Email visual editor guide

This article will guide you through creating the body of your email using the intuitive Visual Editor. The Editor simplifies the email template-building process, as it eliminates the need to write HTML code. With just a few clicks, you can produce professional-looking email templates that meet your specific needs.

Overview

To begin using the editor, you'll notice that it's separated into two main sections: the primary main editor window on the left and the properties panel on the right. Typically, you can add content elements to the editing section by dragging and dropping them onto the editor window and then adjust them using the options available in the properties panel.

Properties Panel

Block

Content

You can select a new content element from the content block to add to your message. On the right-hand side, you have the option to conveniently drag and drop various elements such as buttons, images, text blocks, transparent or solid dividers, and more into the message area.

Layout

The layout block enables you to add structure to your email template. You can drag and drop the selected structure onto the email editor area and adjust its properties. You can add or remove rows and columns, adjust the spacing between the elements, and other options that will help you achieve the desired layout of your email template.

Layer

The Layer tab allows you to organize the different elements in your email template. This feature is handy when you have multiple elements in your email and you need to manage the child's arrangement or order.

Configuration

This tab offers various customization options that enable you to modify the block's appearance, properties, and other settings. By clicking on the Configuration tab, you can access the available settings and adjust them to suit your specific needs.

Some of the settings you can modify include:

Dimension: this allows you to adjust the size of the block according to your preference;
Color: this enables you to choose the color of the block or modify it using custom colors;
Typography: you can customize the font family, font size, line height, letter spacing, text decoration, font weight, and font style of the selected text block;
Align: you can choose the alignment of the block (left, center, or right) to fit your layout design;
Extra: some blocks have additional options, such as image settings or button styling, which can also be modified from the Configuration tab.

Content Blocks

The Content block comprises a variety of tiles that correspond to different types of content that you can include in your email message. The following content elements are available:

Block	Description
Text	This element allows you to add text to your email template with formatting options, such as font, size, text color, alignment, and spacing.
Image	This block allows you to upload an image in your email template. You can upload your own images and customize the image's size and alignment.
Button	With this element, you can easily add a button to your email template. The button's appearance and functionality can be fully customized, including text, color, size, and alignment. Additionally, you can specify the destination URL to which the user will be directed after clicking the button.
Hero	It is a full-width content block that you can use as the main section of your email message. You can add images, text, buttons, and other elements to create an eye-catching and engaging message.
Navbar	Navbar is a content block that you can use to create a navigation menu where you can customize the menu items.
Social	A block that allows you to add social media icons to your email template. You can choose which social media platforms to include and customize the color and size of the icons.
Divider	This element allows you to place a horizontal line or an invisible divider between other content components in your email template. You can choose between a solid or transparent divider and adjust its size and style to fit your message design.
Spacer	The block lets you add space between other elements in your email template. You can adjust the height and width of the spacer to create the desired amount of space.
Column	The Column block enables you to create multiple columns in your email message. You can choose the number of columns, adjust the width and spacing of each column, and add other elements within each column.
Wrapper	The Wrapper block is a container element that groups other elements together. You can use it to organize and style different elements in your email message, such as columns or sections.
Section	The Section block allows you to add a full-width section to your page with customizable background colors or images. You can add additional content blocks within the Section block, such as text, images, and buttons.
Group	The "Group" block allows grouping multiple content blocks into a single container, making moving and editing them as a single unit easier. This feature provides a simple way to organize your page layout and keep related content blocks together.

Text block

When you add a text block to your template, you can click on a text content block to access the toolbar, which provides access to a variety of text editing tools, including font family, font size, basic formatting options like bold and italic, text alignment, numbered and bullet lists, font color, and links, among others.:

Adding personalization

To personalize the text content, simply click on the attribute picker icon, which will display a list of all available attributes you can choose from. You can then select the attribute you want to use, and it will be inserted into your email content. When the email is rendered, the attribute will be replaced with its corresponding value from the customer's profile, if available.

Remember: An empty string will be inserted if the attribute is not known for a particular customer. To avoid sending empty strings, it is advisable to segment your audience based on the attributes that are known. This way, you can ensure that only customers with relevant attribute values receive personalized content.

