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Where did the "HTML only" option go?

Posted by David Greiner on March 26, 2008

If you've created a new campaign in the last day or so you might have noticed something missing when selecting the format of your campaign. Previously, you had 3 options: HTML only, HTML and plain text, and plain text only. As of our most recent update, the "HTML only" option has now been removed.

Screenshot of the Select Format screen

Moving forward, whenever you're sending a HTML email, you'll need to add a plain text alternative too.

Why should I include a plain text version?

Including a plain text alternative with your HTML email is best practice. It's best practice for a number of reasons:

Content-based spam filters like SpamAssassin look for a close match between your HTML content and plain text content. If there's a significant difference, your email will be penalized.
Some of your subscribers prefer plain text or use an email client that doesn't properly support HTML email, especially if they're reading it on a mobile device. Often they might have an email client but not a web browser, so they can't access the web-based version of your email.

One little point of clarification. We always included a plain text alternative for you, even if you sent a HTML only email. This was just a brief message with a link to the web-based version and an unsubscribe link. It was better than nothing, but didn't get you any closer to solving the problems listed above.

Why wait until now to make this change?

Removing this option has been on our minds for a while now, but we were hesitant to remove it altogether until we made the process of generating your plain text alternative an easier process. Now that we've added the ability to pull the text out of your HTML version with a single click, we felt the time was right.

I realize this adds a step to the create/send process for some of you, but please remember it's in the best interests of you and your subscribers to include a well formatted plain text alternative whenever you send a HTML email. Also, don't forget about our free plain text templates that provide a great starting point for a nice looking plain text email.

5 comments so far

Alistair Buckle

wrote on March 27, 2008 1:50 AM

That sucks.

And P.S. thanks for the warning that you were going to remove features.

Geoff Cheshire

wrote on March 27, 2008 3:05 AM

I have a client who complains Outlook doesn't display the HTML version of his campaigns when I send it with HTML+Plain Text. I started sending it with just HTML, and all have been satisfied.

Dave Greiner

wrote on March 27, 2008 8:28 AM

Geoff, Outlook has actually never supported the correct display of a text version when sending in multi-part (HTML + text). This bug has been present in Outlook for as long as I can remember. Basically, it makes no difference to outlook if you've got a text alternative or not, it still displays the HTML version.

Alistair, apologies for springing this one on you, but it really is a better approach which should see improved deliverability and a better experience for your subscribers. It's really worth it.

andrew

wrote on March 29, 2008 7:57 AM

this is the right approach. html only is a bad idea. Its best to send both and let the user determine which to view

Daniel Reeders

wrote on April 15, 2008 1:45 PM

This looks really sensible. Regarding Alistair's criticism, sending HTML only was never a feature, it was an accommodation of an unsustainable design practice.

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