Should I use images in emails?

An image-heavy email looks stunning on your computer. You hit send with confidence. Then your recipient opens it on their phone, and all the images are blocked. Now they're staring at broken pictures and no text context. What looked good became unreadable.

This is the core problem with images in email. Your client's email software blocks them automatically. Gmail proxies them through Google's servers. Outlook users see "Download pictures" prompts. Spam filters also scrutinize emails heavy on images and light on text. They're suspicious of it.

But That doesn't mean skip images entirely. Images absolutely boost engagement when you use them right. Product photos build trust. Brand imagery reinforces identity. The key is balance and backup.

But Here's how to use images safely. Never send an image-only email. Always include meaningful text that stands on its own if images don't load. Always add descriptive alt text to every image. Host images on a reliable CDN with HTTPS. Keep your text-to-image ratio balanced. If most of your email is pictures, you've lost readers who can't see them. Test how your email looks with images turned off. That's the moment of truth. If it's unreadable, rebalance your content.