This means for the next 5 years your email designs will need tables for layout, have no support for CSS definitions like float and position, no background images and lots more. This not only provides us as designers & developers with a challenge but it also means non-technical email marketers will be forced to be more reliant on their web designers to ensure their emails are readable and not broken. Which is a real shame…

This screenshot put together by the Email Standards Project* is a great example of the progression (or lack thereof) of Microsoft’s Outlook since 2000. This is the same email rendered in Outlook 2000 & 2010.

But it’s not all bad – Microsoft have been listening and you can get involved and have your say by visiting fixoutlook.org.

It’s a shame my first blog post is a whinge but it had to be done!

*The Email Standards Project works with email client developers and the design community to improve web standards support and accessibility in email.

Email Marketing Brisbane: for help getting your email newsletters looking great (despite the difficulties), call Bluewire Media on 1300 358 294.