can't we just make it an image?

When I first started in email, the conversation I had over and over again with stakeholders was this: How do we get the button to be “above the fold”?

Fast forward to today, and the version of that conversation I keep having is:
Can’t we just make the whole thing an image?

It’s a fair question—especially from folks outside the email world. Image-only emails are still out there, and on the surface, they seem simpler.

Both conversations are rooted in the same instinct: the desire to control exactly how an email looks across every screen, every client, every environment.

And I get it. Live text can introduce perceived complexity. Spacing may shift. Design might not match the Figma file pixel for pixel.

But designing fully image-based emails is a short-term fix with long-term problems.

So let’s talk about it—why live text matters, and how to communicate that to the stakeholders in your process who might not see it the same way.

Why Live Text Matters

Live text isn’t about making life harder, it’s about making email work better—for the user, for performance, and for scale.

Here’s it matters:

• Deliverability: Emails with all images are more likely to get flagged as spam. Many spam filters are looking for a healthy balance of text and imagery. If your entire message is baked into a single image, that balance is gone.
  
  

• Accessibility: There are a lot of tools out there that help people read emails more comfortably—like screen readers, or settings that increase font size on their phone. But when all your text is baked into an image, those tools can’t do their job. That means users with different visual needs or disabilities are left out of the experience. And accessibility isn’t one-size-fits-all—different people rely on different tools. Live text gives your email the flexibility to meet them where they are.
  
  → Learn more: 28% of your audience can’t read your emails – Here’s why
  
  

• Load Failures: Some inboxes will block images by default. Others load slowly or not at all on weak connections. If your entire message is an image and that image doesn’t load— you’ve said nothing. 
  
  

• Flexibility: Live text allows for dynamic content—personalization, localization, even conditional logic. Have a loyalty program and want to tell someone how many points they have? That’s live text.
  
  

• Email size: Image-only emails tend to be heavier, and that can cause problems. Larger emails are more likely to clip in Gmail, and can even push you over file size limits. Live text helps keep things lightweight and fast, which makes for a better experience across the board.

Bring Stakeholders Along

If explaining the tradeoffs isn’t enough—you can always show them. Here are a few ways to make the case for live text more tangible:

• Run a test. Put the debate to the test—literally. Create one version of your email that’s fully image-based, and another that uses live text (even if it’s not pixel-perfect). Then compare performance: clicks, conversions, load times, deliverability. Data is hard to argue with.
  
  

• Show a live proof. Take an all-image email and recreate it using live text. Yes, the design might shift a bit—but the benefits you get back (accessibility, responsiveness, personalization, speed) are worth it. When stakeholders see the tradeoffs side-by-side, the conversation usually shifts.
  
  

• Bring receipts. Share examples from other brands—especially ones your stakeholders admire. Show how top-performing companies in your space are using live text effectively. It helps reframe the conversation from “we’re sacrificing design” to “we’re building smarter emails, just like the best in the game.”

The next time you find yourself in a conversation about full-image vs. live text emails, hopefully this can be a resource.

It’s not about being rigid—there’s a happy medium with images and text. Understanding the tradeoffs (and explaining them clearly to folks outside the email bubble) can help you make smarter choices, protect performance, and future-proof your work.