Why Are Email Images Not Displaying in the Recipient’s Inbox?

If the images in your email are not displaying correctly for your recipients, there are several possible causes. This guide covers the most common reasons and how to fix them.

1. The Recipient's Email Client Blocks Images by Default

Many email clients — including Outlook, Gmail, and Apple Mail — block images from loading automatically until the recipient manually allows them. This is a privacy and security feature and is outside your control.

What you can do:

• Always add descriptive alt text to every image in your campaign. Alt text appears in place of a blocked image and tells the reader what the image shows.

• Design your email so that the content still makes sense even if images do not load. Use a healthy balance of text and images.

• Avoid emails that are entirely made up of images with no text — these are more likely to be filtered as spam and will look completely blank if images are blocked.

2. The Image URL Is Broken or No Longer Exists

If you have hosted an image externally and the URL changes or the file is deleted, the image will no longer load in your sent emails.

When you upload images through the Mailzzy email editor, they are hosted on Mailzzy's servers. This ensures your images remain accessible after sending. Avoid linking to images hosted on unreliable third-party sites.

3. The Image File Is Too Large

Very large image files can cause slow loading or display errors. As a general rule:

• Compress images before uploading to keep file sizes manageable

• Use web-optimised formats such as JPEG for photos and PNG for graphics

• Aim to keep individual image files under 1 MB where possible

4. The Email Is Being Viewed in Plain Text Mode

Some recipients have their email client set to view messages in plain text only. In plain text mode, images do not display at all. This is another reason why your email content should not rely entirely on images to communicate your message.

5. Your Email Was Flagged as Spam

Emails that land in spam or junk folders often have images blocked or stripped entirely by the receiving mail server. If your images are missing for multiple recipients, it may be a sign that your campaign is being filtered. Review our guide on Why Are My Emails Going to Spam? for steps to improve your inbox placement.

Best Practices for Images in Mailzzy

• Always upload images through the Mailzzy email editor to ensure reliable hosting

• Add alt text to every image during the design stage

• Test your campaign across multiple email clients before sending

• Use a healthy text-to-image ratio — at least 60% text to 40% images is a good starting point