Plain Text or Designed Email: Choosing a Format

An email can be a letter or a leaflet. A letter is words on a plain page, from one person to another. A leaflet has colours, pictures and layout. Both have their place, and the choice between them says something about your publication.

This guide explains the trade-offs between plain text and designed email, how to do each well and how to make either one pleasant to read for everyone. The calm answer, as often, is: use as much design as the message needs, and no more.

The two formats

Plain text is exactly what it sounds like: characters in a message, with no formatting beyond line breaks. Links appear as web addresses or as underlined words in some programs.

HTML email uses the same markup language as web pages. It allows fonts, colours, layout, images and buttons. It is widely used for marketing and newsletters, and it comes with well-known difficulties: different mail programs render the same message differently, and some strip features entirely.

Reference works on HTML email describe the long debate about it. Some people prefer plain text for security, speed and simplicity. Others value the richer presentation. Both camps have good reasons.

What plain text does well

It feels personal. A message with no design reads like a note from a person. That is powerful for a small publication with a human voice.

It works everywhere. Every mail program, every phone, every screen reader can display it. Nothing breaks.

It loads instantly. No images to fetch, no styles to apply.

It is hard to get wrong. There is little to design, so little to fix.

It respects readers' settings. Their chosen font, size and colours apply, including larger text for people who need it.

It is easy to write. You can draft it anywhere.

What plain text does less well

• Structure is limited. You can use line breaks, dashes and capital letters, but no real headings or tables.
• Links can look clumsy if long addresses appear.
• There are no images, so products cannot be shown.
• It may feel too bare for some brands.
• Tracking is harder, though that is not always a drawback.

What designed email does well

• Clear hierarchy. Headings, sections and rules help skimmers.
• Images. Screenshots help readers understand products at a glance.
• Buttons with clear labels.
• Brand consistency with a website.
• Rich content, such as small tables or captions.

What designed email does less well

• Rendering varies. What looks perfect in one program may break in another.
• Images may be blocked until the reader permits them.
• It can be heavy, slow on poor connections.
• Complexity invites errors: broken layouts, tiny type, poor contrast.
• It can feel like marketing, with the distance that implies.
• It is harder to make accessible unless you take care.

How to choose

Ask three questions.

What does the message need? If your digest is mostly words and links, plain text may be all you need. If it benefits from a screenshot per item, design helps.

Who are the readers? Technical readers often like plain text. Mixed audiences may expect some design. Those with accessibility needs benefit from simplicity either way.

What voice do you want? A personal letter or a polished brochure?

Many calm publications choose something in between: a lightly designed email with a narrow single column, readable type, a thin header and a few images, plus a plain-text version for those who prefer it.

The middle path: light design

Light design borrows the strengths of both.

• One column, narrow enough for a phone.
• Real text, not text baked into images.
• A simple header with the name of the publication.
• Clear headings for each item.
• A small number of images, each with alt text.
• One button at most, with a plain label.
• Generous spacing between items.
• A footer with the sender's name, reason for receiving the email and an unsubscribe link.

Because there is little to render, there is little to break.

Always include a plain-text version

Most email tools can send a message with both a designed version and a plain-text version, called a multipart message. The mail program shows whichever suits the reader's settings. Having both helps in three ways: it works for people who read in text-only programs, it helps filters see a consistent message and it provides a fallback if something fails in the designed version.

Check what the plain-text version looks like. Some tools generate it automatically with ugly results, such as long tracking links. Edit it so it reads well.

Make a designed email readable

A few specifics.

Width. A single column of about five to six hundred pixels works on most screens. Wider layouts get squeezed on phones.

Text size. Use body text that is comfortably readable on a phone without zooming. Smaller than about sixteen pixels often needs pinching.

Line length and spacing. Aim for lines that are not too long and spacing that lets text breathe.

Contrast. Dark text on a light background, or the reverse, with a strong contrast ratio. Pale grey on white fails many readers.

Images. Keep them modest in size. Add alt text. Make sure the message still makes sense if images are blocked.

Links. Use descriptive link text such as "Read the notes on this tool" instead of "Click here".

Buttons. Make them large enough to tap, with plenty of space around them.

Accessibility

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines were written for web content, but their principles apply to email too. A message should be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.

Concrete steps:

• Real text, which can be resized and read aloud. Do not put important words inside images.
• Reflow. The guidelines include a criterion that content should adapt to a narrow viewport without scrolling in two directions, which a single-column email does naturally.
• Resizable text. Readers should be able to enlarge text without losing content.
• Logical order. The reading order in the code should match the visual order.
• Headings that reflect structure.
• Colour not the only cue. Do not rely on colour alone to show which link is which.
• Language. Set the language of the message where your tool allows.

Test by reading the email with a screen reader once, and with text enlarged.

Dark mode

Many readers use dark mode. Mail programs may invert colours automatically, sometimes badly. Test in both modes if you can. Avoid using white-background images that look like blocks in dark mode, and keep logos legible on both light and dark.

Tracking and privacy

Designed emails often include tiny images used to detect opens, and tracked links to count clicks. These raise privacy questions, and some programs block them. If you use tracking, say so in your privacy notice, and do not rely on open counts as accurate. Plain text avoids tracking pixels, which some readers appreciate.

Test before you send

• Send yourself a copy.
• Open it on a phone and a laptop.
• Try two different mail programs.
• Turn images off and check it still works.
• Check dark mode.
• Click every link.
• Read the plain-text version.

Common mistakes

• Designing for the screenshot, not for the inbox.
• Putting text inside images.
• Tiny type.
• Many buttons.
• Forgetting the plain-text version.
• Heavy images that slow loading.
• Not testing on a phone.
• Using "click here" links.

On this site

The blog shows how a calm layout reads on the web, which is a good comparison for email, and the launches page shows how short descriptions work in a list. The submit page starts a listing and the contact page opens a line to our support.

An example of choosing for one digest

Picture a weekly digest of five new tools. The editor first tries plain text. It reads warmly, but the screenshots that make each tool easy to grasp are missing, and some readers ask what the tools look like. She then tries a rich template with a banner, three columns and a sidebar. It looks smart in her browser and falls apart on a phone, where the columns squash into narrow strips.

She settles in the middle: one column, a thin header with the name, a heading for each tool, one small screenshot with a description, two plain sentences and a link. The plain-text version carries the same words with the addresses written out neatly. Readers on phones, laptops and screen readers all get something that works. The format did not need to be clever. It needed to be kind.

Reviewing the choice each year

Once a year, look again at your format. Ask readers what they think, check how the email looks in the programs your list actually uses and notice whether your design has crept towards clutter. Calm formats tend to accumulate decoration over time: a banner here, a badge there. Remove what no longer earns its place, and your digest will stay light, quick and welcome.

The short version

Plain text is personal, robust and fast. Designed email can show structure and images but is harder to get right. For most calm digests, light design in a single narrow column, with real text, readable type, a few described images and a good plain-text version, gives the best of both. Test on a phone, with images off and in dark mode.