How to Optimise Email for Mobile?

Optimising email for mobile involves creating messages that are not only easy to read and navigate on smaller screens but also engaging and actionable, ensuring your content always looks great regardless of the device.

Prioritising Readability and Engagement

Mobile users often scan emails quickly. Making your content easy to digest is paramount.

Crafting Compelling Preheader Text

The preheader text is a critical element that appears after the subject line in an email inbox. It's your second chance to grab attention.

Summarise: Use this space to briefly summarise your email's main offer or benefit.
Intrigue: Pose a question or highlight an exclusive deal to encourage opens.
Personalise: Incorporate personalisation (e.g., recipient's name) if possible.
Example: Instead of "View in browser," try "🔥 Limited-time offer inside – Don't miss out!"

Concise and Scannable Content

Mobile screens have limited real estate, making long blocks of text overwhelming.

Be Direct: Get straight to the point. Place your most important information and call-to-action (CTA) at the top of the email.
Short Paragraphs: Break up text into short, digestible paragraphs, ideally no more than 2-3 sentences.
Bullet Points and Numbered Lists: Use lists to present information clearly and efficiently, making it easy for readers to scan and grasp key takeaways.

Maximising White Space

Ample white space improves readability and prevents your email from looking cluttered.

Short Sentences: Keep sentences brief and to the point.
Line Breaks: Use generous line breaks between paragraphs and sections to give your content room to breathe.
Single-Column Layouts: Opt for a single-column layout for mobile, as it naturally creates more white space and ensures content flows smoothly.

Designing for Mobile Responsiveness

A responsive design approach ensures your email adapts seamlessly to various screen sizes and orientations.

Responsive Layouts

Emails should automatically adjust their layout, images, and text to fit the screen they're viewed on, whether it's a smartphone or tablet.

Fluid Grids: Implement fluid grid systems that use percentages rather than fixed pixels for widths.
Media Queries: Utilise CSS media queries to apply specific styles (e.g., changing font sizes, hiding elements) for different screen sizes.
Portrait and Landscape Views: Ensure your design looks good and functions well when a mobile device is held in both portrait (vertical) and landscape (horizontal) orientations.

Touch-Friendly Call-to-Actions (CTAs) and Icons

Mobile users interact with touch. Your interactive elements must be easy to tap accurately.

Generous Sizing: CTAs should be large enough to be easily tapped, typically a minimum of 44x44 pixels.
Sufficient Padding: Provide ample padding around buttons and social media icons to prevent accidental taps on adjacent elements.
Clear Messaging: Use concise and action-oriented text for your CTAs (e.g., "Shop Now," "Learn More," "Download").

Optimising Font Sizes for Legibility

Small fonts are a common frustration for mobile users. Ensure your text is comfortable to read without zooming.

Body Text: Aim for a minimum body font size of 14-16 pixels for optimal readability on mobile screens.
Headings: Use larger, clear heading fonts (e.g., 20-22 pixels) to break up content and guide the reader's eye.
Contrast: Ensure strong contrast between text and background colors for accessibility.

Image Optimisation

Large, unoptimised images can slow down load times and consume excessive data, frustrating mobile users.

Compression: Compress images to reduce file size without significantly compromising quality. Use tools like TinyPNG or online optimisers.
Appropriate Dimensions: Resize images to the maximum width they will display on mobile (e.g., 600-800 pixels) to avoid unnecessary scaling.
Alt Text: Always include descriptive alt text for all images. This ensures your message is still conveyed if images fail to load or for users with visual impairments.

The Indispensable Role of Testing

Thorough testing is the only way to guarantee your emails perform as intended across all devices and email clients.

Thorough Cross-Device Testing

What looks perfect on your desktop might break on a specific smartphone or email app.

Diverse Devices: Test your emails on a range of actual mobile devices (iOS, Android, different screen sizes) and popular email clients (Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, etc.).
Email Testing Tools: Utilise email testing platforms like Litmus or Email on Acid to preview your email across hundreds of client-device combinations.
Send Test Emails: Always send test emails to yourself and colleagues on various devices before sending to your entire list. Check for rendering issues, broken links, and overall user experience.

Key Mobile Email Optimisation Strategies

Strategy	Description	Impact
Preheader Text	Craft engaging summaries that appear after the subject line.	Boosts open rates by providing context and intrigue.
Concise Content	Use short paragraphs, bullet points, and place key info upfront.	Improves readability and ensures main message is conveyed quickly.
White Space	Employ short sentences and ample line breaks.	Reduces cognitive load, making content less overwhelming.
Responsive Design	Use fluid layouts and media queries to adapt to screen sizes and orientations.	Ensures consistent, optimal viewing experience across all devices.
Touch-Friendly CTAs	Design large (min. 44x44px) and well-padded buttons and icons.	Increases click-through rates by preventing mis-taps.
Legible Font Sizes	Use 14-16px for body text and larger for headings, with good contrast.	Enhances readability and reduces user frustration.
Optimised Images	Compress images, use appropriate dimensions, and include descriptive alt text.	Speeds up load times and saves mobile data, improving user experience.
Thorough Testing	Test across various devices and email clients using dedicated tools.	Identifies and fixes rendering issues before broader distribution.

By adopting a mobile-first mindset and implementing these strategies, you can significantly improve your email campaign's performance, engagement, and ultimately, your return on investment.