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If you create an e-mail utilizing a drag-and-drop or module-based instrument, you’re truly producing an HTML e-mail.
As a marketer, you’ve most likely in contrast HTML emails versus plain text emails and realized that every sort has completely different advantages.
HTML emails aren’t inherently higher than plain textual content emails, and in several conditions, each sorts may be a part of a profitable email marketing program.
On this article, we’ll cowl how one can get began creating HTML emails, no matter your expertise stage and luxury with coding, and share some free templates you need to use. Let’s dive in.
Plain Textual content vs. HTML Emails
There are two fundamental kinds of e-mail you may ship and obtain: plain textual content emails (these are precisely what they sound like — any e-mail that incorporates simply plain previous textual content with no formatting) and HTML emails, that are formatted and styled utilizing HTML and inline CSS.
HTML emails are simple to identify — a lot of the styled, multimedia advertising emails in your inbox are HTML emails.
Right here’s what an HTML appears like on the entrance finish. Click on on the HTML button to see the code behind it.
See the Pen HTML Email Template from HubSpot by Christina Perricone (@hubspot) on CodePen.
The best way to Create an HTML E-mail
Excellent news: You truly don’t must know the best way to code to create an HTML e-mail.
Most instruments that create and ship e-mail (like HubSpot) will supply pre-formatted, ready-to-go HTML templates that allow you to design emails with out ever needing to entry the precise code on the again finish.
As you make modifications within the e-mail editor, these modifications will likely be robotically coded into the ultimate product.
E-mail-building instruments like this are a super possibility for those who don’t have an e-mail designer in your group, however you continue to wish to ship professional-looking advertising emails.
Professional tip: Need assistance with the content material of your e-mail? HubSpot’s Campaign Assistant can create a custom-made first draft in just some clicks— so you may get again to the enjoyable half.
Nonetheless wish to create an HTML e-mail from scratch?
In the event you’re snug with HTML and wish extra direct management over the code of your emails, most e-mail instruments will can help you import HTML files directly to be used as customized e-mail templates.
There are all kinds of free HTML e-mail templates out there on the internet (a few of which we’ll share under), and if your approach round an HTML file, it’s often fairly easy to adapt the template to the email-building instrument of your selection.
If you wish to discover ways to create an HTML e-mail template fully from scratch, you’ll must have a sophisticated data of HTML (or work with a developer who does).
This guide provides a stable overview of coding a fundamental HTML e-mail.
As a result of the method of making an HTML e-mail from scratch may be fairly concerned, we suggest working with a developer or utilizing a pre-made HTML e-mail template as a substitute.
Growing an HTML e-mail particularly for HubSpot?
If you wish to know the best way to create an HTML e-mail template particularly to be used in HubSpot, you’ll wish to be sure you embody the required HubL tokens (these guarantee your emails may be custom-made and are compliant with CAN-SPAM legal guidelines).
Yow will discover an entire guide to coding HubSpot-specific HTML email templates here. Or alternatively, simply use our easy what-you-see-is-what-you-get email editor.
HTML E-mail Greatest Practices
- Make certain your HTML e-mail is responsive for various display sizes and gadgets.
- Make certain your styling works in several e-mail shoppers.
- Take heed to how lengthy your HTML emails take to load.
- Plan (as a lot as you may) for end-user inconsistencies.
- Conduct thorough testing.
Now that you just perceive the fundamentals of what goes into creating an HTML e-mail, let’s go over just a few necessary finest practices it’s best to have in mind.
It doesn’t matter what technique you propose to make use of to discover ways to create an HTML e-mail template, these finest practices will assist enhance the design, consumer expertise, and deliverability of your emails.
1. Make certain your HTML e-mail is responsive for various display sizes and gadgets.
The best way your e-mail appears in a consumer’s inbox depends upon all kinds of things.
One of many greatest and most evident components is the display dimension of the gadget it’s being considered on.
An e-mail that appears wonderful and well-formatted on a desktop can simply devolve right into a tangle of illegible, overlapping textual content and pictures when considered on a smartphone display.
To make sure your HTML emails look the way in which you supposed throughout a large spectrum of display sizes, the perfect factor you are able to do is preserve your format easy and easy.
