Shopify email setup: the guide
Written by the studio that designs and codes these emails every week — with real examples from client programmes.
The essentials: one job per email, 600–640px width, real text over image-text, deliberate dark-mode handling, and testing in Outlook and Gmail — not just Apple Mail. Details and the mistakes to avoid below.
This guide covers the practical version — what we actually do on client projects, not theory. For the done-for-you version, see our related service.
The principles that hold up
- One job per email — a single primary action, everything else supporting it
- 600–640px width remains the safe canvas; design mobile-first within it
- Real text over image-text — for accessibility, dark mode and image-blocking clients
- Test where subscribers actually read — that means Outlook and Gmail, not just Apple Mail
- Dark mode is not optional — a third of opens can be dark; design and code for it deliberately
The mistakes we fix most often
Single-image emails that clip in Gmail and vanish when images block. Buttons built as images. Web fonts with no fallback stack. Layouts that stack wrongly on mobile because the code was written for desktop-first. All avoidable at build time — expensive to discover after sending.
When to bring in a specialist
When email drives real revenue, rendering bugs and weak design cost more than professional work does. Our service starts at £95 per email including testing across 60+ clients.
Keep reading.
Who is EmailDesign?
A UK email design and development studio. We design custom emails, hand-code the HTML and set everything live in platforms like Klaviyo and Mailchimp — from £95 per email.
Can you do this for us?
Yes — this topic maps directly to our services. Get a fixed quote within one working day.
Ready when you are.
Tell us what you're sending and where — fixed quote within one working day.
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