What are the requirements for BIMI SVG files and how do I validate them?
Summary
What email marketers say9Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Email on Acid Blog shares that validating BIMI involves checking the SVG logo for compliance with BIMI specifications, ensuring proper DNS records (DMARC, SPF, DKIM) are set up, and using BIMI validators.
Email marketer from Agari (Proofpoint) shares that BIMI provides enhanced brand visibility and increased brand trust in the inbox. It allows email recipients to quickly identify legitimate emails, reducing the risk of phishing attacks.
Email marketer from SparkPost explains that BIMI logos are displayed by participating email providers if the sending domain has implemented DMARC authentication and the SVG logo meets the specified requirements.
Email marketer from ZeroBounce explains that BIMI, by ensuring authentication and brand display, can have a positive impact on email marketing metrics, improving brand recognition, engagement, and deliverability.
Email marketer from Reddit suggests optimizing the SVG file size by removing unnecessary metadata and using vector graphics software to reduce the number of nodes and paths.
Email marketer from Mailhardener explains that the SVG file size should be kept as small as possible to ensure fast loading times and avoid issues with email clients or mailbox providers that might have size restrictions.
Email marketer from Litmus shares that BIMI's visual aspect depends on email client support. While BIMI adoption is growing, not all email clients or browsers currently display BIMI logos.
Email marketer from Valimail Blog shares that BIMI SVG files can be validated using online validators and that it must adhere to the SVG Portable/Secure (SVG P/S) subset of SVG Tiny 1.2 specification to avoid security vulnerabilities.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum suggests that issues with BIMI SVG logos not displaying can often be traced back to incorrect file formatting, embedded raster images, or the presence of disallowed SVG features.
What the experts say5Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks explains that mailbox providers (MBP) could choose to ignore non-compliant elements in BIMI SVGs, but `<style>` and "gradientTransform" both fail the RNC (Relax NG Compact syntax, a schema language).
Expert from Spam Resource explains that BIMI logos need to be very carefully checked for malicious content and external links. It is crucial to ensure that they are safe and secure to prevent exploitation.
Expert from Email Geeks clarifies that the BIMI validator flags errors in SVGs.
Expert from Email Geeks shares to try running the SVG through the SVG conversion tools to fix potential issues.
Expert from Spam Resource shares that BIMI requirements involve DMARC compliance, a registered trademark, and a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) for the logo in addition to a properly formatted SVG file.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from BIMI Group Website explains that BIMI SVG logos must be a square aspect ratio, be smaller than 32KB, and use only the base profile of SVG Tiny 1.2. They should also be centered within a square viewport.
Documentation from IETF explains that SVG Tiny 1.2 is a profile of SVG intended for devices with limited resources, specifying the features and syntax allowed. BIMI builds on a further subset of this
Documentation from dmarcian knowledge base explains that the SVG logo should not contain any external links or scripting, and all text must be converted to outlines to prevent font-related rendering issues.
Documentation from DigiCert explains to display a BIMI logo in some mail clients, a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) is required. The VMC verifies the logo and the brand's right to use it.
Documentation from W3C explains that SVG P/S is designed to be a secure subset of SVG, disallowing features that could be exploited for malicious purposes. It uses a content security policy.