Answer by DaveC

I'm going to assume you mean the SQL Server Central newsletter, as this site does not have one (I'm also going to assume that's what you mean by site changes, as there hasn't been any site development). TL;DR The new design reflects actual physical reality. The long version: The format has changed because the world has changed in the 7 years since the old newsletter design was first used. We could design assuming our readers were using Outlook, but that's not the case now (we have numbers on this - the decline is huge, and it is continuing). Now we have to design for desktop, a whole host of different webmail services, and mobile and tablet. Each has different standards, each renders HTML subtly differently. Outlook has appalling HTML rendering. It's dire. And because of this all HTML emails are built in tables. Back before we needed compatibility across 30+ devices, we could allow for a non-defined width and it would render with a considerable amount of testing and refinement (it was also made simpler by Outlook using IE to render HTML - since 2007 it has used the rendering engine in Word). No longer the case. The old email design rendered badly in a lot of more modern clients, and so it was decided that we needed to replace it, as around 50% of our readers are no longer reading on a desktop client, and that number is steadily growing (this is something I actively monitor). Outlook ignores the majority of styling, unless it's inline styling. This means doing clever things like responsive design is out of the window, so having a newsletter that scales according to screen size isn't possible to maintain across all platforms. Outlook's awful rendering means that we can either ignore Outlook altogether (sadly, from my point of view, not an option), or tether everyone else's experience to Outlook. That's what we do and it's what anyone else sending HTML emails does. Look at any HTML email you get - if it's anything more complicated than an order confirmation, it will be in a fixed-width table of 600 - 700 pixels wide. This is because this width renders reliably on Gmail and mobile devices. It also means that there is a single known variable, which makes testing actually possible, as opposed to just guessing. It is also a width that displays in the preview pane of Outlook - most people do not read email fullscreen. So, to reiterate, the new design is not there to pander to one particular group of users. It is there to work for ALL readers. It is the format it is in because of the ludicrous restrictions placed by Outlook and its antiquated HTML rendering engine, coupled with the need to have it work reliably on 30+ other clients. If making design decisions that reflect the world we live in, hard data about how people read what we do, industry-standard best practices and so on are not enough of a "voice of reason" for you, then I can only apologise. If you'd like to learn more, here are some resources: http://htmlemailboilerplate.com/ http://24ways.org/2009/rock-solid-html-emails/ http://www.graphicmail.com/site/articles/resources_article_design_temp_tips.aspx http://templates.mailchimp.com/development