Notifications - Email (Inventory Level): Tips – Checkfront Support

Tips For Sending HTML Emails

Creating notifications and emails that render the same across all email platforms can be tricky since all email clients have their own set of rules. That said, a finely tweaked HTML email can organize your notifications and receipts in ways not available through plain text. Here are some tips for creating emails that will render correctly across all email platforms:

Keep it simple

You aren't building a web page. Overly complex HTML emails can cause deliverability and formatting issues. Use the minimum formatting to provide an attractive and functional layout.

Use a Table Structure

Many platforms don’t support absolute positioning (float, margin, padding), so tables work much better as the framework for your design.

Use Inline CSS

It’s a pain, but it’s more reliable than using CSS in the header. Gmail for instance, strips out the CSS in all emails. If you use inline, your style won’t get lost for those Gmail recipients.

Images

Avoid image-only emails. This is a BIG Spam flag and you’re more than likely to end up in the Junk folder. Email clients like to see text, so give it to them, and use as few images as possible. Avoid background images. Many email clients don’t support this and your recipient will not see it. Make sure to use ALT tags in images so the text is visible when images are off. Correctly size your images before including them in your email and include the size dimensions. If you don’t specify the height and width dimensions, some email clients will set their own size for your image which could alter your email design.

Test!

Send tests to the most popular platforms and check out what it looks like for yourself. We would suggest sending at least one test to Outlook 2007 since it uses the support for HTML and CSS that is built into Word 2007 to display HTML email instead of Internet Explorer. Many times, emails look fine in Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc… but then they look completely different in Outlook.

Q: Can I configure separate notifications for each item booked?

A: Yes, this is a new feature to Checkfront notifications. See above for more details.

Q: Emails appear to be getting caught in my junk folder?

A: You may need to add an SPF record to your domain to authorize Checkfront to send on your behalf.

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Notifications - Email (Inventory Level): Tips