The image optimisation tool in Mail Designer 365 is a great way for you to ensure that your images are the ideal size and resolution for your email design.

Many problems can arise from images which have not been optimised: If images are too big, they will take longer to load for your recipients and the longer it takes for images to load, the less likely it is that your email will be read. To avoid this, Mail Designer 365 automatically applies the optimal settings to your images. Here's how:

Image Optimisation

To get started, click on the image you want to optimise. This will open the style menu. Click on "Edit link and background."

Now select "Optimise Image."

In the optimisation window you can choose a file type for your image from the dropdown menu:

PNG images support transparency and are great for simple images with text. They are lossless, so tend to have larger file sizes for photos and complex images. Mail Designer 365 applies additional PNG crushing algorithms to shrink the file size.

JPEGs support lossy compression, so you can manually adjust the quality level and get really small files sizes. Careful though: if you go too far the image quality will suffer! Text can also appear "speckled" or noisy at lower quality settings. JPEGs also do not support transparency, so transparent or empty areas in an image will be filled in white.

If in doubt, you can select "Smart" and Mail Designer 365 will choose the best option for you.

Depending on which file type you choose, your image will be optimised by Mail Designer 365 to reduce file size. For JPEG images, you can also adjust the quality of your image with the slider.

We recommend sticking with the settings automatically applied by Mail Designer 365, as these will be the optimal settings for your email design.

Once you are happy, click "OK" to apply the settings to your image.

You can enjoy full creative control over your images in Mail Designer 365 with help from the cropping tool.

Image cropping

To begin, drag an image into an image area within your design.

Click on the image and then click on the blue crop icon in the bottom left corner.

Drag the corners of the image to crop into your desired size.

You can then reposition and resize the image to your liking.

Don't worry if you change your mind about the crop. Simply click on the blue crop icon again and drag to undo your changes.

Unsplash Image Integration

Using Unsplash

Unsplash integration is a quick and convenient way to insert license free photos into your email designs. There are two ways to access the Unsplash library. Firstly, if you click on an image area, this will automatically bring up our Unsplash collection in the "Style" menu in the sidebar. This collection contains images which we have handpicked as influence for your email designs.

You can also access the Unsplash library via the "Contents" menu by clicking on the "Backgrounds" tab. Here you will also find our curated collection.

You can use Unsplash to search for a keyword or phrase of your choice to find a specific image fitting for your design. In the search bar, enter a search term (in this example we have used "Ice") and hit enter to search.

Inserting Images to Your Design

To use an Unsplash image as a featured image in your email design, simply drag and drop your chosen image into an image area, where you can then edit and resize to your heart's content.

To use an Unsplash image as a photo background, drag and drop your chosen image into the background area of your design.

You can edit the background (i.e. zoom in or out of the image) by double clicking on the background area of your design.