Microsoft Successfully Regresses HTML Email Design with Outlook 2007
Microsoft have taken the incomprehensible decision that Outlook 2007 will no longer use Internet Explorer to render HTML emails and instead use the archaic Microsoft Word HTML rendering engine.
So instead of taking advantage of Internet Explorer, Microsoft has opted to use the limited support for HTML and CSS built into Word 2007 to display HTML emails.
As a result of this decision there are a wide variety of CSS and formatting features not supported in Outlook 2007. Microsoft have been kind enough to supply details of what these are, which you can view here:- Microsoft Outlook 2007 support.
We have determined that the new “features” of Outlook 2007 apply to any formatting and styling that may have been intended to:-
1) create readable HTML emails
2) present well designed and implemented emails
3) make HTML emails that look like they were made this millennium
4) enhance the recipients experience
5) meet accessibility standards
In all seriousness, what this means is that the majority of HTML emails in Outlook 2007 may be difficult to read, poorly formatted and will not display as they were originally intended to.
Outlook 2007 is yet to become the mainstream email client of choice, but as businesses begin to upgrade their systems over the coming years this situation needs tackling head on.
We will be addressing Microsoft’s calamitous decision head on, by re-writing our email templating system over the coming months to ensure maximum compatibility for Outlook 2007 users.
Our new templating system will not only be built to ensure compatibility with this new Microsoft product, but we will be taking this opportunity to greatly improve the user interface for LiveWire Campaign users.
At LiveWire Campaign we are dedicated to our customers, and we realise presentation is often the most important factor in the effectiveness of your content. Branding and style have an important role to play in business communications, which is why we have already begun working towards solving this problem.
We can only hope that by the time Outlook 2011 comes out the geniuses at Microsoft haven’t opted for a plain text rendering engine!