Outlook Email Broken Layout Fix: Resolve Max-Width Constraint Collapsing for WCAG Accessibility Violations
Accessibility failures prevent screen readers from navigating templates, isolating disabled subscribers and increasing unsubscribe rates. Below is the targeted integration guide to fix Max-Width Constraint Collapsing inside Outlook 2021 templates when using Brevo (Sendinblue).
Technical Breakdown
Outlook 2021 uses the Microsoft Word (MSO) which lacks support for standard rendering rules. This causes Max-Width Constraint Collapsing elements to break or collapse when rendering templates.
Brevo (Sendinblue) Behaviors
Brevo's rendering system injects inline spacing helpers to support their responsive editor, which can cause column overlaps in Outlook. Using explicit table alignments is required. Inject correct table roles (role='presentation') and keep color pairings above the WCAG AA contrast threshold of 4.5:1.
Remediation Code Block
To secure design widths, always wrap your layout inside a parent table with a static, hardcoded HTML width attribute (e.g. width='600') targeting Microsoft clients using conditional comments. In your Brevo (Sendinblue) campaign manager, make sure you configure your links to run via {{ unsubscribe }}.
<!--[if mso]>
<table role="presentation" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="600">
<tr>
<td>
<![endif]-->
<div style="max-width: 600px; margin: 0 auto;">
Centered Layout Content
</div>
<!--[if mso]>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<![endif]-->Live Code Sandbox Test
How to Deploy inside Brevo (Sendinblue)
Copy the fixed VML or table wrapper code block from the remediation box above.
Open Brevo's template canvas, select the element you wish to configure, click 'Edit HTML' or insert a standalone 'HTML' content block, and paste the code.