Animated images in emails
Animated GIFs are supported in most email clients and can be an effective way to add movement to an email, demonstrating a product feature, showing a transformation, or drawing attention to a call to action. Like any design choice, they work well when used with purpose and poorly when overused.
When animation adds value
- Demonstrating a product in action, a GIF showing how something folds, opens, or works is more communicative than a still image.
- Showing a transformation, before/after comparisons, assembly sequences, or reveal effects.
- Highlighting a call to action, a subtle animated arrow or button can draw attention without being distracting.
- Seasonal or celebratory messages, a simple festive animation adds personality.
When to be cautious
- Purely decorative animation without additional meaning can distract from your message rather than reinforce it.
- Large GIF files slow email loading, especially on mobile connections. Keep animated GIFs under 1MB where possible.
- If your email already contains a lot of content and visual complexity, adding animation increases cognitive load.
Email client support
Most modern email clients display animated GIFs correctly, including Gmail, Apple Mail, iOS Mail, and Android. The main exception is Outlook 2007–2019, which shows only the first frame of an animated GIF as a static image.
Attention Design animated GIFs so the first frame works as a complete, meaningful static image. Never rely on later frames to communicate the core message. Outlook users will only ever see the first frame.
File size
Animated GIFs get large quickly. Keep them under 1MB, ideally under 500KB. To reduce file size: limit the number of frames, reduce the image dimensions, limit the colour palette to 64 or 128 colours, and crop to show only the relevant area. Tools like Ezgif (ezgif.com) are specifically designed for optimising GIF files.
How to add an animated GIF
Animated GIFs are added the same way as static images in all three editors. See "Add an image" for the step-by-step instructions. The animation plays automatically in the preview and in email clients that support it.
Pro tips
- Test your animated GIF in Message Check before sending. The preview shows how the image renders in Outlook and other clients, so you can verify the first frame looks acceptable as a static image.
- If you're sending to a list where a significant portion of contacts use Outlook 2007–2019, consider whether the animation is worth it, those contacts will always see a static image.
Common mistakes to avoid
- A first frame that is blank, partially loaded, or uninformative. Outlook 2007–2019 users will see only this frame, make it count.
- Animated GIFs over 1MB. Large files slow loading for everyone and may cause your email to be clipped by Gmail.
- Using animation just because you can. Animation that adds no informational or emotional value to your message is a distraction.
Next steps
- See "Add an image" for how to insert images in each editor.
- See "Why your media files should stay under 2MB" for file compression tools and techniques.
- See "Message Check" for testing how your email renders across email clients.