Why should I avoid using images for CTA buttons in email marketing?

Email marketer from Reddit user mentions that using too many images, including image-based CTAs, can increase the likelihood of your email being flagged as spam. Spam filters often penalize emails with a high image-to-text ratio.

Email marketer from Hubspot explains that the key benefit is that live text is supported by all email clients. It's also easier to read, doesn't rely on the end user downloading images, which can improve your click rate.

Marketer from Email Geeks approximates that Outlook represents about 6% of all email clients, and likely a large percentage of B2B users.

Email marketer from Stack Overflow user mentions using text allows for a greater ability to manipulate the look and feel of a button, in code - it's easier to maintain brand consistency with text-based CTAs across different campaigns and platforms. Text can be easily styled with CSS to match your brand guidelines, while images may require more effort to resize and optimize.

Email marketer from Campaign Monitor explains that using images for CTAs can create accessibility issues for visually impaired recipients who rely on screen readers. If the image lacks proper alt text, the CTA becomes inaccessible.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares an example of an organization experiencing lowered engagement after switching to images for CTA buttons without considering that some users have images turned off, and without providing alt text for the images.

Email marketer from Litmus explains that images can render differently across various email clients and devices. A CTA button that looks perfect in one client might be distorted or unreadable in another, impacting the user experience.

Email marketer from Mailjet Blog explains that many email clients block images by default, which means if your CTA is an image, it won't be visible unless the recipient enables images. This can significantly reduce click-through rates.

Email marketer from Email on Acid explains that not all email clients support images in the same way. Some clients may block images by default or have limited support for certain image formats. Using text-based CTAs ensures that your message is consistently displayed across different clients.

Email marketer from Pardot suggests that relying solely on images for CTAs can lead to lower conversion rates, as image blocking is a common issue and many users don't enable images by default.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that using images without alt text is a major accessibility issue. Alt text provides a textual alternative to the image, allowing screen readers to convey the CTA's purpose to visually impaired users. Neglecting alt text makes your email inaccessible.

Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, explains that images may not render properly across all email clients. This could lead to a broken or unreadable CTA button, hindering user interaction.

Documentation from MDN Web Docs emphasizes the use of semantic HTML elements like `<button>` for creating interactive buttons. These elements have built-in accessibility features and are recognized by screen readers. Using images instead of semantic buttons can lead to accessibility issues and a less user-friendly experience.

Documentation from Apple explains that using text rather than images for buttons allows the text to scale with Dynamic Type. This means that users can increase the text size without compromising the usability of your buttons.

Documentation from W3C explains that alternative text (alt text) provides a textual alternative to non-text content, including images. It is crucial for accessibility, allowing users with visual impairments to understand the image's purpose. Without alt text, image-based CTAs are inaccessible to screen reader users.

Documentation from Google's Material Design recommends using clear, legible text labels for buttons to ensure usability and accessibility. While icons can supplement text, relying solely on images for CTAs can confuse users and hinder interaction.