Responsys, Inc, a provider of on-demand hosted Exchange email and cross-channel marketing solutions, has released Responsys 2011 Email Design & Coding Recommendations guide, which features content on design impact of smartphones and Facebook (News - Alert) Messages on e-mail marketing campaigns.

Best practices keep changing, so the company has assembled a list of updated design and coding recommendations to help ensure that HTML and text e-mails optimize the user experience and response, perform well on mobile devices, render properly in the widest array of e-mail clients, and achieve higher inbox deliverability rates.

"Due to a lack of standards, and spotty HTML and CSS (News - Alert) support, email design has always been considerably more challenging than website design," stated Aaron Smith, vice president of Campaign Services at Responsys. "Now, with the growing trend toward subscribers reading emails on mobile devices, there's a whole new set of design concerns."

"The rollout of Facebook's new messaging platform, Facebook Messages, will also start to significantly affect email design by boosting the importance of text e-mail design," commented Chad White, research director of Responsys.

"Facebook Messages displays the text version of an e-mail by default and we expect few subscribers to bother opening the HTML version. Marketers need to address this when planning their campaigns," White added.

The Email Design & Coding Recommendations guidelines include optimizing HTML e-mail components such as the pre-header, navigation bar, recovery module and footer, among others. The guidelines also include mobile-friendly file sizes, e-mail widths, button sizes and landing pages. There are also guidelines on elements to include and leave out of a text e-mail, and how to handle calls-to-action.

There is guideline on HTML and CSS coding to avoid and fixes to rendering issues caused by Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook 2007 and 2010, and the iPhone (News - Alert) and iPad.

"The email environment is always in flux, with consumer habits constantly evolving and ISPs regularly rolling out new innovations," states Ed Henrich, senior vice president of Professional Services at Responsys. "This guide provides up-to-the-moment guidelines and recommendations that will help email marketers adapt to the key changes that will dominate 2011."

Also, Responsys New School Marketing Vision, The Interact Suite and Marketing Services consistently provide customers the roadmap, marketing platform and expertise they need to increase revenue, customer engagement, cross-channel coordination, automation and efficiency.