About this Outlook Templates email template

The Project Brief Outlook email template is built specifically for Microsoft Outlook compatibility — Outlook 2016, 2019, 365 desktop, and Outlook on the Web. Outlook is the trickiest email client to design for: the desktop versions render HTML using Microsoft Word, which doesn't support modern CSS like flexbox, grid, or background images. SmartMailing's AI-generated Outlook email templates are hand-coded with table-based foundations, mso-conditional comments where needed, and tested specifically in the Word-based renderer that breaks 80% of "modern" templates.

When to use this Outlook template

Best practices for Outlook email templates

• Use table-based layouts. Outlook desktop uses Microsoft Word as its rendering engine; flexbox and grid don't work.
• Inline all critical CSS. `<style>` blocks are partially supported; inline styles are the only safe path for layout.
• Avoid background images on buttons — Outlook strips them. Use solid-color table cells with VML fallback if you need a colored button.
• Stick to web-safe fonts (Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Georgia). Custom fonts fall back to Times New Roman, which often breaks the design.
• Use mso-conditional comments for Outlook-only fixes. They let you target Outlook with code that other clients ignore.
• Test specifically in Outlook 2016 — it's the version with the most rendering quirks and accounts for ~5% of the global Outlook install base.

How to customize this Outlook template

1. 01

   Describe the email

   Tell SmartMailing what kind of message it is. The AI generates Outlook-tested HTML with table foundations and proper VML fallbacks.

2. 02

   Brand it

   Apply colors, fonts, and logo. Brand profiles save the settings so every Outlook template stays visually consistent.

3. 03

   Save as Outlook template (.oft)

   Open Outlook → New email → paste the HTML or import the .htm file → File → Save As → Outlook Template (.oft). Reuse from New Items → More Items → Choose Form → User Templates in File System.