When are plain text emails needed and which devices still use them?

Summary

Plain text emails are necessary in several scenarios. They are essential for machine-to-machine communication, alerts/reports via email2sms gateways, and userland automations. Plain text versions improve deliverability, ensure accessibility for users with visual impairments or those using older devices and screen readers, and offer a fallback when devices or providers don't support HTML. Certain devices like Apple Watches only support plain text or a rich text subset, and some ticketing systems struggle with HTML. Plain text also helps with parsing email content programmatically, delivering simple informational content, avoiding spam filters, and accommodating older email clients. User preferences and system-level requirements may also necessitate plain text emails.

Key findings

  • M2M and Automation: Plain text is critical for machine-to-machine communication and various automation tasks.
  • Device Compatibility: Devices like Apple Watches and some ticketing systems require plain text or have limited HTML support.
  • Accessibility: Plain text ensures accessibility for users with visual impairments and those using screen readers.
  • Improved Deliverability: Plain text versions help improve deliverability and avoid spam filters.
  • Fallback Mechanism: Plain text serves as a fallback when HTML is not supported by the device or email provider.
  • Easy Parsing: Plain text facilitates easier parsing of email content for automated data extraction and analysis.
  • IETF Standard: The IETF standard allows for a plain text part in email messages, which some systems rely on.
  • Preheader Use: Email preheaders often rely on the plain text part for notifications and previews.

Key considerations

  • Target Audience: Consider your target audience's devices, email clients, and accessibility needs when deciding whether to include a plain text version.
  • Content Simplicity: Use plain text for simple, informational content where complex formatting is not needed.
  • Automated Systems: Ensure plain text support for system alerts and automated processes to guarantee reliable communication.
  • Accessibility Practices: Prioritize plain text to cater to users with accessibility requirements and promote inclusivity.
  • Deliverability Optimization: Include a plain text version to enhance email deliverability and reduce the risk of being flagged as spam.
  • Data Extraction: Employ plain text to ensure easy and reliable data extraction from incoming emails for automated processes.
  • Client Support: Evaluate the email client usage among your audience to determine the need for plain text support for legacy systems.

What email marketers say
13Marketer opinions

Plain text emails are still relevant in various scenarios. They are essential for machine-to-machine communication, alerts/reports via email2sms gateways, and userland automations. Including a plain text version improves deliverability and ensures accessibility for users with visual impairments or those using older devices and screen readers. Plain text formats are also beneficial for automated system notifications, parsing email content programmatically, and for delivering simple informational content efficiently. They act as a fallback when devices or providers don't support HTML and are easier for machines to parse for automated tasks.

Key opinions

  • M2M & Automation: Plain text is crucial for machine-to-machine communication and various automation tasks.
  • Improved Deliverability: Including a plain text version can enhance email deliverability and avoid spam filters.
  • Accessibility: Plain text ensures accessibility for users with visual impairments and those using screen readers.
  • Older Devices: Plain text enables content access on older devices with limited HTML support.
  • Efficient Parsing: Plain text simplifies the parsing of email content for automated data extraction.
  • Fallback Option: Plain text serves as a fallback when HTML is not supported by the device or email provider.

Key considerations

  • Target Audience: Consider your target audience's devices and email clients to determine if plain text is necessary.
  • Content Complexity: Use plain text for simple, informational content where complex formatting is unnecessary.
  • Automated Systems: Implement plain text for system alerts and automated processes to ensure reliable communication.
  • Accessibility Needs: Prioritize plain text to cater to users with accessibility requirements and ensure inclusivity.
  • Deliverability Optimization: Include a plain text version to improve email deliverability and avoid spam filters.
  • Data Extraction: Use plain text to guarantee easy and reliable data extraction from incoming emails.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum responds that people using older mobile devices or those with very basic email applications may only be able to properly read plain text emails. This ensures they can access your content.

January 2022 - Email Marketing Forum
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailOctopus Blog shares that plain text emails are essential for accessibility. Some recipients may have visual impairments or use screen readers, which can better process plain text emails. It ensures a more inclusive experience for all subscribers.

October 2023 - EmailOctopus Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Quora User 'TechGuru' explains that it is much easier for machines to read and parse a plain text email, therefore making them useful for automated tasks.

October 2023 - Quora
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that plain text emails are needed for alerts/reports when using email2sms gateways.

December 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from StackOverflow user 'SimpleEmail' answers that plain text is easier to parse programmatically when you need to extract data from emails using scripts or automated tools. This is common for processing data from incoming emails.

April 2024 - StackOverflow
Marketer view

Email marketer from Neil Patel Blog explains that including a plain text version of your email can improve deliverability, as it helps email providers identify you as a legitimate sender and not a spammer. Some older email clients and devices may also only be able to display plain text emails.

August 2023 - Neil Patel Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit user u/EmailPro responds that plain text emails are beneficial for automated system notifications (e.g., server alerts) where formatting is unnecessary and for users with limited bandwidth or older devices.

October 2021 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Campaign Monitor explains that plain text emails are useful when the content is simple and primarily informational, such as order confirmations or password reset emails. They also load faster on slow connections.

October 2024 - Campaign Monitor
Marketer view

Email marketer from Sendinblue shares that plain text emails are important when the device or mail provider doesn't support HTML, allowing them to fallback to the text version.

