Why are there limitations to a customised design - even for a Joe?
A custom Joe template allows for a lot of possibilities. But - unfortunately - not everything is possible.
Newsletters must be well-displayed in all email clients. For modern email applications such as Apple Mail and Thunderbird, there won't be a lot of problems; they can do almost as much as webbrowsers. However, there are less options for older email clients. Outlook in particular is known for its limited display options.
In other words, each email client and device sets conditions to a newsletter template. This causes limits for the design and the use of background images, videos, forms, and javascript.
Limits to the design
Maximum width of 620 pixels
When reading a newsletter, it will almost never take up the entire screen. To the side, there are columns with folders, overviews of other emails, calendars, etc. Therefore, it is common practice to keep the width of your newsletter to 620 pixels or less. This prevents emails from being wider than the window they are displayed in, which means a part will get cut off, and your subscriber has to scroll horizontally.
No exact element placement
It is not possible to indicate the exact location of an element (such as an image) in a newsletter (block).
Difference in text display
Each email clients displays text in a slightly different way. Both the space between the letters and the line spacing vary. This causes the length of the text to vary, and it might mean that columns outlined perfectly in one email client, may be offset in another.
Limits to font use
Many email clients can only display fonts that are available on the recipient's computer. Safe choices are Arial, Times New Roman, Verdana, Georgia, and Courier New.
It is possible to use fonts like Calibri and Tahoma. In that case, you do need to choose an alternative (for instance Tahoma, and if that is not available: Arial).
Some modern email clients give the option to display so-called web fonts. These are fonts that are read when viewing the newsletter on the internet. Google has a nice collection of free fonts you can use: https://www.google.com/fonts.
Using a web font also requires you to choose an alternative from the list of safe fonts.
Limits to using background images
You can use an image as a background. But there are limitations to this. For instance, Outlook cannot prevent the image from repeating itself on the outside of the newsletter. When using a background image in the midsection of the newsletter (the blocks), the height cannot be made variable in Outlook.
Limits to video display
There are only a few email clients that can display videos directly in a newsletter. The far majority of email clients does not have this option. Those clients can distort the display of the video.
For this reason, the default option is to show a preview of the video with a play button over it, the way you see on YouTube. This gives subscribers the feeling of a video in a newsletter. When they click the preview, subscribers will end up on a website that starts the video instantly.
When filling a custom template - both Charlie and Joe - this is very simple. You only need the right YouTube or Vimeo link; our program will automatically find the right preview and will place a play button over it.
Limits for using forms
Many email clients do not display forms. And sometimes they are displayed, but don't work. In general, it is not advised to include a form; but as with any rule, there are exceptions.
No use of javascript
For security reasons, newsletters do not allow for javascript. That is unfortunate, because javascript can be used to dynamically insert web pages.