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Good email design makes the message easy to understand and act on across phones, email clients, assistive technology, and image-blocked views. Start with one purpose, put the main point near the top, use readable live text and a scannable layout, and make the next action obvious. Visual polish helps only when it supports those basics.
1. Give the email one clear purpose
Before choosing colors, images, or a layout, decide what the reader should understand or do. Remove anything that does not support that goal. A focused message is easier to scan than one trying to announce, explain, promote, and ask for several actions at once. Mailchimp’s email design reference likewise advises keeping the design straightforward and putting the message ahead of flourishes.
2. Put the main takeaway near the top
Readers should not have to work through a long introduction to find the point. Lead with the most useful information, then provide supporting details in descending order of importance. This hierarchy helps someone who is scanning quickly decide whether to keep reading. Mailchimp’s email marketing field guide recommends making the message easy to scan.
3. Choose a layout that fits the content
A single-column layout is often a good fit for a focused announcement, update, or call to action. Multiple columns can help group parallel content, but they add visual and reading-order complexity. Use columns only when they make the information clearer, not simply to make the email look busier. Mailchimp discusses both straightforward design and scannable structure in its design reference.
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Mailchimp’s field guide suggests 600 or 640 pixels as starting widths for coded templates. These are vendor recommendations, not fixed requirements; use a flexible layout and test how it appears in the email clients your audience uses.
4. Keep the copy concise and the next step obvious
Use short sections and paragraphs that each support the main purpose. Replace vague instructions with a clear action, such as “Read the setup guide” or “Confirm your appointment.” Mailchimp’s content style guide puts it plainly: “Make the reader’s next step obvious, and close each campaign with a call to action.”
5. Use type that remains readable
Choose a legible typeface and test the text at phone size instead of judging it only on a desktop preview. Mailchimp’s field guide recommends a font size in the 14–16px range. Treat that as a vendor guideline rather than a universal standard: the right size also depends on the typeface, content, and rendering in the recipient’s client.
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6. Make the email responsive
Use a layout that can adapt to narrow screens, and make images scale rather than overflow. Check that essential text does not become too small, get clipped, or require awkward horizontal scrolling on a phone. Mailchimp’s responsive email guide highlights flexible layouts, scalable images, mobile-first structure, and readable text as useful design practices.
7. Make links and buttons easy to tap
Small, tightly packed controls are difficult to use on a touchscreen. Give a call to action enough space around it, avoid placing competing links too close together, and test it on an actual phone or a realistic mobile preview. Mailchimp’s mobile-friendliness guide recommends a 46px-square touch target and cites 44px for Apple and 48px for Google. Those are recommendations reported by Mailchimp, not a single universal email requirement.
8. Keep essential information in live text
Do not make a banner or image the only place where the offer, deadline, or instruction appears. Some recipients may not load images, and assistive technology may not convey image text in the same way as actual email copy. Use images to support the message, while keeping the core meaning in selectable text. Mailchimp covers this in its email accessibility guidance and design reference.
9. Write useful alt text for informative images
When an image contributes information, give it brief alternative text that conveys the relevant detail. Avoid generic labels such as “image,” and do not repeat a caption word for word. If a graphic is purely decorative, mark it so its content can be skipped where the email system allows. Mailchimp explains how to add alt text to images; checking the message with images disabled can reveal whether anything important is missing.
10. Check contrast and reading order
Use text and background colors with enough contrast to keep the message legible, and do not rely on color alone to distinguish important information. For multi-column designs, check that content is encountered in a sensible order when read by assistive technology. Mailchimp’s email accessibility guidance addresses email-specific considerations. The W3C’s WCAG 2.1 provides broader accessibility guidance for content across devices and describes testable success criteria; it also notes that following WCAG will not meet every user’s needs. Neither source means that a particular email is certified conformant.
11. Make the subject line and preheader accurate
The subject line should tell recipients what the email contains, and the preheader can add context rather than repeat the subject. Set expectations honestly: a subject line that implies an offer, deadline, or personal update the message does not deliver undermines clarity. Display length varies by email client, so check the inbox preview where practical instead of relying on one supposedly perfect character count. Mailchimp discusses these elements in its email accessibility guidance and newsletter writing guide.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.12. Use descriptive links and provide a plain-text version
Link labels should explain the destination or action. “Download the schedule” gives more information than “click here,” especially when links are encountered out of context. Make sure the message’s essential content and action also make sense without its visual formatting. Mailchimp says its campaigns generate a plain-text version that can be edited, and its accessibility guidance covers meaningful link text.
13. Test before sending
Preview and send test messages before the real send. Check the clients and screen sizes relevant to your audience, verify that links go to the intended destinations, and disable images to confirm the email still communicates its essential information. With custom HTML, inspect rendering across email services; with a platform template, use its preview tools but do not assume one preview represents every recipient’s experience. Mailchimp’s HTML email best practices and field guide discuss testing and previews.
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Design choices depend on the message
| Choice | Useful when | Trade-off to consider |
|---|---|---|
| Single column or multiple columns | Single column suits a focused message; multiple columns can group content that needs parallel comparison. | More columns can complicate narrow-screen layouts and assistive-technology reading order. |
| Live text or image-based content | Live text carries essential information; images can add supporting visual interest. | Information embedded only in an image may be unavailable when images are blocked or for some assistive-technology users. |
| HTML button or image-based call to action | An HTML button keeps the action visible when images are disabled. | An image-based button may disappear when image loading is blocked. Mailchimp discusses calls to action in its CTA design reference. |
| Custom HTML or platform template | Custom coding offers more control; a platform template can offer a quicker starting point and preview features. | Custom markup needs email-client compatibility testing. Templates still need checks for the actual content, links, and likely recipient clients. |
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