Why Does My Email Look Different in Outlook?

Use testing software like Litmus or Email on Acid to test your emails across Outlook versions before you send them. Continue making changes and testing your layout until it appears in Outlook just how you want it to.

Update your Outlook settings to ensure that your emails do not use Microsoft Word In Outlook. Go to Tools menu, then the Options item and then click on Mail Format tab.

Make sure that both checkboxes that reference Microsoft Word are unticked. This will allow Outlook to use it’s own faster and more lightweight editor instead. Outlook requires its users to click ‘Download Images’, as you may have probably noticed.

This setting can be easily changed, so images are auto-downloaded, but you can’t assume your audience viewing your email in Outlook will turn on this feature.

Unfortunately, getting your padding and margin right in emails is one of the hardest things when creating your email.

Most email clients render padding slightly differently, but Outlook tops the offending list with this one.

This can be patchy,  but one of the most common is that Outlook ignores the padding around an image which can cause the text to move around.

So if you’re having trouble getting an image to sit in the right place, we suggest laying things out in a table. Wrap your image in a table with margin and padding. See how you go!

If you are a GIF user or are looking to use more in your emails, it’s worth noting, Outlook will display only the first frame of an animated GIF. Therefore, it is advisable to make sure you start your GIF with a frame that looks acceptable. If your GIF includes a call-to-action, be sure it’s on that first frame.

This is a common one. This is usually because of how Outlook marks the page breaks in your content.

The Word engine renders long emails just like a multi-page Word document.

This can result in a ‘page break’ in exceptionally long content, about 1800 pixels down the page. This may require some edits to the layout and content of your email (Make sure you make a clone of your document before making changes). Try moving your images.

If there is one beneath the white space, move it. Then test it. Continue making changes and testing your layout until the white space is gone.

Does your font look different in your preview to what is showing in Outlook? This could be for several reasons.

You may not be using a websafe font, or the font may not be available in Outlook. This may result in Outlook defaulting to its fallback of Times New Roman or Arial.

Make sure you have your font installed on your computer (and for mac users). For all of our Government clients, you can download and install your new brand standard Public Sans font here.

Note: Although you have your font installed and it looks fine for you, remember that not everyone will have the font installed and it will look different for them.

Outlook requires its users to click ‘Download Images’. This setting can be easily changed, so images are auto-downloaded, but you can’t assume your audience viewing your email in Outlook will turn on this feature.

One way to ensure your email makes sense is to include ALT text. Alt text will describe the image they should be seeing.

The HTML code for image borders is not supported by Word. Consider adding the border to the image itself.

Outlook 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021 and Outlook Office 365 on Windows and Mac, can be a bit tricky to work with.

This is because these Outlook versions use the Microsoft Word engine to render HTML emails for reasons known only to a mystical inner cabal at Microsoft.

Yep, a word processor rather than your browser. Using a word processor means that some HTML and CSS are not supported, which can cause display discrepancies in your emails.

Swift Digital’s templates help you effortlessly create stunning emails and events communications using our drag-and-drop email and event builder.

You can raise engagement with embedded images, videos, polls, article feedback, and emojis and schedule messages to send at the right time.

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Swift Digital is Australia’s leader in marketing automation software and event management working with organisations like the NSW Government, ATO, and companies like Westpac Bank and Qantas.

Find out why we’re the Australian government department’s number one choice for their professional communications and events.

To find out how your business can get the best out of Swift Digital’s platform, contact our team today.

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