Does plain text email version affect deliverability?

Email marketer from HubSpot responds that having a plain text version of your HTML email is a key step in maintaining compliance with accessibility guidelines while also signaling credibility to spam filters. This shows you are offering options for your recipients to view your content.

Email marketer from Email on Acid shares that plain text emails are essential for accessibility, particularly for visually impaired users who may use screen readers. Providing a plain text version ensures that your message is understandable regardless of the recipient's abilities.

Email marketer from Mailjet shares that providing a plain text version of your email ensures that your message is accessible to all recipients, even those with email clients that don't support HTML. It's also considered a best practice for deliverability, as it can help improve your sender reputation.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares a potential issue with auto-generated text versions: some PHP libraries convert bold/strong tags to ALL CAPS, which can be flagged as spam by Microsoft.

Email marketer from Sender explains that when considering email design for accessibility, plain text versions of HTML emails are helpful. People with vision loss can read plain text emails on screen readers and people with very poor internet access can view plain text emails even if they cannot load HTML emails.

Email marketer from ActiveCampaign explains that the inclusion of a plain text version of an email is important for deliverability. It assists older email clients and also boosts the sender's reputation with ISPs.

Email marketer from Litmus explains that although most modern email clients handle HTML emails well, some older clients or text-based email readers still require plain text versions. Providing a plain text version ensures that your message is readable across all platforms.

Email marketer from Gmass responds that while plain text emails do not directly impact deliverability, they act as backup in case the email program is not able to render HTML emails.

Expert from Email Geeks shares that they still add a text version because some older filters score you as slightly more spammy if you only have an HTML version.

Expert from Email Geeks says while advising folks to include plain text versions, it's challenging to give good reasons if they are already sending text/html rather than multipart/mime.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that it's important to consider how many mailboxes are being protected, as aggressive blocking strategies suitable for small numbers of users are harder to implement at scale.

Expert from Word to the Wise shares details on how to make plain text emails and why a business should have the skill set to create these in-house. It explains that plain text emails are for accessibility.

Expert from SpamResource explains that although not always a direct influence, the lack of a plain text version can sometimes cause an email to be viewed as less legitimate by spam filters, particularly older ones. Ensuring both HTML and plain text versions are available contributes to a more positive sender reputation.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that plain text vs. autogenerated text versions don't matter for deliverability, and occasional mismatches are not a big deal.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that for US B2C lists hosted by major providers like Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Apple, and Comcast, lacking a text version is unlikely to result in spam placement. Only a small portion of the remaining 5% might score you more spammy.

Documentation from Microsoft suggests that including a plain text version can positively influence your email deliverability. It helps to ensure that your email renders correctly across different platforms, and improves accessibility.

Documentation from RFC 2822 (Internet Message Format) specifies the standards for email messages, including the structure of headers and body. While it doesn't explicitly mandate plain text, it emphasizes the importance of compatibility and accessibility, which plain text versions contribute to.

Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains that Gmail can display either the HTML or plain text version of a message, depending on the recipient's settings. If a recipient prefers plain text, Gmail will show that version.