17 E mail Design Greatest Practices for Ecommerce in 2026

Studying Time: 11 minutes

After we consider electronic mail design, we regularly consider stunning colours, placing photographs, and trendy fonts. Many entrepreneurs assume that simply having stunning emails will add to the gross sales, however what if the reader can’t perceive the e-mail’s message within the first place? It’s easy — they gained’t stick round.

One model that understands this completely is Pasignia. This rising ecommerce model improved conversions and income by refining its electronic mail design. Jean Pascal places it completely: “Good design is extra than simply wanting fairly. With it, you need to inform the model’s story whereas driving motion.” 

E mail design finest practices require construction, readability, readability, and intent. Nice electronic mail design guides your reader’s eye, helps them perceive the message, and tells them what to do subsequent. The thought is to permit subscribers transition easily from the topic line to the CTA. 

After years of designing, reviewing, and serving to manufacturers craft higher ecommerce emails, I’ve realized what really works. On this information, I’ll stroll you thru confirmed electronic mail design finest practices I depend on. With the following pointers, you’ll be able to craft layouts that drive clicks, gross sales, and long-term income.

Why electronic mail design issues greater than ever

Visible storytelling is likely one of the best methods to seize consideration on-line. It’s quickly overtaking text-heavy content material, particularly amongst Millennials and Gen Z, who worth aesthetics and visible excellence.

The most effective methods to current your model and ship your message visually is thru electronic mail advertising and marketing. In actual fact, a current report discovered that seven in 10 shoppers desire speaking with manufacturers through electronic mail:

Nevertheless, your subscribers’ inboxes are flooded with emails from competing manufacturers. To face out, you’ll want wonderful electronic mail design. 

As Rens Robroek, founding father of La Machine Biking Membership, places it:

“You’ve bought to maintain your emails stunning — design actually issues. When a marketing campaign seems to be nice, folks belief it extra, and so they’re extra prone to click on.”

La Machine, a premium biking model, proves this level completely. Relatively than including plain product pictures to its electronic mail, the model despatched its product assortment to a photographer in Barcelona to seize golden-hour photographs. 

Its crew then designed an electronic mail across the feelings behind that imagery. The end result was a novel, standout design that resonated with its viewers. 

As Rens says, “Each bicycle owner desires of using below the Spanish solar. Our imagery faucets into that emotion.”

See how the precise electronic mail enhances La Machine’s pictures with a clear structure, heat colour tones, and a transparent CTA:

Now that we’ve coated why it’s essential to learn to design emails, let’s take a look at the particular electronic mail design finest practices you’ll be able to observe to construct profitable campaigns. 

17 important electronic mail design finest practices

I’ve seen compelling affords fail merely due to small design selections. A cluttered structure or misplaced button can negatively have an effect on your marketing campaign’s efficiency. One of the simplest ways to create layouts that improve engagement and conversions is to observe the e-mail design finest practices under.

1. Construct an electronic mail design system

I not design emails from scratch, and neither do you have to. Creating reusable electronic mail blocks saves you time, retains your emails constant, and builds model recognition. With a little bit of tweaking, you’ll be able to repurpose these parts to suit every electronic mail marketing campaign.

Listed below are some important parts to incorporate in your electronic mail design structure:

• Header blocks with emblem 
• Hero blocks for headlines or affords
• Product blocks with picture, value, and CTA
• Textual content blocks for brief explanations
• Assessment or testimonial blocks for social proof

It can save you layouts and content material blocks with Omnisend’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor. Right here’s a fast take a look at how Omnisend’s electronic mail builder works:

In the event you’d slightly see how a design system comes collectively, this walkthrough reveals how you can construct reusable electronic mail blocks, preserve layouts constant, and make fast edits with out ranging from scratch. It’s a sensible demo you’ll be able to observe alongside the information on this information:

2. Make your emails mobile-first

Based on a current examine, 41% of consumers open emails on their telephones. If the emails are onerous to learn or load slowly, they’ll ignore and even delete them. 

The most effective electronic mail design practices to keep away from that is to create mobile-first layouts. This implies designing emails that don’t simply look good but additionally load rapidly on smaller screens.

A mobile-friendly electronic mail design normally contains:

• Single-column layouts 
• Massive, tappable buttons 
• Gentle electronic mail photographs that load quick 
• Quick topic traces and replica

This electronic mail from Nguyen Espresso Provide is a superb instance of a mobile-first design:

Cell-first isn’t only a nice-to-have — it’s the distinction between an electronic mail that will get learn and one which will get deleted. This quick video reveals the quickest cellular checks to run earlier than you ship, so your structure, textual content, and CTAs keep friction-free on smaller screens:

3. Use one clear CTA

I see many manufacturers cluttering their emails with a number of CTA buttons. Once you give prospects 5 completely different selections, they find yourself selecting none as a result of they really feel confused. 

