Touch friendly design refers to creating emails that are easy to interact with on touch screen devices, such as smartphones and tablets. With a significant portion of users accessing their emails via mobile devices, it's crucial to ensure that your email content is easily accessible and navigable using touch gestures.
In today's digital age, more than half of email opens occur on mobile devices. If your email isn't optimized for touch screens, you risk frustrating your subscribers and diminishing engagement rates. Touch friendly design enhances user experience, making it easier for recipients to read, click, and interact with your content.
Several best practices can help you create touch friendly emails:
1. Optimize for Mobile: Use responsive design techniques to ensure your email adapts to different screen sizes. This includes using flexible layouts, scalable images, and legible fonts.
2. Larger Clickable Areas: Small buttons and links can be hard to tap on a touch screen. Ensure that your call-to-action (CTA) buttons are large enough to be easily clickable, typically at least 44x44 pixels as recommended by Apple.
3. Simplify Navigation: Avoid clutter and keep your design clean. Simplified layouts make it easier for users to navigate through your email without accidental clicks.
4. Readable Fonts: Use larger font sizes to improve readability on smaller screens. A minimum of 14pt for body text and 22pt for headlines is generally recommended.
5. Spacing and Padding: Ensure adequate spacing between touch targets, such as links and buttons, to prevent accidental clicks. This can significantly improve user experience, especially for those with larger fingers.
1. Tiny Text and Links: Small text and closely placed links can be difficult to read and click on mobile devices. Always test your emails on different devices to ensure readability and accessibility.
2. Non-Responsive Design: Ignoring responsive design can lead to a poor user experience, with users having to zoom in and out to read content. This can result in higher bounce rates and lower engagement.
3. Overloading with Content: Cramming too much content into a single email can make it overwhelming for mobile users. Break down your content into digestible chunks and use bullet points for better readability.
Testing is a crucial step in ensuring your emails are touch friendly. Here are some methods to test your emails:
1. Preview on Multiple Devices: Use email marketing tools that offer device previews to see how your email renders on different screens.
2. Conduct A/B Testing: Test different versions of your email to see which one performs better in terms of engagement and conversion.
3. Gather Feedback: Encourage your subscribers to provide feedback on their experience with your emails. This can offer valuable insights into areas for improvement.
Several tools can assist in creating touch friendly emails:
1. Email Marketing Platforms: Platforms like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and Campaign Monitor offer responsive design templates that automatically adjust to different screen sizes.
2. Design Software: Tools like Adobe XD and Sketch can help you design and prototype touch friendly emails before coding them.
3. Testing Tools: Services like Litmus and Email on Acid allow you to test how your emails render on various devices and email clients.
Conclusion
Creating touch friendly emails is no longer optional but a necessity in today's mobile-first world. By following best practices and leveraging the right tools, you can ensure your emails provide an optimal experience for all users, regardless of the device they use. This not only enhances user satisfaction but also boosts engagement and conversion rates.