How do you handle nuances with live text and challenging designs with different languages in coding?
Here’s one thing everyone in this developer Q&A believes in: Live text is an absolute necessity. That means you should limit the copy that goes on the graphics in your email design.
For one thing, live text is essential for email accessibility. People using screen reading software to engage with your messages can only hear actual text, not the words you add to images and graphics (which should have alt text). Plus, many Outlook subscribers will have images turned off by default. If important information is inside an image, people could easily miss it.
When it comes to multiple languages, Anne talked about a campaign she worked on recently. Her approach is to use if/else statements rather than coding separate emails for each language.
One of the challenges with multiple languages is how different words are significantly longer or shorter. That can really throw off your email design and layout, so you need to pay attention. Have you seen some of those ? They’re super long. Shani suggested “future-proofing” your email design for other languages by using white space to leave extra room in case your emails are translated and localized down the road.
“I’m always a believer in a lot of negative space around chunks of live text… Giving some space and breathing room allows a little bit more flexibility if you’re thinking about multiple languages in the long run.”
~ Shani Nestingen
Learn more about , and get some advice on how for special characters in emails, including characters for non-Latin-based languages.
How do you code accessible templating systems?
The big picture answer here is that you need to understand to begin with. Then, if possible, you should consider accessibility as you build your email design system – not after the fact.
That includes evaluating your brand’s color schemes for good contrast and including descriptive alt text for any images in your email templates. All three of us also support the idea of testing your templates and campaigns to find any accessibility issues that you Jordan Business Email List may be missing. are part of the Email on Acid by Sinch platform and you’ll alsoif that’s your preferred email editor.
For even more on this topic, you can check out our and explore the Mailjet report, to view survey results on how marketers are addressing email accessibility.
The bonus questions
We had so much fun doing this developer Q&A panel that we ended up extending Email Camp beyond our scheduled stop time. There was a lot to talk about, and our audience stuck around to ask us even more questions.
Here’s just some of what we discussed:
- The benefits of designers who can code and coders who can design
- Advice and resources for getting started with email development
- Some thoughts on the future of email development
- And more!
Got your own questions about email development? You’re in luck. We’re part of a great community of developers, designers, and marketers who are ready to help out. Join the to start connecting with your peers.
You can also reach out to me, Anne, and Shani on Twitter…
- Megan Boshuyzen:
- Anne Tomlin:
- Shani Nestingen:
And don’t forget to . That’s where we’ll be publishing new episodes of the official Notes from the Dev: Video Edition. Finally, if you did miss Email Camp this year and want to check out some of our other sessions, you can find them on the .
