For 2007, Microsoft chose to change Outlook’s HTML rendering engine from one based on Internet Explorer 6 to one based on Word. Outlook 2007 / 2010 / 2013Īsk any email designer which email client is the absolute worst and they’ll likely answer Outlook. For years, Outlook has been bundled into Windows OS software, which has ensured its widespread use in homes and businesses alike. Microsoft’s Outlook desktop client is the world’s most-popular by far. But as mobile readership increases, desktop might suffer a slight decline. While the market looks fragmented given the choices, actual usage is dominated by Outlook. Desktop Clientsĭesktop clients have been the traditional way to read email, as they’re heavily tied to business office environments. Here’s a breakdown of the most-used email clients. You can find dozens of email-client apps in iTunes and Google Play. With the increasingly rapid rise of mobile, a new arena for email clients has materialized. An email viewed in Gmail and Firefox can look quite different than one in Gmail and Internet Explorer 8. In addition to long-in-the-tooth desktop clients, web-based clients have issues which are two-fold: you’re forced to account for how the email client itself renders HTML and CSS, and also how the browser that client is viewed in renders HTML and CSS. Large, slow-to-update companies still have employees relying on outdated clients like Lotus Notes or Outlook 2000.

There are dozens of email clients, including some that have been around for decades.

Standards-based web design has brought most browsers into relative parity with each other, but the opposite is the true where email is concerned. Modern web designers must account for a handful of browsers when designing and building a website.

Top 10 email clients for windows