You've spent hours designing the perfect email — and it looks stunning in Gmail, Apple Mail, and mobile inboxes. But open it in Outlook, and it’s completely broken. Sound familiar? Outlook is notorious among email developers for its inconsistent rendering, poor CSS support, and unpredictable layout behavior. In this guide, we'll uncover exactly why Outlook breaks HTML emails — and how you can fix it with proven techniques used by professionals at Templyft.

Why Outlook is So Problematic for HTML Emails

Most versions of Outlook (especially Outlook 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2019) use the Microsoft Word engine to render emails. This engine was designed for documents — not modern web code — so it lacks support for many CSS properties and HTML elements.

Key Problems with Outlook:

• Doesn't support modern CSS (e.g. flexbox, position, float)
• Renders HTML using MS Word, not a browser engine
• Has limited support for padding, margin, and background images
• Ignores or misinterprets media queries and inline styles
• Inconsistent support across desktop and mobile versions

Common Outlook Rendering Issues & Fixes

1.Broken Layouts / Misaligned Columns

Problem: Div-based layouts and CSS grid structures don’t render.

Fix: Use table-based layouts only. Nest

elements for complex grids. Avoid float, position, or flex.

          
            <table width="600">
              <tr>
              <td width="300">Column 1</td>
              <td width="300">Column 2</td>
              </tr>
              </table>
            
          
        

Always test nested layouts in Outlook desktop clients.

2.Background Images Not Displaying

Problem: CSS background images don't render in Outlook.

Fix: Use VML (Vector Markup Language) code blocks as a workaround.

          
            <!--[if gte mso 9]>
            <v:rect xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" fill="true" stroke="false"
            style="width:600px; height:200px;">
              <v:fill type="frame" src="background.jpg" color="#cccccc"/>
              <v:textbox inset="0,0,0,0">
            <![endif]-->
            
          
        

Combine with a solid background color for fallback.

3.Padding & Margin Not Working

Problem: Padding and margin behave inconsistently.

Fix: Use table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> and nested spacing instead of relying on CSS margin.

          
<td style="padding: 20px;">Content</td>
        

Avoid relying on shorthand CSS (like margin: 20px auto;) for Outlook.

4.Font Rendering Looks Different

Problem: Outlook replaces fonts or displays them poorly.

Fix:

• Use web-safe fonts like Arial, Georgia, Verdana
• Use inline styles for all typography
• Avoid Google Fonts or external stylesheets

          
<td style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Text here</td>
        

5.Buttons Not Centered or Broken

Problem: Button alignment and spacing break in Outlook.

Fix:Use table-based bulletproof buttons, not CSS-styled tags or s.

          
            <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
              <tr>
              <td align="center" bgcolor="#007BFF" style="padding: 12px 24px;">
                <a href="#" style="font-size: 16px; color: #ffffff; text-decoration: none;">Click Here</a>
                  </td>
                </tr>
              </table>
            
          
        

Always use inline styles and test all buttons across email clients.

Testing Outlook Rendering the Right Way

You can’t rely on your local browser preview. Use dedicated email testing platforms to see how your emails appear in real Outlook environments:

• Litmus
• Email on Acid
• PreviewMyEmail

At Templyft, every email template is tested across all major versions of Outlook before delivery.