If you communicate to the B2B market, particularly large professional services firms and many Global 2000 companies, HTML email compatibility has long been a thorn in your side.
The issues include:
Older versions of Lotus Notes (under R5) convert HTML emails to a Lotus Notes Rich Text format. Lotus Notes versions under R5 also do not recognize multi-part messages (HTML and text combined in a single email).
Some companies may be deploying later versions of the Lotus Notes client, i.e., R6, but using an older version of Lotus Notes/Domino server such as 4.6. In this example, the recipient’s email client would also render an HTML message incorrectly.So for a recipient to view a properly rendered HTML email, a company must deploy both the Lotus Notes client and server of R5 and above.
Here are some quick tips you can take if you have a significant Lotus Notes subscriber base:
Include a link at the top of HTML emails “View Web Version” - the link sends recipients to a Web-hosted HTML version of the email (either on the email technology provider’s server or the sender’s server).
Also include an “Update Preferences” link - and provide a Web site update form that then enables recipients to choose to receive Text rather than HTML.
Create complete Text versions for those who prefer not to receive HTML or cannot view HTML.
On opt-in forms, include an option to receive a Text version and potentially list tips (i.e., “If you are using Lotus Notes versions below R5, select Text”).