If you begin including extra complicated parts like a number of columns and floated photos, it turns into harder to translate the format of your e-mail for various display sizes.
In the event you determine to develop a extra complicated format, be sure you’re actively fixing how the weather will likely be rearranged to swimsuit completely different display sizes.
For instance, in case your e-mail shows as multi-column on desktop, that very same construction gained’t fly on cell — you’ll want to make use of media queries to outline how parts will likely be displayed on completely different display sizes.
Let’s have a look at this template from HubSpot. You may see how the picture and the copy have switched layouts when it’s on completely different screens.
What I like about that is its means to take a look at the template by a consumer’s lens to determine what piques their curiosity to click on or subscribe.
Bear in mind, creating actually responsive HTML emails goes past the construction and format of your message. Take into consideration how the general consumer expertise of your e-mail will likely be perceived on completely different gadgets.
Make certain your font decisions are simply as legible on cell as they’re on desktop, and use mobile-friendly buttons or calls-to-action (CTAs) rather than hyperlinked textual content (have you ever ever tried to faucet a little bit line of hyperlinked textual content on cell? It’s not very simple).
Yow will discover our extra in-depth guide to mobile email best practices right here.
2. Make certain your styling works for various e-mail shoppers.
One other huge issue that closely impacts the way in which your HTML emails seem in your subscribers’ inboxes is the e-mail consumer they’re utilizing to open the message.
Each e-mail consumer masses emails barely otherwise, so an e-mail that appears a sure approach in Gmail will seemingly look completely different in Outlook.
Fortunately, if you understand how hottest e-mail shoppers load explicit HTML and CSS parts, you may create a fairly constant expertise throughout completely different customers’ inboxes.
It’s all about understanding which unsupported tags to keep away from and adapting accordingly.
This comprehensive guide explains how the most well-liked e-mail shoppers (together with Gmail and a number of variations of Outlook) assist and render completely different styling parts.
In the event you’re questioning the way it’ll look, HubSpot truly works with a number of e-mail shoppers to be sure you’re conscious of your e-mail preview.
You may also take a look at an article we wrote on optimizing emails for different email clients.
3. Take heed to how lengthy your HTML emails take to load.
How lengthy your e-mail takes to load may very nicely be the distinction between gaining a brand new buyer and shedding a pissed off subscriber.
Whereas it may be tempting to benefit from all of the completely different styling choices and alternatives to include visuals that HTML emails supply, none of that issues in case your e-mail takes too lengthy to load.
As you design your HTML e-mail, stay acutely aware of how lengthy your e-mail will take to load — particularly if somebody is, say, opening your message on their morning subway commute with a weak information connection.
Listed here are just a few little steps you may take that may go a great distance towards enhancing load time.
Use photos sparingly.
That approach, you’ll bolster the message you wish to get throughout to subscribers. All the time use a picture compressor (like Compressor.io) to scale back the file dimension as a lot as potential.
Most picture compressors can considerably scale back the file dimension of a picture with out compromising on high quality, so taking this further step gained’t damage the visible integrity of your e-mail.
Use commonplace net fonts.
Customized fonts are nice for spicing up a touchdown web page, however they will add an extraneous layer of complexity when added to an e-mail.
As we talked about above, all e-mail shoppers deal with fashion parts otherwise, and this particularly extends to fonts.
To be secure, use standard web fonts and check to make sure the e-mail consumer most of your subscribers use helps a selected font.
Strive an HTML minifier.
An HTML minifier (like minifycode.com and smallseotools.com) robotically removes code that isn’t wanted in an HTML file.
Repetitive, further parts will likely be stripped out, however the precise rendering of your e-mail ought to stay the identical (all the time check it out!).
Every line of code impacts how lengthy an e-mail takes to load, so taking the time to take away junk code can have a constructive impact on load time.
Here’s the code I used to make my e-mail template. look how a lot junk code Smallseotools eliminated:
And look how a lot junk code Smallseotools eliminated. This not solely saved me from importing pointless strains of code, however it additionally improved total e-mail loading time.
Preserve your message centered on a single goal.
