A Little About Email...

... and Me!

Finding an experienced email developer these days can feel like hunting for a needle in a haystack—and there really isn’t a substitute for someone who knows the ins and outs of email development. Not long ago, marketing emails were often handed off to junior web developers as if they were an afterthought. Despite generating significant traffic—often more than traditional channels—email was overlooked. Only when companies realised how much revenue was coming from email did it finally get the attention it deserved.

By 2010, consumer email took center stage. Retailers saw its potential for driving sales and engagement, pairing email campaigns with product launches, discounts, and other promotions. Even with limited resources, revenue soared because email reached customers where websites couldn’t. Suddenly, email development went from being the “ugly stepsister” of marketing to a skill people actually wanted to learn.

A community of dedicated email developers soon formed, sharing code, tips, and plenty of frustration along the way. With fewer resources than web developers, they relied on experimentation and collaboration to figure things out. I was originally a web developer, but I fell in love with email and never looked back.

Email is constantly evolving. One day, everything looks great in Gmail, and the next day an update ruins your carefully crafted design. Email clients rarely give advance notice when they change how they render emails, so developers and businesses have to scramble. Even now, I don’t often meet web developers who can confidently build a fully deliverable HTML email—it’s an entirely different skill set.

Why is it so different? Two words: web standards. Web browsers generally follow guidelines laid out by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which means web developers can trust that their designs will look (mostly) consistent across Firefox, Chrome, and other browsers. Email, on the other hand, is like the Wild West: each of the 60+ email clients—across desktops, laptops, tablets, and phones—renders HTML in its own way. Add in different operating systems and email service providers that strip out code, and you’ve got a recipe for chaos.

That’s why experienced email developers are in short supply. We know email is personal; it drops right into someone’s inbox, which means it has to be compliant, built with integrity, and solid enough to land there every time. When it’s done right, it’s one of the most effective marketing tools around.

If you’ve read this far, thanks for sticking with me. I think I’ve earned a well-deserved break—how about you?