Email Not Displaying Correctly in Gmail: Fix CSS Grid Broken Columns for Mailchimp for Editorial & Content Newsletters
Editorial newsletters rely on content layout readability and structural text spacing. If fonts default to Times New Roman or layout borders break, subscriber engagement metrics suffer. Below is the targeted integration guide to fix CSS Grid Broken Columns inside Gmail Web (Desktop) templates when using Mailchimp.
Technical Breakdown
CSS Grid is unsupported in Gmail Webmail, causing columns to stack vertically on desktop screens.
Mailchimp Behaviors
Mailchimp's classic template compiler injects custom inline attributes (like 'mc:edit') and automatic CSS reset sheets before delivery. If your fallback code includes head styling wrappers, Mailchimp's post-processing parser will strip media query priorities, breaking display rules in clients like iOS Mail and Gmail. The fallback table structures must have absolute styles inlined directly. Keep your editorial body clean. Strip redundant CSS class definitions using Vaporize to ensure the newsletter stays under Gmail's 102KB clipping ceiling.
Remediation Code Block
Always compile grid layouts using standard percentage-width or pixel-width nested tables aligned with the align='left' attribute. This acts as a responsive grid block that floats and adapts naturally to any viewport size. In your Mailchimp campaign manager, make sure you configure your links to run via *|UNSUB|*.
<table role="presentation" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
<tr>
<td width="48%" align="left" valign="top">Col 1</td>
<td width="4%"></td>
<td width="48%" align="left" valign="top">Col 2</td>
</tr>
</table>Live Code Sandbox Test
How to Deploy inside Mailchimp
Copy the fixed VML or table wrapper code block from the remediation box above.
Locate your campaign block inside Mailchimp. Drag a 'Code' block into your canvas workspace. Toggle the editor view to Source, paste the optimized code, and click Save.