One of the simplest ways to scale back e-mail load time is to scale back how a lot content material you add to every of your e-mail sends. It might sound apparent, however too many entrepreneurs attempt to stuff an excessive amount of content material into their emails.
Not solely does that result in an off-putting consumer expertise (no person desires to learn a novel in e-mail type), however it might probably ship your load time without work the charts and trigger customers to desert your e-mail. Preserve it easy, and your customers will thanks.
4. Plan (as a lot as you may) for end-user inconsistencies.
The display dimension and e-mail consumer aren’t the one components that may alter the way in which your HTML e-mail renders in your subscribers’ inboxes.
Components just like the model of their e-mail consumer, their working system, their distinctive consumer settings, their safety software program, and whether or not or not they’re robotically loading photos can all affect how your e-mail masses.
As you may most likely guess by that hefty listing of things, attempting to unravel for all of them (each single time you ship an e-mail) would most likely be sufficient to make you throw your laptop throughout the room.
However you don’t need to be fully helpless within the face of those variables — you simply need to do some pre-planning.
Contemplate making a webpage model of your e-mail.
That is form of like giving your e-mail a fail-safe button.
If for some cause — on account of one of many many components mentioned above — your lovingly designed e-mail renders like an absolute mess when a subscriber opens it, they are going to at the least have the choice to click on “view as net web page” and see the e-mail as you supposed it to be.
Since fashion parts render far more constantly throughout net browsers versus e-mail shoppers, you’ll have the ability to have far more management over the online web page model of your message.
In HubSpot, there’s an option you may activate that may generate an internet web page model robotically.
Create a plain textual content model of your e-mail.
A plain textual content model is precisely what it feels like — an alternate model of your HTML e-mail that renders in fully plain textual content.
Including a plain textual content model of your HTML e-mail is necessary as a result of some e-mail shoppers and consumer settings can’t (or select to not) load HTML.
If that is so, the consumer will search for a plain textual content different model of your HTML e-mail to load for the consumer. If one doesn’t exist, it may sign to the recipient’s e-mail server that your message is spam — or probably harmful.
Most e-mail instruments like HubSpot will robotically present a plain textual content model that shows if a recipient’s e-mail server requires it. Right here’s an instance of what it appears like on desktop:
However for those who’re coding an HTML e-mail from scratch, you’ll must create one thing known as a multipart MIME message.
A multipart MIME message is an e-mail that incorporates each a plain textual content and HTML model of the identical e-mail. The plain textual content model will likely be displayed if a recipient’s e-mail consumer or safety system doesn’t enable HTML e-mail.
This can be a course of that requires a sophisticated data of coding, so we suggest working with a developer.
Make certain your e-mail nonetheless is sensible if the photographs don’t load.
Some customers have computerized image-loading turned off, which implies they’ll see your e-mail with out photos once they open it.
For that reason, don’t rely solely on photos to get the which means of your message throughout, and all the time add alt-text to the photographs you do embody.
Alt-text will load even when photos don’t, so your subscribers can get the final thought of what the visuals embody.
5. Conduct thorough testing.
Lastly, you’ll want to check your HTML e-mail at each stage of improvement to make sure it really works throughout completely different e-mail shoppers, working techniques, and gadget sorts.
Don’t wait till the very finish of the method to check out your e-mail — testing as you’re employed is one of the simplest ways to identify inconsistencies between completely different e-mail shoppers and make sure you’re creating probably the most constant expertise potential to your recipients.
Some e-mail instruments (like HubSpot) supply in-app testing inside their e-mail builders to make the method simpler.
In the event you’re working from scratch, you need to use a instrument like HTML Email Check or PreviewMyEmail to get a greater thought of how your e-mail will look in several e-mail shoppers and gadgets.
See under:
Using the same code from earlier than, I reviewed the e-mail’s show/look throughout completely different gadgets. This gave me a greater thought of what my subscribers are , plus I didn’t even need to improve to the paid model.
Easy and Free HTML E-mail Templates
There are an amazing quantity of HTML e-mail templates out there on the internet as you may see under, and so they fluctuate in high quality, responsiveness, and worth.
We’ve pulled collectively a collection of free HTML e-mail templates that present a responsive consumer expertise. You’ll want to learn the phrases and situations on every particular person template earlier than use.
