Hexadecimal vs. RGB Values in HTML Emails
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We had a recent question in our forums regarding which clients support hexadecimal vs. RGB values so I figured I would publish the results of my research to our blog as well.
In summary, it is best to avoid using rgb(255,0,0) values when developing HTML emails. Long hex (#F00F00), Short hex (#F00) and colors (red) are supported in all the email clients I tested.
What I found interesting is that some clients support RGB colors on fonts but not in backgrounds or borders. I should point out that I used inline CSS in all of my testing.
The clients that do NOT offer full support for RGB values are: Hotmail, Lotus Notes 6.5, 7 and 8.
Font Color Test
| Web | ||||
| Short Hex (#F00) | Long Hex (#F00F00) | RGB(255,0,0) | Color Name (red) | |
| AOL Web | y | y | y | y |
| Gmail New | y | y | y | y |
| Hotmail | y | y | y | y |
| Yahoo (Classic) | y | y | y | y |
| Yahoo (Current) | y | y | y | y |
| Yahoo (Beta) | y | y | y | y |
| Desktop | ||||
| Short Hex (#F00) | Long Hex (#F00F00) | RGB(255,0,0) | Color Name (red) | |
| Entourage 2004 | y | y | y | y |
| Entourage 2008 | y | y | y | y |
| Live Mail | y | y | y | y |
| Lotus Notes 6.5 | y | y | y | y |
| Lotus Notes 7 | y | y | y | y |
| Lotus Notes 8 | y | y | n | y |
| Lotus Notes 8.5 | y | y | y | y |
| Mac Mail | y | y | y | y |
| Outlook 2003 | y | y | y | y |
| Outlook 2007 | y | y | y | y |
| Outlook 2010 | y | y | y | y |
| Outlook Express | y | y | y | y |
| Thunderbird 2 | y | y | y | y |
| Thunderbird 3 | y | y | y | y |
| Mobile | ||||
| Short Hex (#F00) | Long Hex (#F00F00) | RGB(255,0,0) | Color Name (red) | |
| Android 2.2 | y | y | y | y |
| Android Gmail 2.2 | y | y | y | y |
| iPad 3.0 | y | y | y | y |
| iPad Gmail | y | y | y | y |
| iPhone 3.0 | y | y | y | y |
| iPhone Gmail | y | y | y | y |
Border Color Test
| Web | ||||
| Short Hex (#F00) | Long Hex (#F00F00) | RGB(255,0,0) | Color Name (red) | |
| AOL Web | y | y | y | y |
| Gmail New | y | y | y | y |
| Hotmail | y | y | n | y |
| Yahoo (Classic) | y | y | y | y |
| Yahoo (Current) | y | y | y | y |
| Yahoo (Beta) | y | y | y | y |
| Desktop | ||||
| Short Hex (#F00) | Long Hex (#F00F00) | RGB(255,0,0) | Color Name (red) | |
| Entourage 2004 | y | y | y | y |
| Entourage 2008 | y | y | y | y |
| Live Mail | y | y | y | y |
| Lotus Notes 6.5 | n | n | n | n |
| Lotus Notes 7 | n | n | n | n |
| Lotus Notes 8 | y | y | n | y |
| Lotus Notes 8.5 | y | y | y | y |
| Mac Mail | y | y | y | y |
| Outlook 2003 | y | y | y | y |
| Outlook 2007 | y | y | y | y |
| Outlook 2010 | y | y | y | y |
| Outlook Express | y | y | y | y |
| Thunderbird 2 | y | y | y | y |
| Thunderbird 3 | y | y | y | y |
| Mobile | ||||
| Short Hex (#F00) | Long Hex (#F00F00) | RGB(255,0,0) | Color Name (red) | |
| Android 2.2 | y | y | y | y |
| Android Gmail 2.2 | y | y | y | y |
| iPad 3.0 | y | y | y | y |
| iPad Gmail | y | y | y | y |
| iPhone 3.0 | y | y | y | y |
| iPhone Gmail | y | y | y | y |
Background Color Test
| Web | ||||
| Short Hex (#F00) | Long Hex (#F00F00) | RGB(255,0,0) | Color Name (red) | |
| AOL Web | y | y | y | y |
| Gmail New | y | y | y | y |
| Hotmail | y | y | y | y |
| Yahoo (Classic) | y | y | y | y |
| Yahoo (Current) | y | y | y | y |
| Yahoo (Beta) | y | y | y | y |
| Desktop | ||||
| Short Hex (#F00) | Long Hex (#F00F00) | RGB(255,0,0) | Color Name (red) | |
| Entourage 2004 | y | y | y | y |
| Entourage 2008 | y | y | y | y |
| Live Mail | y | y | y | y |
| Lotus Notes 6.5 | n | n | n | n |
| Lotus Notes 7 | n | n | n | n |
| Lotus Notes 8 | y | y | n | y |
| Lotus Notes 8.5 | y | y | y | y |
| Mac Mail | y | y | y | y |
| Outlook 2003 | y | y | y | y |
| Outlook 2007 | y | y | y | y |
| Outlook 2010 | y | y | y | y |
| Outlook Express | y | y | y | y |
| Thunderbird 2 | y | y | y | y |
| Thunderbird 3 | y | y | y | y |
| Mobile | ||||
| Short Hex (#F00) | Long Hex (#F00F00) | RGB(255,0,0) | Color Name (red) | |
| Android 2.2 | y | y | y | y |
| Android Gmail 2.2 | y | y | y | y |
| iPad 3.0 | y | y | y | y |
| iPad Gmail | y | y | y | y |
| iPhone 3.0 | y | y | y | y |
| iPhone Gmail | y | y | y | y |
As you can see, my primary focus was on hexadecimal vs. RGB and I used inline CSS. I will research background colors and images – defined by inline CSS vs. HTML attributes in another post.
Author: Kyle Lapaglia
Author: Kyle Lapaglia
2 thoughts on “Hexadecimal vs. RGB Values in HTML Emails”
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“In summary, it is best to avoid using rgb(255,0,0) values…”
If the conclusion that only a small % cannot use RGB values, therefore the rest of the world shouldn’t use RGB values…? isn’t a summary, but rather an opinionated statement on how to incorrectly use these facts that you’ve gathered.
The actual statement should be… “Don’t color BORDERS with RGB. else using them is fine all over, with the exception of the .04% of users who use outdated email programs such as Lotus.
I think the conclusion, as always, is for us to figure out what meets our needs. If you are sending business to business emails, Lotus may be holding you down to full hex values. If you have a .01% Lotus user base, then it probably isn’t a big deal and you can use RGB color codes.