Verizon Webmail Client Upgrade

When an ISP changes their webmail interface I sometimes cringe anticipating more advertising, poorer support for CSS and other nuances that will drive any HTML designer bonkers. In the case the new Verizon 2.0 email client the overall feel is sleeker with less advertising to interfere with user's interaction and email reading experience.

Verizon's new email client roll over started around March 24th, 2010 and is an ongoing roll out. The new client has removed the top banner, enlarged the overall nav bar and adopted a "modern" look and feel.Designers now have more "headroom" to play with. Since the top banner has been removed and replaced with a thicker navigation bar, that isn't as tall top to bottom as the old navigation bar + ad banner, there's more "above the fold."

The image above shows the new client on the left and the old client on the right. This list view clearly shows the extra space that now exists top to bottom. The same is true for when you click into a message, the content of the email is placed higher up now that the top banner is gone.

Most emails are already designed with the assumption that the space, top to bottom, is limited. This should not embolden the creators of emails to push down their branding or calls to action. Rather, designers should continue to top load the upper most parts of an email with intelligent branding and calls to action.

The new Verizon email client, called 2.0, is an all-in-one client interface that incorporates rich media and allows users to watch videos online, manage various service offerings from Phone to TV and Internet in addition to checking mail. Users should find this consolidation of services a benefit and it appears to be the way ISPs are going when you consider a similar merging and new portal that was released by Comcast toward the latter part of 2009.

Cheers!
Len Shneyder
Director of Deliverability & Messaging
Unica | Pivotal Veracity