Email image size
Email image size refers to the dimensions (width and height) and file size of images used in emails. It plays an important role in how emails are displayed across different devices, such as desktop computers, mobile phones, and web-based email clients.
Why email image size matters
Unlike websites, email clients have strict limitations on how images are rendered. Images that are too large may be automatically resized, appear distorted, or display inconsistently depending on the recipient’s device and email client.
Using properly sized images helps ensure consistent rendering, faster loading times, and a better reading experience.
Recommended image size for emails
For best results, images inside an email should be optimized specifically for email use. A common recommendation is to keep images under 800 pixels wide, with an ideal width of 600 pixels or less.
Smaller images improve compatibility across email clients and reduce the risk of layout issues, especially on mobile devices.
Many email tools offer responsive image options, such as a “Best fit” setting, which automatically scales images based on where the email is opened (desktop or mobile).
Using responsive image settings helps maintain consistent layout and readability across devices.
Text-to-image ratio in emails
There is no strict rule for text-to-image ratio in emails. However, a commonly recommended best practice is to keep approximately 60% text and 40% images.
This ratio helps ensure that emails remain readable even if images are blocked, load quickly on all devices, and avoid potential deliverability issues. Text should always communicate the core message of the email, while images should be used to support and enhance the content rather than replace it.
Modern email providers do not enforce a specific ratio, but emails with very little text and heavy image usage may still perform poorly in terms of deliverability, accessibility, and engagement. Maintaining a balanced text-to-image ratio contributes to a better user experience and more reliable email delivery.
Email image file size
Email image file size refers to the weight of an image, usually measured in kilobytes (KB) or megabytes (MB). While there is no strict maximum enforced by email clients, keeping image file sizes small is strongly recommended.
As a best practice, individual images should ideally be under 200 KB. In many cases, images between 50 KB and 150 KB provide a good balance between visual quality and loading speed. Images larger than 1 MB may load slowly, especially on mobile devices or slower connections.
Large image files can negatively affect the email experience by increasing load times, causing images to fail to display, or triggering clipping or rendering issues in some email clients.
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