Using an image as a background for a table in an email: tips and tricks

Hello to all Stack Overflow enthusiasts!

Our team at Stack Overflow runs a newsletter where we aim to provide valuable content to our users. In order to make our newsletter more engaging, we are looking to include an image with text as a header.

Due to the vast personalization options we offer for a large user database, we require a dynamic text overlay on top of the image. This will help us tailor the content to each individual user.

Currently, we are exploring different options that are supported by most email clients for displaying images with text overlays. One of the ideas is to use the table's background-image property, but we have heard that it may not work well in Outlook.

As a fallback solution with widespread client support, we are considering generating the image server-side and including it as a graphic file. We want to ensure that our newsletter renders correctly across all email platforms. What would be the simplest way to implement this alternative if the other methods fail?

If you were in our shoes, which approach would you take? Your insights and suggestions are highly appreciated. Thank you!

csshtmlemailbackground-imagehtml-email

Answer №1

When working with background in Outlook, VML is the key component to consider. To personalize a table cell by adding an image, you can use the following code snippet: 

 <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td background="[IMAGE GOES HERE]" style="background:url('[IMAGE GOES HERE]'); background-image: url('[IMAGE GOES HERE]');">
  <!--[if gte mso 9]>
  <v:rect xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" fill="true" stroke="false" style="width:[ADD WIDTH OF IMAGE];height:[ADD IMAGE HEIGHT];">
<v:fill type="frame" src="[IMAGE GOES HERE]" color="[FALLBACK COLOR]" />
<v:textbox inset="0,0,0,0">
  <![endif]--> 

[HTML CONTENT HERE]

<!--[if gte mso 9]>
</v:textbox>
  </v:rect>
  <![endif]-->
  
  
  </td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Before your VML rendering works correctly, make sure to adjust these values:

  • Change images accordingly
  • Adjust fallback color
  • Alter VML height and width as needed

Please note: Content within the VML container must fit properly to avoid overflow issues that may not be visible. Take this into account when implementing. Also, experiment with using arcsize for rounded corners.

We hope this information helps with your query.

Answer №2

Unfortunately, CSS background images do not work in OUTLOOK. Instead, you can use VML as a workaround solution.

An example of how to achieve this using VML:

<table>
    <tr>
        <td background="https://image.freepik.com/free-vector/abstract-background-with-a-3d-pattern_1319-68.jpg" width="150" height="150">
            <!--[if gte mso 9]>
            <v:image xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" 
                style='width:150px;height:150px;position:absolute;bottom:0;left:0;border:0;z-index:-3;' 
                src="https://image.freepik.com/free-vector/abstract-background-with-a-3d-pattern_1319-68.jpg" />
            <![endif]-->
            <p>Insert your content here</p>
        </td>
    </tr>
</table>

Check out some examples for more guidance:

Example 1

Example 2

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