1. Product Promotion HTML Email Template by HubSpot
Whether or not you’re launching a brand new product or just promoting your present choices, this e-mail template is a good place to begin.
Included within the free model of Marketing Hub’s email tool, this template provides loads of room for personalization. You may simply add photos, textual content, and buttons in an intuitive drag-and-drop editor.
You may also be assured that the templates you design will likely be absolutely responsive on any gadget.
The primary good thing about utilizing this template is that it’s bundled with all different Marketing Hub tools. Plus, you may have different templates to select from — you don’t have to remain confined to this selection.
The drag-and-drop e-mail editor is one other unbelievable plus.
Professional tip: Happily, HubSpot provides pre-made e-mail designs which you can copy and paste proper into your template.
Nevertheless, if you wish to delve deeper into HTML coding, there are many movies and tutorials that stroll you thru the basics of designing HTML emails, just like the one under:
2. Company News HTML Email Template by Campaign Monitor
In the event you’re planning to ship firm information to your prospects, this can be a nice template to make use of. It’s image-heavy, making it an ideal match for vogue or up to date manufacturers.
Plus, it’s linked to Marketing campaign Monitor’s e-mail instrument, which begins at $11 per thirty days with different paid plans you may discover (there’s a free trial, too).
I personally love that this contemporary template is so subtle and minimal.
The delicate coloration palette and easy design make it a flexible possibility for a lot of industries and functions, and it’s been examined on completely different e-mail shoppers and gadgets to make sure a constant consumer expertise throughout platforms.
Professional tip: I spotted that utilizing a template alone isn’t sufficient; you’ll additionally need to customise it to your subscribers. My private favourite hack is including an organization URL to the Marketing campaign Monitor instrument in order that it produces a model template.
3. Welcome HTML Email Template by Unlayer
Unlayer is an e-mail advertising instrument that primarily focuses on e-mail design. Its drag-and-drop editor makes enhancing its templates a breeze. I really like the template above due to its construction and customizability.
Although this template was designed for a health firm, you may simply adapt it to your personal use.
This clear, muted template is a good way to show the content material your group has created and join subscribers together with your most up-to-date merchandise or weblog posts.
The design options two absolutely responsive columns with a number of coloration scheme choices and room on the high to focus on a CTA.
Professional tip: Unlayer integrates with many e-mail advertising platforms, corresponding to MailChimp and HubSpot. Because of this when you’re achieved designing HTML emails, you may simply export your template.
4. Minimalist Welcome HTML Email Template by MailBakery
Proof that generally much less actually is extra, this simple, absolutely responsive design makes probably the most of whitespace and retains the main target firmly in your phrases and visible parts.
With out design distractions, your content material can actually shine — on any gadget.
This template is on the market on the MailBakery e-mail template retailer. I find it irresistible as a result of you may merely obtain it and add it to your most popular instrument, whereas different templates require you to make use of their software program to entry their templates.
I might suggest it for those who’re snug dealing with HTML information and for those who’re aware of the add course of to your instrument.
Professional tip: With any e-mail template from MailBakery, you may ensure that it should seem flawlessly on numerous platforms, having been examined on 40 e-mail shoppers.
Your message will nonetheless be efficient whether or not your subscriber makes use of Outlook, Gmail, or another e-mail supplier.
5. Free HTML Email Templates from Bee Free
I couldn’t determine on a template to function from the Bee Free market, so I’ve determined to suggest its total library as a substitute. This assortment of free, open-source templates is totally responsive and examined throughout common e-mail shoppers.
You may edit and construct on them on the Bee Free platform, then export the HTML file to your native drive and add it to your most popular email marketing tool.
These are a super possibility in order for you a extra styled, polished beginning place, however you continue to need to have the ability to customise the design to suit your firm’s wants.
Every template is on the market in a number of codecs for various advertising functions, like transactional emails, NPS assortment, and e-mail subscriber re-engagement.
Professional tip: In the event you’re utilizing the professional model of BeeFree, you may export on to your e-mail advertising program, which is much less of a problem.
