Anatomy of a template

Creating an email template can feel a bit like setting up a new space. Whether it’s a home, an office, or even a store, each section serves a unique purpose and, in terms of the email, can make or break the experience for your readers. So, let’s dive in and break down the parts of an email template with a handy analogy - building your own house.

Header, body and footer

Every email template is divided into three main areas, much like different parts of a house serve different functions.

Header

This is the first part of the email your subscribers will see when they walk in - very much like a foyer. The header should include your logo at the very top to let your readers know immediately who the email is coming from and to create brand recognition. You can include a greeting and maybe a little introduction on the topic of your campaign, setting the tone.

Body

The main living area or a living room - the body of your email is where the most important content is showcased. Your subscribers should spend most of their time reading this part. This is where you put your primary message or offer, the part you want readers to focus on the most. It can include your most important CTA or the main announcement.

Footer

The footer is where you store all the important and useful items - in this case, your information and our required merge tags. Think of it like the utility room or basement, it’s essential but doesn’t steal the spotlight. Here, you’ll add your unsubscribe link, postal address, and other details like your social media links. Remember to add a sign-off at the end!

Building your email

Rows

Let’s start with the rows - the foundation and walls of your house. Rows in an email template create the structure and layout, defining where content will sit in your email. You should insert them in your template first to set up the layout. In our editor, you can choose from six different row layouts.

Content Blocks

Once you've got rows sitting in your template, it's time to insert content blocks.

Think of content blocks as the items you put into each room - a sofa, coffee table, or desk, bringing each room to life. In an email template, content blocks could be images, text, buttons, dividers, and many more. Each block has its purpose and brings personality to your template while providing your subscribers with the valuable content they're expecting from your campaigns.

Global settings

Global settings are like the overall design style you choose for your house. Picking a colour scheme, choosing furniture, or deciding if you want an edgy or minimalistic look – this also applies to designing your template. These design choices set the tone for the entire email, making everything feel cohesive and consistent while showcasing your brand.

Here are the options available in the global settings section:

Brand styles – you can edit your brand here. Clicking the Edit brand button will take you to the branding page, where you can edit your brand's settings. You can also reset all the global settings to brand styles, which will update the logo, button colours and default fonts.

Whole email settings – these settings set the aesthetic of your email. You can later edit the header, body and footer with more specific options for variety. We advise keeping your content width at 600px for best rendering across different email providers and devices.

Header – you can set the background colour for the header section of your template.

Body  – the styling settings for the body section of your email. Since the body is where most of the content will be placed, more styling options are available. You can edit the background colour or image of your email's body, choose the default font family and colour, as well as its size and styling – bold or italic.

Footer – the same as the header, you can set the background colour of your footer here.