A Guide On How To Make An HTML E Mail (With & Without Coding)

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Creating professional email designs is crucial for businesses, and in the digital era, HTML email is the way to go. With a little bit of coding knowledge, you can create stunning, interactive emails that engage your audience and ultimately drive conversions. In this blog, we cover the basics of how to make an HTML email, so you can get started crafting beautiful email designs that make an impact and drive results. Ready to elevate your email marketing game? Let's dive in.

What Is An HTML E Mail?

Creating an HTML email involves using computer code to design and structure an email with a combination of HTML, CSS, and XML. HTML, or hypertext markup language, is used to build the structure of the email or web page. CSS or cascading style sheets, controls the visual appearance of elements within the email. XML, or extensible markup language, helps different computer platforms interpret and display the same data consistently.

Designing an HTML Email

The design of an HTML email is similar to that of a modern web page, with images, links, and special formatting. In contrast to plain text emails, HTML emails allow for more visual elements and customized formatting. This can include different fonts, colors, and layouts to enhance the appearance and readability of the email.

Responsive Design

One advantage of HTML emails is their adaptability to different screen sizes. By utilizing responsive design techniques, HTML emails can adjust their layout and content to fit various devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and desktops. This ensures that the email is easily readable and visually appealing regardless of the recipient's screen size.

Wrapping Text Around Elements

HTML emails offer the flexibility to wrap text around images and other elements within the email. This allows for creative and visually engaging layouts that can enhance the overall design and user experience. Whether it's showcasing a product image with accompanying text or incorporating a call-to-action button within a block of text, HTML emails provide opportunities for dynamic content placement.

Improving Engagement

With the ability to include interactive elements like buttons, forms, and animated GIFs, HTML emails can increase user engagement and drive actions such as clicking through to a website or making a purchase. By leveraging the design capabilities of HTML, email marketers can create visually compelling messages that captivate recipients and encourage them to take desired actions.

Accessibility and Compatibility

When creating HTML emails, it's essential to ensure accessibility for all recipients, including those using screen readers or assistive technologies.Testing across various email clients and devices is crucial to guarantee consistent rendering and functionality. By following best practices and adhering to coding standards, HTML emails can reach a broad audience effectively.

Plain Text vs. HTML E Mails

Plain text emails contain only simple text without any enhancements like images, stylized fonts, or hyperlinks. They are the stripped-down version of HTML emails. Plain text emails are generally more reliable in terms of email deliverability compared to HTML emails. This is because they are less likely to be caught in spam filters or have issues with CSS styles being stripped.

Accessibility Benefits of Plain Text Emails

Plain text emails are more accessible for users with screen readers or non-traditional email clients like smartwatches and voice assistants. The simple text format ensures a better user experience for these users. Plain text emails lack the visual appeal, branding, and interactive elements that HTML emails can provide. They offer less design control and cannot embed images, links, or multimedia.

Multi-Part MIME Emails

While most email marketers prefer HTML versions, the email community is divided on whether plain text or HTML is the better format. The choice depends on factors like deliverability, accessibility, security concerns, and the specific needs and preferences of the target audience.

To ensure a good user experience, it is recommended to provide both a plain text and HTML version of emails, allowing subscribers to choose their preferred format. This is known as a "multi-part MIME" email.

Mailsplash: AI-Powered All-in-one Email Solution

Mailsplash is an AI-powered tool to create stunning email templates that convert. Design and create stunning/converting emails (campaigns, flows, all of it) in minutes. Send with any email service provider (Mailchimp, Klaviyo, etc.). We enable freelancers, brands, and agencies to rapidly create personalized, converting email campaigns at lower cost than traditional marketing agencies, from email copywriting, to personalized branded email template design.

Try our All-in-one Email Solution today for free.

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Benefits Of Using HTML E Mail Over Plain Text Formatting

The benefits of choosing HTML email over plain text are abundant. You can use the inherent visual elements to help focus attention on the various parts of your email content. By extension, an HTML email is a rich format for presenting your content. This means you can leverage the elements users expect to engage with them, such as images, video, and more. Combined, both of these aspects can offer you a superb opportunity to brand your content, just as you would your main website.

Deciding to use an HTML email isn’t the perfect storm you’d think. There are also a few drawbacks to consider.

