Images make emails attractive, but they can also slow loading, trigger spam filters if overused, and disappear when blocked.
Best practices
- Balance text and images: avoid emails that are a single big image.
- Size: resize to display width (around 600px wide, or double for sharp screens) with our image resizer.
- Compress: keep files small with our image compressor.
- Alt text: describe each image so the message survives if images are blocked.
- Important text as real text: prices, dates and calls to action should not be only inside images.
Good image uses
- Product photos linking to product pages.
- Event banners.
- Before-and-after results.
- Team or founder photos for a personal touch.
Dark mode
Logos with transparent backgrounds can disappear in dark mode. Test and add a subtle outline or background if needed.
Test
Preview with images on and off, and on mobile.
Read mobile email design.
Want the full picture? This article is part of Email marketing: the complete guide, our in-depth guide with everything in one place.
