It may seem unusual and cumbersome to have arbitrary content in the header or footer of your email, but it is vitally necessary to include a hyperlink that directs consumers to a destination they may visit in the event that the email does not display properly in their inbox. Despite the fact that many emails read properly when viewed on a desktop computer, people who check their email on mobile devices are more likely to experience difficulties. This is simply because mobile devices come with certain restrictions already programmed into them.

It is more important than ever to provide customers with an alternative viewing option, especially for those who are unsure how to change their inbox settings to allow links and images to render properly upon opening an email. Considering that mobile devices account for 43% of all email opens, it is more important than ever to provide customers with an alternative viewing option.

Engagement

You should take steps to ensure that your customers will be able to read the emails you send them because a staggering 57% of email subscribers spend between ten minutes and an hour per week on average reading marketing emails. In the event that this is not the case, then they will undoubtedly erase your message and proceed with as little to no involvement as possible. Because of this, not only is the overall engagement rate reduced, but also the number of conversions and the amount of money that is brought in is diminished.

Errors in the formatting of emails

Receiving an email that has formatting and rendering issues is one of the things that can be the most frustrating for a customer. Although it’s possible that some companies skipped a step in the process of creating their emails, the majority of the time the problem is caused by the email service that your customers use.

Because of potential security risks, the inboxes of many email platforms are preconfigured automatically to hide images and image hyperlinks. Nevertheless, this makes it more difficult for customers to view the email, and let’s face it: not everyone has the time or the knowledge to go through their email settings and make changes.

It is essential to have a hyperlinked text option because of this reason. It should be sufficient to hyperlink a single line of text in the majority of instances in order to direct a viewer to your email through their browser. It is a quick and easy solution to a problem that can be rather annoying.

This sample, provided by Adobe Creative Cloud, demonstrates a widespread formatting problem that many users of mobile devices, and yes, even many users of desktop computers, experience. The picture that is hyperlinked on the right may be viewed as a damaged image and a broken link in the example that is shown on the left. Adobe did a fantastic job of bringing in the alternative language; but, in order to explain why the link is necessary and why readers shouldn’t reject the email, Adobe needed to include some context.

Where exactly does one often find a link like this?

Now that you understand why it is necessary for you to include a link that says “View this email in your browser,” it is time to start thinking about where you would put the link inside your email. Because the majority of marketing emails make innovative use of HTML design, it might be difficult to include this linked text in your email without it seeming out of place among the other elements of your design.

The good news is that there isn’t a particular place where this link should be placed. This indicates that you have a variety of alternatives available to you for including it into the main body of your email or only adding it to the message’s header or footer. In order to help you get started, we have included a few samples taken from real life down below.

Header

Email marketers often decide to add the URL that instructs recipients to “View this email in your browser” in the email’s header since doing so assists in drawing attention to the message. The beginning of the vast majority of emails include some kind of white space, which helps a hyperlink stand out without requiring any more work on the sender’s part. When people are angry because an email does not display properly and they are seeking for a fast and easy remedy, this is a terrific option for them.

The hyperlink that reads “View this email in your browser” can be found in this particular example provided by Bed Bath & Beyond. It is positioned right below the company’s brand name and is aligned to the left side of the email. Because people often read from top to bottom and left to right, this makes a lot of sense from a design standpoint. In the event that the customer opens this email and it does not display properly, they will immediately be able to see where they may go to see the communication in its full.

Footer

The footer is the second most common spot for the “View this email in your browser” hyperlink to be placed after the header. The footer of an email is often where all of the crucial information that does not directly connect to the message is put. Some examples of this kind of material include:

• Email preferences
• Promotional information
• Terms of use
• Privacy policies
• Options for unsubscribing
• Information about the brand, such as its legal address and other details

Even if it makes perfect sense to include the “View this email in your browser” hyperlink in this part, doing so might nevertheless lead to some confusion for an annoyed reader. This is especially true if the hyperlink is crammed in between a lot of other little content. The important thing is to make sure that the URL that says “View this email in your browser” stands out.

Goodreads does an excellent job of drawing attention to their hyperlink by putting it in a separate section of the email from the other information that is pertinent to it and giving it its own line separated by white space.

In-body

In closing, it is important to note that you have the option of inserting the hyperlink for “View this email in your browser” anywhere inside the body of your email message itself. Because it might be challenging to include it into your overall design without drawing attention away from your content, this kind of thing does not occur nearly as often inside the header and footer as it does within the body of the page.

On the other hand, Rue21 does an excellent job of incorporating a hyperlink that instructs recipients to “View this email in your browser” inside the main body of their email messages. They did not create it as a separate line of anchor text that was hyperlinked to the online version of the email; rather, they hyperlinked it to a navigation bar that was included inside their email.

This is great since it still stands out, but it may be challenging if the email client had trouble displaying the block that was used as the navigation bar. The designer of this email should have this navigation bar annotated with alternate language that tells users where they may go in the event that the email does not display correctly. This is a worst-case situation.

Best practices

When it comes to include a hyperlink in your email that says “View this email in your browser,” there aren’t any best practices that should be followed as a general rule. We’ve previously spoken about the typical locations for the link, and although the subject line, body, and footer of your email are all acceptable locations for it, you need to make sure that it doesn’t distract from the content and that it’s easy to find.

Alternative labels

There are a few other alternatives to the common “View this email in your browser” line that may be used to make your email and/or the voice of your company seem better. Although companies often use this line, there are other lines that can be used instead. These choices include the following:

• View in browser
• Check out the emails here
• See the complete email here 
• See more
• View online
• Check out the attached pictures in this email
• Display text
• View Brower

Even while the phrasing of your hyperlinked content may not seem to be all that important, it really is. There have been instances in which companies have merely hyperlinked the term “browser,” leaving receivers unclear as to the function of the link. Before deciding on the language to use, you should always check to make sure that the target audience can readily comprehend the function of the link.

Wrap up

Marketers are aware of the significant function that the hyperlink “View this email in your browser” plays in not only ensuring that their content is viewed but also in the total level of consumer engagement. Customers may be unaware of the significance of this hyperlink.

Even while the hyperlink that says “View this email in your browser” is an essential component of the email, it does not have to play a particularly big role in the design of the email as a whole. Having stated that, the following is a short review of the locations where you may add this link:

• The email’s header information
• Email footer at the bottom
• Within the main portion of the email’s content