Getting positive about CSS based email
Many web designers have long shunned the application of CSS within email, and I’m part of that crowd.
Like websites, email is one of those technologies for which the output must be predictable for the designer whatever software the user chooses to read it on. However, unlike web pages this is harder to implement. The differences in the way that the different browsers on the market implement CSS is definitely decreasing, even if Microsoft are still struggling to get their act together. On the other hand, the different email browsers have historically had a very limited success rate at implimenting HTML/CSS, and I’ve heard no evidence to say that this is improving.
Jeffrey Zeldman (another critic of HTML email) recently wrote about the Email Standards Project, an effort to try and get programmers of email software all pointed in the right direction. Now I’ve only had a brief look at the project’s website, but a couple of things concern me already. Firstly, the home page has a running list of how the more popular email clients perfom, and I question the accuracy of this list. Now as I’ve already said I don’t use HTML when composing an email, so I thought I’d give it a go. I use Apple Mail, and after using Leopard for about a month now, I thought I’d try out the Apple designed stationary. So if anything should work this should, Apple Mail is listed by the ESP as having an excellent performance, and I’m using Apple stationary that comes with that email client, and here are the results.
Hmmmm….
Secondly, until one or two big name email clients sign up to the ESP, this could all be a lot of hot air.
I really want this project to work, but don’t really have a place to start! Can I really trust the ESP when they give a grade of Excellent to software that can’t even perform with it’s own designs?!
Oh dear, I’ve written yet another negative post. I really don’t want this blog to be full of rants written by a grumpy developer, so I’ll try and find something more positive for next time!