E-mail Text Standards

University identity

Always identify the University of Minnesota. The text part of a message must contain the words "University of Minnesota." If a unit name is provided in the message (e.g., at the top of message body to identify the sender), the unit name must be followed by "University of Minnesota." For example:

University Relations
University of Minnesota

Dear Alumni,
…

Text format

Changing text sizes and excessive use of bold, italics, or uppercase lettering makes messages less readable. All uppercase words are considered SHOUTING, and bold and italicized sentences, rather than individual words, can be distracting.

Underlining

No text should be underlined in e-mail. Underlines may be confused for linked text.

Centered text

Message text should generally be left-aligned. Messages with large amounts of centered text, or multiple changes in alignment throughout the message, become more difficult to read.

Font choice in HTML e-mail

Fonts may be specified for the HTML portion of an e-mail. Recommended fonts are the same as those specified in the Web templates: Verdana and Arial. Alternative font choices can be made; see the HTML typography section of the Web Standards.

Define text size in HTML e-mail

Text size in mass e-mail should be defined using absolute sizes at the highest possible level. For example, the University e-mail templates use an absolute text size of 12 pixels for the table cell that contains the main body content, and most elements within the table cell inherit that size. When styling elements within the table cell, relative sizes may be used for those elements that inherit the absolute size.

Differences in e-mail clients, particularly between Web and desktop-based clients (e.g., Thunderbird compared with Gmail) can greatly affect the rendering of text in messages. Webmail clients display messages based on the webmail's style sheets. If you haven't defined the text style in your message, the webmail's text styles may be inherited into your e-mail message.

Text size in text-only messages is defined by the recipeint's e-mail client.

Message length

Most of us receive far more e-mail than we have time to read. Successful e-mail messages capture a reader's interest with a good subject line followed by a short, to-the-point message.

Link to more information on a Web site rather than tell your entire story in an e-mail.