What’s the truth about using images only in email?

Image-only emails are a significant deliverability risk. Filters treat them with suspicion because spammers historically used images to evade text-based content analysis.

When an email contains nothing but images, filters cannot analyze the actual content. This looks like deliberate obfuscation. The text-to-image ratio becomes critically unbalanced, triggering rules designed to catch this pattern.

Beyond filtering, image-only emails fail for users too. Many email clients block images by default until the user approves. An image-only email appears completely blank to these recipients.

Best practice is to use live text for critical content and images for visual enhancement. Always include alt text for images and provide a plain text version of your email.

An image is worth a thousand words, but filters need to read some of those words. Balance visual appeal with scannable content.