Adding links

Links can be added by selecting the text and clicking on the link button in the toolbar:

The pop-up window for the “Link” button allows the user to give the link details.

the destination URL to which the user will be directed after clicking the text;
the "Target" toggle refers to the behavior that should occur when the link is clicked:
- when the "Target" toggle is turned on, it means that the link will open in a new tab or window when clicked;
- when the "Target" toggle is turned off, the link will open in the same tab or window as the email template when clicked
the "Underline" applies or removes an underline from the link text.

Configuration of text block

These configuration options allow you to fully customize the appearance of the text block in Visual Editor.

Dimension	Allows setting the height and padding of the text block
Color	Allows choosing the color of the text and background
Typography	Includes several options to customize the font of the text, including: Font family: you can choose from a list of available font families for your text; Font size: you can adjust the size of the text in pixels; Line height: you can adjust the space between lines of text; Letter spacing: you can adjust the space between individual letters of text; Text decoration: you can add underline, overline, or strike-through to your text; Font weight: you can adjust the weight or thickness of the text; Align: allows you to choose the alignment of the text, with options for left, center, and right alignment; Font style: includes options for normal (standard font style) or italic styles (italicized version of the selected font).
Additional configurations	Extra, iteration, and condition settings are described here.

Image block

Once you add an image block to your email template, you can easily upload your own image and customize it by adjusting its size, alignment, and alternative text. Additionally, you have the option to add a link to the image, allowing you to link the image to a landing page or website, for instance.

Configuration of image block

Setting	Here you can set the following: upload an image to the block: to upload a file to the template, click on the upload button in image configurations. The image file should have format .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, etc. set the background color Remember: the maximum file size allowed for upload is 500 kb.
Dimension	Allows you to set the width and height of the image. You can also adjust the padding of the image, which is the space between the image and the surrounding content. To align the image, use the align option. You can choose from three options: left, center, or right.
Link	In the link configuration for an image block, you can set the following: Href: the URL that the image will link to when clicked. Target: determines how the link will be opened when clicked. You can choose to open the link in the same window (_self) or a new window/tab (_blank).
Border	Allows configuring the border around the image: the "border" option allows you to set the border width. the "border radius" option allows setting the degree of roundness on the corners of the image border (e.g., 10px).
Extra	Reference to attributes that can be added to HTML elements when using the editor. Title attribute: extra information about an element, usually displayed as a tooltip when the user hovers over the element. Alt attribute: alternative text for an image if it cannot be displayed or if the user is using a screen reader. This is important for accessibility, as it ensures that users with visual impairments can still understand the content. Class name: a class for an element that can be used to apply CSS styles to multiple elements at once.
Additional configurations	Iteration and condition settings are described here.

Button block

When you add a button block to your template, you can customize the text, font, font size, font color, background color, border color, border radius, padding, and alignment of the button. You can also add a link to the button, which is helpful if you want to link the button to a landing page or website.

Adding personalization

Access the attribute picker from the configuration settings tab to personalize the button. From there, you can select the desired attribute, which will be inserted inside the button. When the email is rendered, the attribute will be replaced with its corresponding value from the customer's profile, if available.

Remember: An empty string will be inserted if the attribute is not known for a particular customer. To avoid sending empty strings, it is advisable to segment your audience based on the attributes that are known. This way, you can ensure that only customers with relevant attribute values receive personalized content.

Configuration of button block

By customizing the configurations of the button block, you can create a button that matches your brand and fits seamlessly into your email template.

Setting	Allows setting the link of a landing page or website. You can set the following: Href: the URL that the button will link to when the user clicks on it. Target: determines how the link will be opened when clicked. You can choose to open the link in the same window (_self) or a new window/tab (_blank).
Dimension	Allows you to adjust the basic settings for the button, such as its width and padding. You can also set the inner padding of the button, which is the space between the button's text and the button's edges.
Color	You can customize the background color, text color of the button, and color of the button.
Typography	This feature enables you to customize the font style of your text, including font family, size, weight, height, letter spacing, and alignment. Additionally, you can add text decoration, such as underline, overline, line-through, blink, and inherit (to inherit settings from parent), to enhance the appearance of your text.
Border	Here, you can adjust the border properties of the button. In addition to "none," the "Border" configuration for the button block may also offer options for border styles such as solid, dashed, dotted, double, groove, ridge, inset, and outset. The "Border radius" configuration allows you to adjust the roundness of the button's corners from fully squared (0px) to more rounded (max 20pt).
Additional configurations	Extra, iteration, and condition settings are described here.

