ContactMonkey allows you to use your organization's proprietary fonts in email templates for consistent brand identity. This premium feature requires setup by our team and coordination with your IT department.
Before You Request Custom Fonts
Custom fonts have significant technical limitations that affect how recipients see your emails. Review these requirements carefully before proceeding:
Email Client Compatibility
- Gmail: Does not support custom or web fonts. Only displays standard fonts like Google Sans and Roboto
- Outlook 2007-2016: Does not retrieve fonts from the web. Custom fonts only display if physically installed on the recipient's computer
- Mobile devices: May not display custom fonts unless the font is pre-installed on the device
What This Means for Your Emails
Because of these limitations, most recipients will see your fallback font instead of your custom font.
Choosing Your Fonts: Recommended Limits
For consistent email branding, keep your font choices minimal:
- Font families: 1–2 maximum. Use one primary typeface for body text and a second only if you need contrast for headings or accents. Going beyond two tends to look inconsistent and can create rendering issues across email clients.
- Font weights: 2–3. Typically, a regular (400) for body text, a bold (600 or 700) for emphasis and headings, and optionally a medium (500) or light (300) if your hierarchy needs it.
Why These Constraints Matter
Using more than two fonts or three weights often leads to several branding "sins":
- Visual noise: Too many styles compete for the reader's attention, making the call to action harder to find
- Rendering issues: Outlook is notorious for reverting to Times New Roman if it gets confused by complex font stacks
- Load speed: Each weight is a separate file download. If an email takes more than 2 seconds to render, users often delete it.
The underlying principle: fewer, intentional choices read as more polished and professional than a wider variety.
What You'll Need
From Your IT Team:
- Font file in .ttf format
- The regular weight version of the font
- Confirmation that all users (senders and recipients) have full licensing rights
- A fallback font selection (standard web-safe font that displays when the custom font doesn't render)
Tip: Choose a fallback font that closely matches your custom font's style and weight for the most consistent appearance.
How to Request Custom Font Setup
Contact your Customer Success Manager with:
- The font file (.ttf format)
- Your chosen fallback font
Our team will implement the custom font and notify you when it's available in your Email Builder.
Troubleshooting
Custom font not displaying in your browser while building templates? Download the .otf version of the font file to your local device. This typically resolves browser rendering issues during the email creation process.