attention and support the call(s) to action in the email.
- Do not create image-only emails. This is an accessibility issue and can trigger spam filters for some email clients.