1. Mar
    31

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    Email templating crash course

    Today I was working on some email templates, I had my beautiful design ready since last week, the only thing left to do was code it and send out some spiffy emails to customers. No problem, a little css and html later, my nifty new email template was ready to use… NOT. It would just look weird in hotmail, parts missing in gmail, would’nt show up at aol… you get the picture.

    So I was back in textmate trying out code… these are a few design tips for email design:

    - Keep your design as simple as possible
    - Don’t use background images
    - Embed the necessary css directly to the tags using the style attribute
    - Don’t go overboard with div’s

    Once I was done with the new, simpler design I had to go back and test around, here are some coding tips you should keep in mind:

    - Most email providers strip out everything outside the <body> tag
    - Don’t use <style> elements
    - Don’t use <link> elements

    Provider specific notes:

    Gmail

    Gmail wont support these css tags: background-image, background-position, background-repeat, bottom, clear, clip, cursor, display, filter, float, font-family, height, left, listy-style-image, opacity, position, right, top, visibility and z-index.

    So that practically rules out most of the css you would use to make something nice. This is why my first step was to make something really simple.

    Hotmail

    They wont support: background-position, border-spacing, caption-side, empty-cells, filter, list-style-position, margin, opacity and position

    Yahoo

    The soon-to-be-bought provider won’t support the following: background-position, list-style-position and position.

    In conclusion, between the three providers we’re ruling out most of the everyday css rules we would normally use, so basically I would recommend using css for a bit of styling and some color here or there but don’t rely on it. (hey, I’m not pusing you into usign tables =P).

    My suggestion, as I said earlier, go for something simple, and test it while you’re working on it, beware of email clients too, they don’t speak good css (ahem outlook… ahem).

    Filed Under design


  2. Mar
    27

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    Help me decide on a new computer

    I sold my three month-old laptop last week, I just got tired of Vista and the company I work for gave me a brand new mb pro so no need to have two lappies. Now, I never want to touch Vista again… ever. I’m serious. Here are my choices: a brand new 20″ , 2Ghz, 2Gb ram, 250gb iMac OR I could screw the iMac and build myself a monster rig with XP on it.

    Pros on the iMac: beautiful, fast, runs leopard =)

    Cons on the iMac: not easily upgradeable (if at all), apple doesn’t provide warranty in my country, pricey for my budget

    Pros on the Custom rig: cutting edge, easily upgradeable, will last for years to come, lots of options and parts to choose from, cheaper than the iMac

    Cons on the Custom rig: Windows, lots of cabling involved, windows

    I’m a web developer, I love linux too but I need Windows or OS X to run adobe suite.

    You decide the fate of what my next pc will be…

    Filed Under random


  3. Mar
    26

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    As seen on your local css gallery

    Wow I was browsing around my site stats and I noticed I was featured in welovewp.com and cssclip.com. Thanks guys for adding my site to your galleries! Oh and welcome all new visitors!

    Filed Under design, random


  4. Mar
    6

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    Tooble: My New Favorite App

    I downloaded tooble a couple hours ago , it has already become one of my favorite Mac apps. It lets you search youtube, pick some videos then it will download them for you an add them to your iTunes movie library, so the next time you sync your iPod or iPhone, bam! Youtube videos on the go.

    I highly recommend giving it a try. It’s the perfect complement for my new nano.

    Filed Under apple, software