Consider the user’s experience, just as you would when you design a website. This might not only include a browser – lots of users also prefer to read emails in a dedicated client.

What’s more, you also have to consider some of the privacy and security issues that dominate web development. This is especially true if you want to include JavaScript, you pull in third-party fonts and other aspects.

Because of this, you have to fight accessibility and standards battles almost on more fronts than the web. It’s tough to create an HTML email that works on a cross-browser and client basis. but it’s possible to do this.

A Step-By-Step Guide On How To Make An HTML E Mail In Two Ways

If you don't have coding skills or an email designer on your team, you can still create professional-looking HTML emails. You can utilize email-building tools like Mailsplash that offer pre-formatted HTML templates. As you make changes in the email editor, the tool automatically codes them into the final product. This way, you can design your emails without ever needing to access the actual code on the back end.

Creating HTML Emails from Scratch

If you prefer to create an HTML email template from scratch, you must have advanced knowledge of HTML or work with a developer who does. Here are the steps to follow

1. Structuring Your HTML Email

The first step is to structure your HTML email properly. Use a table-based layout to ensure compatibility across different email clients. The basic HTML email structure includes the title, styles, and email content.

2. Use Tables for Layout

Tables are the preferred method for structuring the layout of HTML emails. Create a table with nested rows and columns to achieve the desired design. Ensure mobile responsiveness and use media queries to adapt the layout for different screen sizes.

3. Adding Content to Your Email

After structuring your email, add content such as text, images, buttons, and other elements. To use inline CSS for styling to increase email client compatibility.

4. Styling Your Email

Style your HTML email for consistent rendering. Use inline CSS for styling individual elements like buttons. This ensures that your email looks great across different platforms.

5. Optimize for Images

Use compressed and properly sized images to minimize the email’s file size. Include alternative text (alt text) for images to provide context if they fail to load. Host images on a reliable server and use absolute paths to avoid broken image links.

6. Testing Your HTML Email

Before sending your HTML email, test it across different email clients and devices. Tools like Putsmail.com allow you to send test emails and preview how your email will appear. Ensure your email looks great and functions correctly before sending it out to your subscribers.

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Complete Step-by-Step Guide On How To Use Mailsplash’s All-in-one AI Email Solution To Make HTML E Mails & Templates

Getting Started: Uploading Brands and Products

Before you can generate an email, you’ll need to upload a brand and product.

Navigate to the “Brands” tab and select “Add a Brand”. Once you’ve defined the brand’s name, logo(s), font(s), and color(s), you can upload your product(s).

You can do so by simply pasting in the product link, which will auto-populate the product description, name, and images, as seen below. Now you’re ready to design and write stunning emails with Mailsplash.

Design & Write Emails with Mailsplash: A Guide

Generate with AI

Not sure where to start? From your dashboard, click “Generate with AI” to get to ideating. Simply select the brand(s) and product(s) you’ve uploaded and describe the email you’re looking for (e.g. an email campaign promoting new pants on sale for 25% off). You can even define the design style you’re looking for!

If you’re feeling like a pro, click “Advanced Setup” to get more detailed access to other parameters such as your target audience, the type of email, and so on. Once you’re happy, click generate and watch the magic happen! In 30 seconds or less, you’ll have a email custom-tailored to your input.

Start from Template

Already know what kind of email you’re looking to create? You can then click “Start from Template” and browse through our gallery of templates, curated for the most common use cases. We currently support 21 templates for 7 different categories, but will be continuing to update this based on your feedback! Once you select an email type, you’ll be prompted to select a brand and product and be taken straight to the builder.

Sending Emails: Integrate with Any ESP

When exporting your email generation, you’ll be able to integrate with Klaviyo by inputting your API key. It’s as simple as that. We’re working on adding support for other major ESPs!

Now you should be well-equipped to save time and money on your email marketing.

Still confused? Have feedback? Let us know by sending us an email.

Best Practices For Making An HTML E Mail

When it comes to coding an HTML email, making your emails responsive is the key to ensuring your messages look great regardless of your recipients' client, browser, or device. Recipients open email messages across various operating systems, devices, screen sizes, browsers, and email applications, each of which will render your email differently.

Optimizing Email Design for Responsiveness

To make your emails more responsive, you need to include media queries, use a single-column layout, increase the font size, space out your links, and add alt tags for images. Email designers tend to get lost in the art and creativity, forgetting the overall goal of the email. When you add different HTML elements to your email, ask yourself the question: “Does this help the email fulfill its purpose?” If not, nix it from your email design.

