HTML Email with WYSIWYG Editor?

Radhika Venkata (c)


Webmasters are looking for an easy way of sending HTML emails
to their subscribers. This option leads to implementation of
HTML editors in to autoresponder interfaces.

With these interfaces webmasters can type html directly in the
editor and save the message.

All these html editors are called WYSIWYG editors. Means
'What You See Is What You Get'. So in graphic interface you create
the layout, the editor creates html code for you.


So far so good ... Then what is the problem?

WYSIWYG editors add too much junk code to the content. This
increases the size of the html email compared to hand written
html code.


See the example here: ( . was added to disable html tags)

<.P.><.FONT face=Verdana.><.STRONG.>LINE ONE OR PARAGRAPH ONE<./STRONG.><./FONT.><./P.>
<.P.><.FONT face=Verdana.><.STRONG.>LINE TWO OR PARAGRAPH TWO<./STRONG.><./FONT.><./P.>
<.P.><.FONT face=Verdana.><.STRONG.>LINE THREE OR PARAGRAPH THREE<./STRONG.><./FONT.><./P.>
<.P.><.FONT face=Verdana.><.STRONG.>LINE FOUR OR PARAGRAPH FOUR<./STRONG.><./FONT.><./P.>


<.FONT face=Verdana.><.STRONG.>
LINE ONE OR PARAGRAPH ONE<.BR.><.BR.>
LINE TWO OR PARAGRAPH TWO<.BR.><.BR.>
LINE THREE OR PARAGRAPH THREE<.BR.><.BR.>
LINE FOUR OR PARAGRAPH FOUR<.BR.><.BR.>
<./STRONG.><./FONT.>


Tips using WYSIWYG editors:

1. Go through the code once to clean up junk html like metatags, unnessary
font tags etc.

2. Use minimal tables and graphics.

3. Check the urls of the graphics.

4. Use a template with clean layout and use it to input content.

5. Use Basic editor even if you are given to use option for Advanced editor.
This way you confined to basic html tags.

A very good article is located here which explains what will be inserted
by WYSIWYG editors and how to take care of it:
http://webtips.dan.info/wysiwyg.html