Sound familiar?
- Your newsletter looks fine in Mailchimp's preview and broken in Outlook
- Your logo disappears when a reader has dark mode on
- The whole email is one big image, so it's blank when images are blocked
- Gmail cuts the bottom off your newsletter with a 'Message clipped' link
- Every issue takes hours because there's no proper template
- Your emails don't look like your website or social posts
Key facts
- Newsletter templates designed at £45 an hour + VAT, quoted as a fixed price
- Built to a 600 px width, the default in Klaviyo and in Mailchimp's legacy builder; Mailchimp's new builder uses 660 px
- Images exported at double width (for example 1200 px) for sharp results on high-density screens
- Logos and icons prepared for dark mode, so they don't vanish on a black background
- Alt text written for every image, and key messages kept as live text
- Images saved in RGB as PNG, JPG or GIF, kept under Mailchimp's suggested 1 MB per image
- Layouts kept lean so Gmail doesn't clip the message
Why 600 px is still the width to design to
Email clients are far less consistent than web browsers. Outlook on Windows, Gmail in a browser, Apple Mail on an iPhone and a dozen others all render the same email differently. A fixed content width of about 600 px became the standard because it fits in a desktop reading pane without sideways scrolling and scales down cleanly on a phone.
The platforms still build around it. Klaviyo's help centre says every new template defaults to 600 px and advises against widening it unless a layout needs it. Mailchimp's help centre (checked October 2026) says its legacy templates are 600 px wide and its newer builder uses 660 px, and recommends images between 600 and 1200 px wide for legacy templates or 660 to 1320 px in the new builder. We design to the width your platform uses and export images at double size so they stay sharp on high-density phone and laptop screens.
Designing for dark mode
Many people read email with dark mode switched on, and email apps handle it in different ways. Some leave your design alone, some swap only light backgrounds for dark ones, and some invert colours fully. That's why a dark logo on a transparent PNG can disappear completely, and why a carefully chosen brand colour can turn into something you'd never approve.
We design with that in mind:
- Logos get a version with a light outline or a solid background panel, so they read on white or black.
- Icons and small graphics avoid thin dark lines on transparent backgrounds.
- Text stays as live HTML text wherever possible, because email apps can recolour live text but can't fix text inside an image.
- We check the template in light and dark mode before handover.
Alt text, live text and accessibility
Some readers have images switched off, and screen readers can't read text inside a picture. A newsletter built as one large image shows up as a blank box for those readers and is harder to use for everyone else. We keep headlines, prices, dates and buttons as live text, and use images for photos and illustrations.
Every image gets alt text that says what it is for, not what it looks like: "Spring menu, three courses for £25" is useful, "image1.jpg" isn't. Decorative images get empty alt text so screen readers skip them. We also keep body text large enough to read on a phone, use real buttons rather than images of buttons, and check colour contrast so text stays readable.
Mailchimp's help centre recommends saving email images in RGB, warning that CMYK images can break, and suggests a maximum of 1 MB per image. Lighter images also load faster on mobile data.
Avoiding Gmail clipping
Gmail clips messages whose HTML is over about 102 KB, showing the start of the email and a "[Message clipped]" link, as ActiveCampaign's help centre and other email platforms document. Anything below the clip, including your unsubscribe link and footer, may never be seen. Clipping is caused by the code, not the image file sizes, so the cure is a lean template: fewer nested sections, no pasted-in formatting from Word, and sensible limits on how many articles go in each issue.
We design templates with modular sections you can switch on and off, and we note a sensible maximum number of blocks per send.
What we deliver and what it costs
Email newsletter design is charged at £45 an hour + VAT. We quote a fixed price once we know the platform, how many section types you need and whether we're building the template in your account or supplying designs for your developer. You receive a master template, header and image assets, light and dark logo versions, and a short guide to writing alt text and keeping issues under the clipping limit.
Newsletters work best when they match the rest of your brand. If your colours and fonts aren't defined yet, see brand guidelines. For a matching sign-off on everyday emails, see email signature design. Product-led newsletters also benefit from clean product photography. Ask for a quote.
What you get
- A master newsletter template with reusable sections (header, hero, article, product grid, footer)
- Built directly in your Mailchimp or Klaviyo account, or supplied as design files for your developer
- Header, banner and icon images exported at 1x and 2x widths
- Light and dark-mode versions of your logo
- Alt text for each image and a note on writing it for future issues
- A test send checklist covering Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail
How it works and what it costs
Logos from £150, brochures from £295, photography from £295 a half day and CAD at £45 an hour, all + VAT. You get a fixed price before we start.
Tell us the brief
What it is for, who will see it, where it will be used and any examples you like. Rough is fine.
Fixed price
We confirm the price and what you get, in writing, before any work starts.
First designs
We design, shoot or model it and share the first version for your comments.
Refine
We make the changes, check every detail, and prepare the files properly for print, web or manufacture.
Final files
You get the finished files in the formats you need, ready for your printer, website, social channels or manufacturer.
Frequently asked questions
How wide should an email newsletter be?
Design to about 600 px. Klaviyo's templates default to 600 px, and Mailchimp's help centre says its legacy templates are 600 px wide while its newer builder uses 660 px. dijitul exports images at double width, such as 1200 px, so they stay sharp on high-density screens.
Can you design templates for Mailchimp or Klaviyo?
Yes. dijitul designs newsletter templates for Mailchimp and Klaviyo, either built in your account using the platform's drag-and-drop builder or supplied as design files and image assets for your developer. You can then create each issue yourself from the master template.
Why does my logo disappear in dark mode?
Usually because it's a dark logo saved as a transparent PNG, so on a dark background there's nothing to see. dijitul supplies a dark-mode safe version, with a light outline or a solid background panel, and tests the template in both light and dark mode.
Why does Gmail say 'Message clipped'?
Gmail clips emails whose HTML code is larger than about 102 KB, hiding everything after that point, including your footer. The fix is a leaner template and fewer blocks per issue. dijitul designs modular templates and gives you a sensible block limit for each send.
Do newsletter images need alt text?
Yes. Alt text is shown when images are blocked and read aloud by screen readers. dijitul writes alt text describing what each image is for, leaves decorative images with empty alt text, and keeps key messages like prices and dates as live text.
How much does an email newsletter template cost?
dijitul charges £45 an hour + VAT for email newsletter design and quotes a fixed price before starting. The price depends on your platform, how many reusable section types you need, and whether we build the template in your account or supply files.
Related
Get a fixed price
Send a rough brief. You'll know exactly what it costs before we start.