Why does “single large image” design hurt deliverability?

Single-image emails-where the entire content is one sliced or unsliced image-trigger spam filter suspicion because spammers use this technique to hide text from filters. Legitimate senders rarely send emails with zero readable text.

Problems beyond filtering: Image blocking renders the email completely blank. Accessibility failure-screen readers find nothing. No searchable content in recipients' inboxes. Slow loading on mobile connections. Dark mode disasters with no text to invert properly.

This is a solved problem: don't do it. Use live text for headlines, body copy, and CTAs. Use images to enhance, not replace, content. Even beautifully designed image-based emails fail too many recipients to justify the aesthetic preference. The email that works for everyone outperforms the beautiful email that fails for 30%.