KGSetting width on VML button?
Hi all!
Been spending a few weeks trying to prove to my ESP I'm not going mad/ no what I'm talking about.
They've recently introduced "bullet proof" buttons which are really handy and don't require any fiddling in the code to add the link so can be used by anyone in the team.... however the feature was updated to include VML for Outlook the problem being that out of the box the width is set at 620 and can only be altered in the code. This means all buttons default to 630 width in outlook.
Is it possible to have a more fluid button in VML or am I going to have to buckle and nest the button in a fixed width cell? Or are VML buttons more pain than they're worth?
Our mailings can be to up to 60% Outlook so this has to be the key consideration!
thanks
Hi Kevin,
I haven't used VML buttons in awhile due to the link-tracking issues, but if memory serves you cannot have a fluid VML button, a width must be defined. You'll have to alter the width in the code each time you want to change the width.
Quoting Jason Rodriguez from a Litmus blog post: "Another drawback is that you are forced to declare specific dimensions for the width and height of the button. Changes to the copy of the button then requires manual changes to the dimensions of the button, making the process quite tedious and unscalable." https://litmus.com/blog/a-guide-to-bulletproof-buttons-in-email-design
Not the answer you wanted, but you could also shift to one of the other button styles which are easier for non-email nerds to update.
Thanks Nathan,
I've started a bit of a battle with the ESP on this one who made the change and won't accept my Litmus images as proof there's an issue . I'll have to go back to my own buttons until they revert to the non-VML style.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!