When you add a social media block to your template, you can choose which social media platforms to include, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or any of your wish. You can also customize the color and size of the icons.

Configuration of social block

Setting	Allows choosing between a vertical or horizontal layout for your social icons and their alignment.
Typography	Enables you to customize the font style of your text, including font family, size, weight, height, font style, color, and background color spacing. Additionally, you can add text decoration, such as underline, overline, line-through, blink, and inherit (to inherit settings from parent), to enhance the appearance of your text.
Social item	This configuration refers to each individual social media icon displayed within the block. For example, if the social block includes icons for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, then there are three social items within the block. Each social item can be configured individually to include the associated social media profile URL and adjust the icon.
Dimension	These settings refer to the dimensions and padding of the social block's icon and text. You can adjust the width and border radius of the icon, as well as the padding around it. Similarly, you can adjust the padding around the text, both on the top/bottom and left/right sides.
Additional configurations	Extra, iteration, and condition settings are described here.

Additional configurations to all types of blocks

To customize the content displayed to different segments based on their behavior or information provided, you can utilize the "Condition" feature in our Visual editor.

You can add iterations and conditions to all of the blocks in Emails by setting the additional configurations to them.

How to add iterations to content blocks?

Using iterations can be an effective solution for various use cases, including displaying recently viewed products, highlighting abandoned baskets, suggesting recommended products, or replenishing products. Iteration enables you to dynamically populate the content of a block with data from a data source.

Data source	In the data source field, refer to the ID of the multi-value compound attribute stored under the Data Library/Attributes tab or the Administration/Attributes tab.
Item name	the name that will be used to refer to each item in the data source. For example, if you are using a product catalog as your data source, the item name might be "product" or "item".
Limit	the maximum number of items that will be displayed in the text block. If the data source contains more items than the limit, only the first n items will be displayed.
Mock quantity	setting that can be used for testing or previewing the text block. It allows you to display a specified number of items in the text block, even if the data source contains fewer items.

To demonstrate the usage of iteration, follow these steps:

Enable iterations using a toggle for iteration.
In the data source field, insert the ID of the multi-value compound attribute. For instance, it could be forms_submitted or all_products_purchased (note that these examples are provided for illustration purposes and will differ from the attribute IDs in your CDP).
Specify the item name that you will reference within the iteration.
Set the limit and mock quantity fields according to your requirements.
To incorporate the multi-value attributes into your email content, use the item name followed by the dimension ID of the attribute enclosed within curly brackets. For example, {{item_name.dimension_id}}.

Assuming you have this multiple compound attribute and its attribute ID and dimension ID are:

Your configurations for using iterations to blocks might appear as follows:

How to add conditions to content blocks?

The "condition" configuration allows block behavior customization based on specific criteria. This involves setting a variable path and operator for the block.

Symbol

or/and

Variable path

the data point that will be evaluated by the condition.

For example, the variable path could be the user's location, which can be used to tailor the content of the email based on their geographic location.

Variable operator

the logical comparison that will be performed on the variable path.

This can be an equality check, a greater-than or less-than comparison, or any other logical operator that evaluates the data.

By setting these conditions, the block will behave differently depending on whether the variable path meets the specified criteria.

To implement the condition, use a compound attribute with the appropriate dimensions. In the example below, we used the ID of a compound attribute "user," which includes two dimensions, "name" and "email." By defining such conditions, the block will be visible to customers whose name is equal to (==) “Ryan” and whose email address is equal to “xx@gmail.com.” This level of customization helps ensure that users receive content relevant to their specific needs and preferences.

Extra configurations to content blocks?

This configuration enables the application of custom CSS styles to the selected block by specifying a CSS class name that can be utilized for further customization.

Remember: the Content Blocks we have covered in detail are just a selection of what is available in the Drag & Drop Builder. You can further explore the other content blocks by experimenting with them, dragging and dropping them into the message area, and interacting with their various configuration options to understand their behavior better.

Email visual editor guide

Overview

Properties Panel

Block

Layer

Configuration

Content Blocks

Text block

Adding personalization

Adding links

Configuration of text block

Image block

Configuration of image block

Button block

Adding personalization

Configuration of button block

Social block

Configuration of social block

Additional configurations to all types of blocks

How to add iterations to content blocks?

How to add conditions to content blocks?

Extra configurations to content blocks?