March 2023 - Sendinblue
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailchimp shares that plain text emails are good when you need something very simple with no images or complex formatting, or when you want to ensure that any client can use the email.

November 2021 - Mailchimp
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that plain text emails are absolutely needed with M2M (machine to machine) processing of data stored in emails, often seen in banking, but it's not user facing.

December 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that if you were trying to do some userland automations based on a messages content (e.g. IFTTT) then maybe plain text might be slightly safer for getting the best chance of pattern matching.

July 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Hubspot answers that plain text emails are very useful because they help improve deliverability and can improve accessibility on older devices.

January 2022 - Hubspot

What the experts say
6Expert opinions

Plain text emails are needed for a few key reasons and devices. Apple Watches only support plain text or a rich text subset, and some ticketing systems struggle with HTML emails. Email preheaders, used for notifications, often rely on the plain text part of multipart emails. Wearables, in general, are a primary concern for plain text support. Additionally, plaintext versions aid accessibility for screen readers, can improve spam filter scores, and are required by some older email clients for readability.

Key opinions

  • Apple Watch Support: Apple Watch primarily supports plain text or a rich text subset, not full HTML emails.
  • Ticketing System Compatibility: Some ticketing systems have issues processing non-plain-text emails.
  • Preheader Use: Email preheaders often rely on the plain text part for notifications and previews.
  • Wearable Devices: Wearable devices are a major consideration when deciding to include a plain text version of an email.
  • Accessibility: Plaintext versions improve accessibility for users with screen readers.
  • Spam Scoring: The absence of a plaintext version may negatively impact spam filter scores.
  • Legacy Clients: Older email clients may require a plaintext version to render emails correctly.

Key considerations

  • Wearable Optimization: If your audience uses wearables, prioritize plain text or simplified HTML.
  • Ticketing Integration: Ensure compatibility with ticketing systems if your emails are used in that context.
  • Accessibility Practices: Always include a plaintext version to support users with accessibility needs.
  • Spam Prevention: Include a plaintext version as a best practice to avoid potential spam filtering issues.
  • Legacy Support: Consider the usage of older email clients within your audience to ensure readability.
  • Preheader Optimization: Craft your plaintext preheader to be informative and engaging.
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks shares MUAs often use the preheader for notifications and preview. That’s just the first few lines of the mail payload with some heuristics applied, and if it’s a multipart/alternative with text/plain and text/html parts the plain text will come first.

August 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from SpamResource explains that plaintext versions of email are needed for some older email clients, accessibility reasons (screen readers), and that some spam filters score emails higher if they lack a plaintext part. This information was obtained by manually reviewing content on the website.

July 2022 - SpamResource
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks shares that Apple Watch supports plain text and its own rich text subset only, not full HTML.

April 2021 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise indicates that in some rare cases, older email clients may require the email to have a plaintext version to be readable. This information was obtained by manually reviewing content on the website.

June 2021 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains that many ticketing systems don’t handle non-plain-text email at all well.

December 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks answers that it’s probably mostly wearables you need to worry about regarding devices that use plain text emails.

January 2023 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says
5Technical articles

Various documentation sources highlight the continued importance of plain text emails. The IETF standard specifies that emails can contain a plain text part, with some systems relying solely on this format. The 'text/plain' MIME type signifies a plain text document without formatting, which older clients and simple devices use. Including a plain text version ensures compatibility across a wide range of email clients and acts as a fallback, as supported by both Apple's Mail User Agent and Microsoft Outlook. Users can often choose to view messages in plain text, offering a degree of control over content display.

Key findings

  • IETF Standard: The IETF standard allows for a plain text part in email messages, which some systems require.
  • MIME Type: The 'text/plain' MIME type signifies a plain text email without formatting.
  • Compatibility: Plain text ensures compatibility with older email clients and less sophisticated devices.
  • Fallback Mechanism: Plain text serves as a fallback if HTML rendering fails or is unsupported.
  • User Preference: Apple Mail and Microsoft Outlook provide users with the option to view messages in plain text.

Key considerations

  • Client Support: Evaluate the email client usage among your audience to determine the need for plain text support.
  • Accessibility: Ensure emails are accessible by providing a plain text alternative for screen readers and other assistive technologies.
  • Fallback Planning: Implement plain text as a fallback to guarantee that your message is delivered and readable, even if HTML rendering fails.
  • Content Simplicity: If email contains simple information, consider using only plain text as it is more accessible.
Technical article

Documentation from Apple Support explains that Apple's Mail User Agent (MUA) can display emails in plain text. The user can choose to view all messages in plain text or allow HTML formatting, providing a level of user preference.

December 2023 - Apple Support
Technical article

Documentation from Litmus explains that including a plain text version ensures compatibility across a wider range of email clients, including older versions and less sophisticated devices that may not fully support HTML rendering.

January 2024 - Litmus
Technical article

Documentation from IETF defines the standard for the format of Internet message bodies, specifying that email messages can contain a plain text part. Some systems may still rely solely on plain text emails.

May 2021 - IETF
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft Support explains that Microsoft outlook offers plain text options so it can be used for automated alerts or for a fallback version.

February 2023 - Microsoft Support
Technical article

Documentation from Mozilla Developer Network explains that the MIME type 'text/plain' indicates a plain text document without formatting. Older email clients and simple devices rely on this format for displaying email content.

August 2023 - Mozilla Developer Network