To drive clicks and conversions, you must use a single CTA that tells your prospects precisely what step to take. Use a big, brilliant, and visual button with clear copy, reminiscent of “Get Early Entry” or “Store the Drop.”

This electronic mail from Rael does exactly that. I really like the way it offers readers one clear path to observe with a single, distinguished “Enroll Now” CTA:

4. Construct each electronic mail round one main aim

Earlier than designing something, I ask myself: “What do I need my readers to do after studying this electronic mail?” The reply turns into the aim of my design.

When your electronic mail has a single clear aim, your design turns into extra targeted and extra prone to convert. 

Listed below are some electronic mail design tricks to construct goal-driven campaigns:

• Write compelling copy that aligns together with your goal
• Help your aim with clear visuals
• Take away something that distracts from the principle message

5. Preserve your electronic mail header easy

Your electronic mail header units the tone for all the design. If it’s outsized or cluttered, it would distract your prospects from the principle message.

In my expertise, easy headers work finest, and this strategy is per all electronic mail design finest practices I’ve encountered. You need your header to seize consideration and set expectations with out overwhelming the reader.

An awesome instance is that this header from Cheeky Bonsai. It solely contains the model’s emblem and a easy heading:

6. Use white house to information consideration

Once you overcrowd your electronic mail design, it turns into troublesome for readers to scan your electronic mail or perceive your message.

One of many electronic mail design finest practices I observe to keep away from that is utilizing white house strategically. White house attracts your buyer’s consideration to the principle message, making it simpler to learn, particularly on small screens.

The Sunday Collective makes use of white house successfully in its electronic mail. It guides the reader’s eye and achieves a clear, polished structure:

7. Create a transparent visible hierarchy

When a buyer opens your electronic mail, they need to know the place to look first with out having to look. That’s why constructing a transparent visible hierarchy is likely one of the best electronic mail design finest practices you must observe. 

A transparent hierarchy guides the reader’s eye by means of the e-mail and helps them perceive your message. The secret is to make use of dimension, colour, and placement to tell apart headlines, physique textual content, and buttons.

I really like how this electronic mail from Verb makes use of daring typography, contrasting colours, and a logical circulation to information its readers:

8. Optimize for Darkish Mode

Darkish Mode flips white backgrounds to black to cut back eye pressure. In the event you don’t design for it, your visuals and textual content could develop into troublesome to see or learn on a darkish background. 

Optimizing for Darkish Mode is likely one of the most vital electronic mail design finest practices you must keep in mind. This entails utilizing clear logos and pictures, checking textual content for distinction, and avoiding purely black backgrounds. 

You should utilize Omnisend’s electronic mail builder to preview and optimize your emails for Darkish Mode earlier than sending:

9. At all times preserve accessibility in thoughts

Accessibility is likely one of the electronic mail design finest practices I by no means skip as a result of it helps drive conversions and engagement. Everybody, together with folks with visible or motor challenges, ought to have the ability to learn your electronic mail simply. 

Listed below are a few of the finest electronic mail design practices for enhancing accessibility:

• Use clear, readable electronic mail fonts 
• Leverage intense, contrasting colours
• Write quick sentences and paragraphs 
• Add alt textual content to pictures
• Use clear, descriptive hyperlinks and buttons

10. Incorporate user-generated content material

Nothing builds confidence faster than genuine evaluations, pictures, and quotes from actual prospects who’ve tried your product. That is a kind of electronic mail design finest practices that helps scale back purchaser hesitation, improve belief, and maximize conversions with proof. 

For the perfect outcomes, place user-generated content material strategically so it stands out. Tie it to what the reader ought to do subsequent, reminiscent of claiming a suggestion or studying extra.

I like this electronic mail instance from Onsen as a result of it doesn’t oversell. It lets genuine buyer voices do the speaking. It additionally features a clear CTA:

11. Personalize the place doable

The most effective electronic mail design practices that constantly improves efficiency is electronic mail personalization. Once you communicate on to your prospects’ wants, they really feel valued and listen.

Even small private touches, reminiscent of utilizing prospects’ names in topic traces or electronic mail copy, can depart impression. To go additional, you’ll be able to tailor content material to your subscribers’ conduct, reminiscent of previous purchases or shopping historical past.

Bowy Made makes use of Omnisend to run common A/B checks on topic traces, reductions, and timing. The outcomes show that personalization is efficient. As Dallas from Bowy Made shared, a topic line like “Jessica, you left one thing behind” transformed 5-10% higher than a generic one. 

