You will learn
Learn best practices for sending images and GIFs in text messages so that they display nicely to recipients.
When creating an MMS message, you want to make sure to include high-quality media looks as good as possible. However, different types of phones and mobile networks can affect how an image or GIF looks on a recipient’s phone.
Note that when you add an image or GIF, the message becomes an MMS automatically. Further, MMS are not available for all sending number types. If they are available, they count as more sends than an SMS.
Supported media types
Klaviyo supports the following media types for MMS messages:
- PNG
- JPEG
- GIF
Images
You can use either PNG and JPEG images. Ideally, the image shape should be square or as close to square as you can get it.
The image’s aspect ratio should be around:
- 3:2 for landscape
- 2:3 for portrait
Anything more than that, and the image can become too wide or tall. While the full image will still send, the thumbnail shown on the recipient’s phone (and in the preview in Klaviyo) may cut off the edges of the image. Your subscribers would need to click the image to view it in full. This doesn’t make for a good user experience, as they may not realize that they need to click and thus will not get your full message.
In addition, we recommend keeping the image file size under 600 KB.
Any larger, and the image may be compressed and thus distorted due to carrier constraints. Further, if a message has an image exceeding 600 KB, the message may not be delivered.
GIFs
A good size for GIFs is 480x480.
Similar to images, it’s important to use ones that are close to being square. If they are too wide or tall, they could be cut off, and recipients would need to click to expand to get the full experience. GIFs for MMS do not support sound.
Keep GIFs under 600 KB to ensure they won’t be transcoded and compressed for carrier compatibility when sent. This ensures that recipients see the GIF the way you want it to appear in the highest quality possible. If the GIF is over 600 KB, the message may not be delivered.
Additional resources
- Learn about the differences between MMS and SMS
- Find out how to create and send an SMS or MMS campaign