Creating responsive and visually appealing emails across various devices and email clients can be challenging. Fortunately, conditional CSS pre is a powerful tool that allows tailoring stylesheets based on specific conditions, ensuring close consistency rendering and best experience for the user. Here's a cheat sheet derived from the insights provided in the Email on Acid blog post on conditional CSS pre:
Outlook has its unique set of challenges when it comes to rendering HTML and CSS in emails. To specifically target Outlook versions with conditional CSS, you can use Microsoft's conditional comments. Here are some examples:
/* Target All Versions of Outlook: */
<!--[if mso]>
/* Your Outlook-specific styles here */
<![endif]-->
/* Target Outlook 2000, 2002/XP, and 2003: */
<!--[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]>
/* Your Outlook-specific styles here */
<![endif]-->
/* Target Outlook 2007 and Later Versions: */
<!--[if (gte mso 15)]>
/* Your Outlook-specific styles here */
<![endif]-->
/* Target Outlook 2013 and Later Versions: */
<!--[if (gte mso 15)|(IE)]>
/* Your Outlook-specific styles here */
<![endif]-->
/* Target Outlook.com (Webmail): */
<!--[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]>
/* Your Outlook.com-specific styles here */
<![endif]-->
/* Target Specific Outlook Versions Using Conditional Class: */
<!--[if (mso 12)|(mso 14)]>
<style type="text/css">
/* Your Outlook 2007 and 2010-specific styles here */
</style>
<![endif]-->
Use conditional comments to apply specific styles to older versions of Outlook that may have rendering quirks.
/* Responsive styles for small screens */
@media only screen and (max-width: 480px) {
/* Your responsive styles here */
}
Utilize media queries to apply styles based on the screen size, ensuring your email adapts to various devices.
Progressive enhancement in email development involves enhancing the user experience by adding features or styles for more advanced email clients while ensuring a functional baseline for all users. Here's a list of common progressive enhancements for email development:
/* Interactive Buttons: */
/* Basic button styles for all clients */
.button {
background-color: #007bff;
color: #fff;
text-decoration: none;
padding: 10px 20px;
display: inline-block;
}
/* Hover styles for modern clients */
@media (hover: hover) {
.button:hover {
background-color: #0056b3;
}
}
Provide enhanced hover styles for email clients that support hover interactions.
/* Background Images: */
/* Fallback background color for all clients */
.container {
background-color: #f0f0f0;
}
/* Progressive enhancement with background image */
@media (min-width: 600px) {
.container {
background-image: url('background-image.jpg');
background-size: cover;
background-position: center;
}
}
/* Enhance the visual appeal by adding background images for clients that support them. */
/* Responsive Images: */
/* Set max-width for responsive images */
img {
max-width: 100%;
height: auto;
}
/* Ensure images scale appropriately for different screen sizes, providing a better experience on both large and small screens. */
/* Media Queries for Layouts: */
/* Basic layout styles for all clients */
.container {
width: 100%;
max-width: 600px;
margin: 0 auto;
}
/* Progressive enhancement with wider layout for larger screens */
@media (min-width: 800px) {
.container {
max-width: 800px;
}
}
/* Use media queries to enhance layout styles for larger screens. */
/* Animated GIFs: */
/* Basic styles for all clients */
.animated-gif {
display: block;
}
/* Progressive enhancement with animated GIF support */
@media (min-width: 600px) {
.animated-gif {
display: none;
}
}
/* Include animated GIFs for clients that support them, and provide a static fallback for those that don't. */
/* Web Fonts: */
/* Fallback font for all clients */
body {
font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif;
}
/* Progressive enhancement with web font */
@media (min-width: 600px) {
body {
font-family: 'YourWebFont', sans-serif;
}
}
/* Use web fonts for a more customized typography experience on clients that support them. */
Implement progressive enhancement to create interactive elements that gracefully degrade on unsupported email clients.
Attribute selectors can be useful in targeting specific email clients and applying styles accordingly. Here's a list of common attribute selectors for targeting specific email clients:
/* Target Gmail: */
[data-pinger="gmail"] {
/* Your conditional styles here */
}
/* Target Yahoo Mail: */
[data-ogsb] {
/* Your conditional styles here */
}
/* Target Outlook.com: */
[data-outlook-cycle] {
/* Your conditional styles here */
}
/* Target Apple Mail: */
[data-class="Apple-Mail"] {
/* Your conditional styles here */
}
/* Target Android Mail: */
[data-class="android"] {
/* Your conditional styles here */
}
/* Target Samsung Mail: */
[data-type="Samsung-Mail"] {
/* Your conditional styles here */
}
/* Target Windows Mail: */
[data-platform="Windows"] {
/* Your conditional styles here */
}
/* Target Thunderbird: */
[data-class="Mozilla"] {
/* Your conditional styles here */
}
/* Target AOL Mail: */
[data-interactive] {
/* Your conditional styles here */
}
/* Target Webkit-based Clients (Chrome, Safari): */
[data-identifier="webkit"] {
/* Your conditional styles here */
}
Use attribute selectors to target specific email clients and apply styles accordingly. Remember to test thoroughly across different email clients to ensure these attribute selectors work as expected. Keep in mind that the email landscape evolves, and new versions or changes in email clients may affect the effectiveness of these selectors over time.
/* Overall Dark Mode Styles: */
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
/* Your overall dark mode styles here */
}
/* Background Color for Dark Mode: */
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
body {
background-color: #333;
}
}
/* Text Color for Dark Mode: */
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
body {
color: #fff;
}
}
/* Link Color for Dark Mode: */
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
a {
color: #00f;
}
}
/* Container Styles for Dark Mode: */
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
.container {
background-color: #444;
color: #fff;
}
}
/* Image Styles for Dark Mode: */
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
img {
filter: brightness(80%);
}
}
/* Button Styles for Dark Mode: */
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
.button {
background-color: #555;
color: #fff;
}
}
/* Border Styles for Dark Mode: */
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
.bordered {
border: 2px solid #666;
}
}
Adapt your email styles based on the user's preference for dark or light mode. Adjust these styles based on your email design and the preferences of your target audience. Always test thoroughly to ensure a consistent and visually appealing experience in both light and dark modes across various email clients.
Leverage developer accounts like Hubspot that include email testing previews and testing tools like Email on Acid to preview and test your emails across various devices and email clients.
Conditional CSS pre is crucial for achieving consistent and visually appealing email campaigns. This cheat sheet provides essential snippet references to help guide the nuances of responsive email development. Implementing these techniques will ensure your emails look great and function seamlessly across email clients and devices. Mostly √
Visit https://www.emailonacid.com/blog/article/email-development/conditional-css-pre/