Right here’s an instance of a customized welcome electronic mail I bought from Bowy, despatched instantly after signing up:

12. Design for skimming

Most prospects gained’t learn your emails phrase for phrase. That’s why making a skimmable electronic mail is among the many essential electronic mail design finest practices I by no means skip. 

It helps readers scan for key phrases, daring headlines, photographs, and buttons to grasp your message rapidly. This ends in extra clicks, conversions, and electronic mail advertising and marketing ROI. 

I really like how this electronic mail from Brez makes use of clear headlines, high-quality visuals, and bullet factors to enhance scannability: 

13. Use web-safe fonts

Chances are you’ll be tempted to make use of trendy customized fonts, but when your buyer’s electronic mail app doesn’t assist them, your design will break. In case your emails are troublesome to learn, prospects will ignore them, leading to decrease engagement and conversions. 

That’s why I keep on with email-safe fonts that load quick, show appropriately throughout gadgets and electronic mail apps, and enhance readability. Examples of email-safe fonts embody: 

• Arial
• Helvetica
• Georgia
• Verdana
• Occasions New Roman
• Trebuchet MS
• Courier New
• Tahoma

14. Add motion with GIFs 

A little bit of movement can seize consideration faster than a static picture. For this reason I embody GIFs in my electronic mail design finest practices.

When used proper, GIFs information the attention, spotlight key parts, and add character to your design with out overwhelming the reader.

Right here’s how you can add GIFs to your emails appropriately:

• Preserve them quick and easy
• Guarantee they assist your key message
• Use small file sizes to make sure quick loading

I really like how this Nice Jones electronic mail makes use of a easy GIF to focus on the product with out distracting prospects from the message:

15. Be daring together with your visuals

In my expertise, refined design doesn’t all the time seize consideration in crowded inboxes. To cease prospects from scrolling, you want daring visuals that stand out immediately.

This helps you create an expertise that goes past phrases. You should utilize daring visuals for product launches or particular bulletins to evoke a particular emotion. 

See how Bored Cow makes use of a vibrant, attractive picture to speak its product’s style even earlier than you learn a single phrase:

16. Don’t overlook your footer

Including an electronic mail footer is an important a part of electronic mail design finest practices as a result of it enhances belief and guides your readers’ subsequent steps. I consider it as the ultimate place to catch a reader’s curiosity earlier than they shut my electronic mail. 

When including a footer, listed here are some finest practices for electronic mail design to observe:

• Add clear navigation hyperlinks and social media icons
• Embrace model particulars and speak to choices
• At all times add an unsubscribe hyperlink and your privateness coverage

This electronic mail footer from Verb contains the important data above. Nevertheless, what I really like most is the clear buttons that urge the reader to discover the model extra: 

17. A/B take a look at for finest outcomes

I’ve realized that even essentially the most stunning designs can fail in the event you’re writing emails based mostly solely on guesswork. A/B testing is likely one of the strongest electronic mail advertising and marketing finest practices to disclose your readers’ preferences.

You simply despatched out two variations of an electronic mail design to a small group. Then, see which one will get extra opens, clicks, and conversions. Some design parts you’ll be able to take a look at embody: 

• Topic traces
• CTAs
• Layouts
• Photographs

An awesome instance of profitable A/B testing is from CA Design. The model continuously checks and refines messaging types to extend open and click-through charges. 

“We continuously tweak our messaging based mostly on open charges, click-through charges, and unsubscribe charges. If one thing works, we double down on it,” Harry explains.

By means of testing, the crew found that textual content hyperlinks drove over 5 p.c clicks, in comparison with 1.5% from button-heavy emails.

Why the perfect electronic mail design feels easy 

The perfect electronic mail design needs to be straightforward to learn and perceive. This places the reader in a greater place to make choices. Every part out of your message and visuals to your CTA guides the shopper’s consideration and helps them take motion simply.

By following the confirmed electronic mail design finest practices above, you make it straightforward for readers to see your model’s worth. Furthermore, the important thing to higher engagement, clicks, and conversions is to check and refine your designs constantly.

Begin by making use of as many finest practices as doable and watch your outcomes enhance!

And only a small addendum on your comfort, when creating your distinctive emails, don’t overlook to save lots of customized electronic mail design templates as properly. You by no means know, once you come to want them.

If you would like a deeper, step-by-step watch all over, this webinar pulls the important thing rules collectively — structure, hierarchy, CTAs, and testing — and reveals how you can apply them in actual ecommerce electronic mail design workflows. It’s an excellent companion in the event you’re constructing a repeatable design course of for campaigns and automations.

E mail design finest practices FAQ