Using Images Sparingly

Images are an essential addition to your email campaigns, but it's crucial not to go overboard with them. Too many images can lengthen loading times and make it difficult for emails to render. To avoid this issue, use smaller images that load faster and not take up the entire screen. Also, add responsive sizing elements like “width” and “max-width” to ensure your images load properly on every device and email client.

Keeping It Simple

You should always remember the purpose of your email. The goal of the email isn’t to earn oohs and aahs but to get people to open and take action. You can entice them to click on your call to action by providing value and content that’s simple yet compelling. When adding different HTML elements to your email, ask yourself the question: “Does this help the email fulfill its purpose?” If not, nix it from your email design.

Using Prebuilt Email Templates

If you’re new to HTML, leveraging prebuilt HTML email templates can be an excellent way to send a stellar campaign. Templates have already done the hard work to create a good-looking, responsive email design. If you like a template but aren’t entirely satisfied with it, you can download the HTML and make edits to suit your preferences.

Leveraging HTML Minifiers

Consider using an HTML minifier to remove unnecessary code from your HTML file. Repetitive and extra elements will be stripped out, but the actual rendering of your email should remain the same. Each line of code impacts how long an email takes to load, so removing junk code can have a positive effect on load time.

Keeping Your Email Focused

To reduce email load time, focus on a single objective and avoid stuffing too much content into each email send. Keep it simple, and your users will appreciate it. Create a plain text version of your email as an alternative for recipients who can’t load HTML emails. This version is crucial for users with email clients and settings that don’t support HTML emails.

Testing Your Emails

Before sending an email, always ensure you test it first. With email testing tools like Litmus, you can test how your emails will render across different email clients, browsers, and devices. These tools help you identify issues like broken links, spammy-looking content, and formatting issues, so your emails reach recipients flawlessly.

5 Sources For Finding Responsive HTML Email Templates

1. Mailsplash: All-in-one Email Solution

Mailsplash is an AI-powered tool that simplifies the process of creating appealing email templates. Users can design and generate converting emails in a matter of minutes with this solution. The service allows users to send their finished templates using any email service provider they prefer.

Mailsplash's primary focus is on enabling freelancers, brands, and agencies to quickly concoct individualized, converting email campaigns at a fraction of the cost charged by traditional marketing agencies. From email copywriting to personalized branded email template design, Mailsplash provides an all-in-one email solution that caters to various needs.

Try our All-in-one Email Solution today for free.

2. Brevo: Customizable Responsive Templates

Brevo offers an impressive array of 40+ responsive email templates that can be easily and quickly modified using their drag-and-drop editor. For added convenience, users can import HTML templates and work on them within the Brevo platform.

3. Litmus: Free Comprehensive Template Library

Litmus provides a community gallery boasting over 60 free responsive email templates that are open for businesses to utilize. Within this gallery, users can find templates that cater to different types of emails, including ecommerce emails and informational emails.

4. Stripo Email: Extensive Template Collection

Stripo Email presents an extensive collection of more than 1500 free HTML email templates that are sorted by industry, holiday, and purpose. Each of these templates is designed to be fully responsive and has been meticulously tested across various popular email clients.

5. MailBakery: Quality Free Templates

MailBakery offers a variety of free email templates, including the Minimalist HTML Email Template. This specific template stands out due to its responsiveness and cross-compatibility across different email clients. Users can effortlessly download and upload these templates to the email marketing tools they prefer.

Create Fully-Built Stunning Email Templates That Convert With Mailsplash

Mailsplash is an AI-powered email marketing tool that revolutionizes the way email campaigns are created and sent. With Mailsplash, you can effortlessly design and create stunning email templates that are not only visually appealing but also highly converting. This all-in-one email solution allows users to send emails through any email service provider, including popular platforms like Mailchimp and Klaviyo.

Whether you are a freelancer, a brand, or an agency, Mailsplash enables you to rapidly create personalized email campaigns at a fraction of the cost charged by traditional marketing agencies. From email copywriting to personalized branded email template design, Mailsplash has got you covered.

Try Mailsplash for free today, and experience the power of AI in crafting attention-grabbing emails that convert.