When people think of “design,” they often imagine sleek websites, engaging layouts, and seamless mobile experiences. But there’s an entire world of design that unfolds inside the inbox—one that follows a completely different set of rules.
If you’ve ever transitioned from web to email design (or vice versa), you’ve likely discovered just how different these two worlds are. Let’s unpack the key distinctions, from rendering quirks to font limitations and the all-important role of QA.
In web design, mobile responsiveness is built-in. Frameworks, breakpoints, and flexible grids make it easy to ensure that your site works across devices.
Email design, however, requires more finesse. Each email client (like Gmail, Apple Mail, or Outlook) interprets HTML and CSS differently—sometimes dramatically so. Responsive design for email means navigating these inconsistencies with clever coding tricks and a deep understanding of how each platform behaves.
Successful email design is often the result of tight collaboration between designers and developers, especially when you want a layout that adapts beautifully across both desktop and mobile.
Web designers enjoy the luxury of using a wide range of web fonts, often pulling from Google Fonts or custom libraries to establish brand identity.
In email, we don’t have that freedom. Most email clients support only web-safe fonts, and even those can render differently depending on the device or settings. That’s why fallback strategies—defining secondary or tertiary font choices—are essential in maintaining consistency across email clients.
A clever email designer knows how to maintain visual appeal within these constraints.
Dark mode is everywhere—from smartphones to browsers—and while it’s relatively easy to implement on websites, it’s far more unpredictable in email.
There’s no universal “dark mode” standard across email clients. Some invert colors. Others modify backgrounds but not text. Background images can clash with inverted font colors, leading to unwanted surprises.
Testing across multiple clients and devices is the only way to ensure a decent experience. If you’ve ever had a headline disappear in Gmail’s dark mode, you know what I mean.
Whether designing for web or email, quality assurance matters. But in email, QA becomes a superhero. A design might look perfect in Apple Mail and completely broken in Outlook. Even minor differences in spacing, padding, or media query behavior can have major consequences.
Tools like Litmus and Email on Acid help email teams preview and test designs across dozens of clients, devices, and dark mode settings. Skipping this step is a fast track to a broken experience.
While web and email design share some common foundations, their execution is worlds apart. Understanding the limitations and opportunities of each platform helps you make smarter, more strategic design decisions.
Email design isn’t just web design in a smaller box—it’s its own craft. And when you approach it with the same care, attention, and testing as you would a website, the results can be just as stunning.
💬 Have you faced challenges while designing emails? Let’s swap stories.👇
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