What are the negative impacts of using large images in email marketing and how to fix them?
Summary
What email marketers say14Marketer opinions
Marketer from Email Geeks responds that large images can cause long loading times, which can be a problem for users with limited mobile data plans.
Email marketer from Mailchimp explains that large images increase email loading times, which can lead to lower engagement and higher unsubscribe rates. They recommend optimizing images by compressing them and using appropriate file formats like JPEG for photos and PNG for graphics.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that an embedded image is attached to the email itself, sending the full 44MB to every user and occupying space in their mailbox. A non-embedded image references a URL, sending only a few bytes and saving the image to a temporary cache.
Email marketer from Sendinblue suggests that using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) for hosting images ensures faster loading times for subscribers globally by distributing images across multiple servers.
Email marketer from Email on Acid explains that large images can cause rendering problems in some email clients, leading to distorted layouts or broken images. They recommend using responsive design techniques and optimizing images for different screen sizes to ensure consistent rendering across all devices.
Email marketer from Gmass highlights the importance of thoroughly testing your emails with realistic images before sending them out. They propose using tools like Litmus to test images properly.
Email marketer from Moosend explains that it’s not just about the image size. The number of images can also affect the way your HTML email is rendered across different devices and browsers. The more elements the device needs to load, the bigger the chances are that something is going to break.
Email marketer from HubSpot shares that large images negatively impact the mobile user experience, as they take longer to load and consume more data. They suggest optimizing images for mobile devices by using smaller file sizes and responsive design techniques.
Email marketer from StackOverflow recommends using tools like TinyPNG, ImageOptim, and ShortPixel for image optimization, as they automatically compress images without noticeable quality loss.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign highlights that large image sizes contribute to a poor subscriber experience due to slow loading times. Optimising images improves engagement and reduces frustration.
Email marketer from NeverBounce suggests a good rule of thumb is to maintain a total email size under 100KB. Exceeding this limit can contribute to high spam scores.
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor shares that using large images consumes more bandwidth, potentially increasing costs, especially if you have a large subscriber list. They suggest optimizing images to reduce file size without sacrificing quality to minimize bandwidth usage.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains if you replace the 44mb image with the smaller one, then that will fix all image loading for that time forward, although the image may already be cached by the system.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that extremely large images can contribute to higher spam scores and negatively impact email deliverability. Some spam filters flag emails with unusually large attachments or embedded images. Keeping the total email size down is key.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that emails should not be larger than 100kb, and large images will impact those using cell phones. Using large images would be irresponsible to your reader and affect them when they have limited data plans. The larger the email gets the slower it is to load, the less they see your messages and the greater the chances that they will unsubscribe.
Expert from SpamResource explains that using reliable and reputable image hosting servers is crucial. Slow or unreliable image servers can negatively impact the rendering and loading speed of your email, potentially leading to deliverability issues.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that including a large image would have probably killed the open rate and might have killed conversion.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Google Developers explains that compressing images reduces file size, which leads to faster loading times and improved user experience. It recommends using tools like ImageOptim or TinyPNG to compress images without significant loss of quality.
Documentation from Litmus explains that some email clients have size limitations for displaying images, and exceeding these limits can cause display issues. They advise testing emails across different clients to ensure images render correctly and to keep the total email size below 102KB for optimal deliverability.
Documentation from Mozilla explains different image compression algorithms, such as lossy (JPEG) and lossless (PNG), and their impact on file size and image quality. It recommends choosing the appropriate compression method based on the type of image and the desired balance between file size and quality.
Documentation from W3C explains using the `<picture>` element and `srcset` attribute for delivering different image sizes based on screen size and resolution, which is crucial for responsive email design.