hi. I’m sending my posts as newsletter. But in the mail app on smaller iPhones the left and right padding of the texblock is huge. The textblock itself is very narrow. Is there a way to style this?
It looks normal on desktop Mail apps.
The email formatting needs a lot of help. It’s a lot more than a few padding issues. I use an external email system because of this.
I think it’s on the list of things that need some attention, but probably lower in priority because the emails are at least readable.
I’d love to know if someone else figured out how to hack those emails into shape. I just haven’t seen anything. And I’ve looked.
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I agree with @markwyner, the newsletter is bare, bare bones. For example, the way the articles appear in gmail is horrendous. However, I still use it simply b/c I don’t need another software tool in my life. Also, while lack of newsletter stats (like open rates and click-through rates) may be frustrating to some, I feel like it’s respecting my subscribers’ right to privacy.
Though I admit that I have been tempted at times to use something else.
Appreciate the feedback, everyone! Definitely want to improve the base style so emails look decent by default – can you all share screenshots / examples of some specific areas that need work?
Otherwise, there’s currently no way to customize emails, but maybe there should be. Is that something you all would like to see? E.g. custom CSS and/or layout just for emails?
I’d personally love a custom CSS box for emails. But that’s not even entirely necessary. If they were at least formatted properly for mobile/desktop clients, and were flexible for light/dark modes. That alone would go a long way for me.
I compiled some screenshots from of one of my articles as an HTML email. I captured it in two desktop clients and two mobile clients (labeled in the image). I truncated the mobile screens to save space. But you get the idea. Everything is really inconsistent across the board, and there are different issues in different places.
The HTML structures of emails needs to be wildly different than web pages built for browsers. But having a custom CSS field help us make great strides.
In addition to formatting, the emails don’t include a physical address. This is required by law. So it would be great to have a field to enter that for global use as well.
@matt there’s a lot to consider here. I’m not salty about this and understand why you went the route you did. I have respect for you and no frustration. I just chose an external system to get me where I want to be with these. However, if we could have some improvements in this space I’d likely move my list back here.
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I’d say take a look at the formatting of Medium posts when they are emailed. They are quite nice.
Making the typeface smaller in mobile inboxes and reducing the padding would definitely help in the short term. I would also be interested in having the option to mess around with the email styling.