Every few months, I find the time to update the cross-client html template.  Again, I used the returnPath tool to help me get a handle on best practices.  I improved it over the previous one in a few ways.  Here is a quick list of what I know:

• SpamAssassin will give you bad marks for spam if you:
  • include the word “Dear” near the top of your message.  (Crazy, huh?)
  • make anything font: 0px.  (oops, I got rid of that)
  • send the mail from a long URL domain with 4 or more levels.
• My template works in:
  • AOL 9
  • AOL Web
  • Comcast
  • Earthlink
  • Gmail
  • Lotus Notes 6.5.4
  • Mail.com
  • MSN Hotmail
  • Outlook 2003
  • Outlook 2007
  • Outlook Express 6
  • Outlook XP
  • Thunderbird
  • Virgin Media (UK)
  • Windows Live Hotmail
  • Windows Mail
  • Yahoo! Classic
  • Yahoo! Mail
• Never use CSS classes, only inline styles
• You can make a nice email with rounded corners if you are careful.
• Shadows are possible if you know the exact height/width of the mail
• Images as calls to actions are ok, but use alt= or title= to give them alt text.
• There needs to be email rendering standards.

Making emails that work are really hard.  I hope this template helps people out.  It’s usually my most popular page on the blog.