Understanding and solving the most common email client rendering issues

Email campaigns and templates created with Brevo are designed to display optimally in all email clients However, variations may occur where content may not correspond exactly to the editor's appearance. Email clients have their own rendering rules, leading to slight differences in how emails appear. Despite your design efforts, these variations are due to the rendering engines used by different email clients.

Good to know

  • If you are sending emails to recipients using Outlook, we recommend you also check our dedicated article My email looks different in Outlook, which provides a more extensive explanation of Outlook rendering issues.

Most common rendering issues

To assist you, we've created a list outlining the supported and unsupported features across popular email clients for desktop, mobile, and web. It will help you navigate their nuances and make informed design choices.

Desktop Mobile Web
  Borders Buttons Background images Full-width rows Small line height Letter spacing Border radius Divider shape (dashed, dotted, double) Fonts Social media icons
                  Standard fonts Google fonts Custom fonts  
Outlook 365 webmail
Outlook 2019
Outlook 2016
Outlook 2013
Outlook 2011
Outlook 2010
Outlook 2007
Outlook 2003
Thunderbird
Thunderbird 60
IBM Notes 10
IBM Notes 9
Apple Mail 10
Apple Mail 12
Apple Mail 13

How to solve those rendering issues?

↩️ Include fallback options

Include a fallback background color behind the original image in case the image doesn’t render and use fallback fonts when using Google and custom fonts in your emails. This will allow you to control what your recipients see even if some issues occur.

🔗 Include a View in browser link in your emails

Always include a View in browser link in your emails. This link allows readers to view your email campaign in a web browser if it displays poorly in the inbox.

🧪 Test your emails

💡 Good to know
Not all of your recipients will experience display issues. Nevertheless, we advise you to test your emails on several email clients before sending them.

The best way to determine whether your contacts’ preferred devices and email clients support the content of your email is to use a tool like Litmus or Email on Acid to preview your emails and see how they are rendering across environments. This will allow you to make changes to your design and solve issues before sending your email.

🤔 Have a question?

If you have a question, feel free to contact our support team by creating a ticket from your account. If you don't have an account yet, you can contact us here.

If you’re looking for help with a project using Brevo, we can match you with the right certified Brevo expert partner.

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