6. Store Sale HTML Email Template by Campaign Monitor
This glossy, responsive design from Marketing campaign Monitor could be good for sending out a reduction code — however it may additionally function a classy strategy to showcase your newest merchandise to e-mail subscribers.
I like its clear and attention-grabbing CTA, in addition to its house to incorporate extra data.
This template is free to make use of, as long as you join on the Marketing campaign Monitor platform. It’s additionally value testing Marketing campaign Monitor’s full library of responsive email templates.
Professional tip: In the event you want particular code, you may discover ways to create a template in your favourite HTML editor and import it to Marketing campaign Monitor.
Utilizing their template language, you may design a template with changeable sections after which decide and edit it for an e-mail.
7. Stylish HTML Email Template by ActiveCampaign
This e-mail template from ActiveCampaign is fashionable and optimized — good for introducing your organization or your merchandise.
Its hero part contains ample house for a picture and a CTA, and additional down, you may immediate your readers to take a look at extra merchandise, supplying you with a second likelihood at changing them.
To make use of this free HTML e-mail template, you’ll want to join an ActiveCampaign free trial. Its e-mail instrument begins at $49 per thirty days and contains three seats, making this template an ideal match in case your e-mail advertising group contains a number of folks.
Professional tip: Need your shoppers to view real-time content material that’s up to date each couple of minutes? You may truly add a code that’s provided to you by third-party instruments into your ActiveCampaign HTML e-mail template for his or her on-line HTML code editor.
8. Apology HTML Email Template by Stripo Email
It’s by no means enjoyable to fail to fulfill a buyer’s expectation, however it’s even much less enjoyable to go away them at nighttime. This free HTML e-mail template from Stripo, an e-mail instrument, lets you succinctly apologize.
The lovable cartoon is a plus, however you may all the time change the picture.
I particularly like that this template lets you ask for suggestions proper within the e-mail. That makes it simple and easy for the recipient to inform you how they really feel about their interplay together with your firm so far.
To make use of this template, you solely must sign up on Stripo’s free tier, which permits you 4 e-mail exports.
Professional tip: You may also use the generated templates to develop Model Tips kits, which is able to assist you to write emails constant together with your model extra shortly to your campaigns.
These kits include all desktop and cell e-mail layouts and can help you save all of the required design parts and settings in a single easy-to-use type.
9. Hero Image Free HTML Email Template by ZURB
ZURB is an e-mail template supplier that has created a collection of free e-mail templates for anybody to obtain. This one features a clear heading, a hero picture, and a CTA highlighted in blue.
I really like that it has a sidebar to incorporate further hyperlinks. This can be a good match for newsletter-dependent manufacturers.
You’ll wish to closely customise this template together with your model colours and fonts to make it really feel extra like “you.” In any other case, it’s a unbelievable tool-agnostic possibility. Merely obtain the template and add it into your most popular e-mail advertising software program.
Professional tip: Keep in mind that each CSS ingredient should be inline for HTML emails. ZURB retains the CSS separate to make enhancing simpler. When sending your e-mail, it’s best to use a CSS instrument, corresponding to Premailer or MailChimp, to call a pair.
10. Password Reset HTML Email Template by Foundation Framework
A password reset e-mail doesn’t must be elaborate, and this HTML e-mail template from Basis Framework (also referred to as ZURB) checks all of the packing containers.
It leaves an area so that you can both embody your brand or a cute graphic, in addition to placeholder textual content which you can depart as is for those who’d like.
I particularly like this template as a result of it already appears so good with out customizing it. All you want is to vary the button’s coloration to certainly one of your model colours, and also you’ll be all set. Plus, you need to use it with any instrument.
Professional tip: You may strive making some modifications to the templates, or obtain them and preview them to see how the options had been applied by trying on the supply.
You’ll see that the Basis for Emails fashion tag is included on the high of every template, indicating the place the template is from.
Create HTML Emails to Improve Your Subscriber Rely
HTML emails are an attractive strategy to share what’s occurring in your corporation and preserve subscribers coming again for extra.
With the information and templates we’ve shared, you’re nicely in your strategy to creating stunning and purposeful HTML emails with out writing a single line of code.
Editor’s observe: This submit was initially revealed in June 2019 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.
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