Animated GIFs

Adding animation can encourage customer engagement and animated GIFs in email can provide that bit of extra interest.

Overview

Animated GIFs can add visual interest, movement, and personality to marketing emails. When used thoughtfully, they help convey emotion, demonstrate product features, or draw attention to key areas like CTAs. However, they must be optimized carefully to avoid performance issues or deliverability risks.

Why?
  • Grab Attention: Motion draws the eye and helps guide user focus- Provides context: Helps clarify vague or short subject lines
  • Tell a Story: Useful for showcasing features, steps, or transformations
  • Enhance Branding: Reinforce tone or delight with personality
  • Drive Engagement: Can increase click-through rates when aligned with a clear CTA

Best Practices

Animated Gif Art
Do this
  • Keep file size under 1MB, ideally under 500KB, to prevent slow loading or clipping
  • Make the first frame count, some email clients (e.g., Outlook for Windows) only display the first frame of a GIF
  • Ensure the first frame contains essential info (like your CTA or headline) in case animation doesn’t play
  • Use animation to enhance your message—not just for decoration
  • Avoid looping distracting animations unless it’s subtle (e.g., blinking cursor, soft fade)
  • Avoid flashing/strobing content that could trigger seizures or migraines
  • Limit animations to 3 flashes per second or fewer.
Don’t do this
  • Use GIFs just for decoration or filler
  • Embed full-resolution or uncompressed GIFs
  • Put critical messaging only on later frames
  • Loop high-speed, repetitive animations that distract
  • Embed as attachments
  • Assume animations work the same everywhere

Questions?

Connect with the DLS Team on Slack or by email.

Resources

Check out additional resources.