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Choosing an Email Platform: 6 Top Design Requirements to Consider

Beefree team
Beefree team
Aug 3, 2017
Choosing an Email Platform: 6 Top Design Requirements to Consider
Choosing an Email Platform: 6 Top Design Requirements to Consider

Choosing an email platform, or email service provider (ESP), can be hard. And when it comes to design capabilities, there's a lot to consider. Email marketers need to strike a balance between out-of-the-box capabilities and customization options. So, what tops the list when it comes to finding the must-have ESP design tool? We asked some email marketing gurus to weigh in. Read on for their wise insight and top tips.

Must-Have #1: Features that streamline the design process

One of the best things about working with an email marketing platform is the ability to streamline the process. Here are my favorite design-related features:

  • Drag & Drop Sections: I love being able to easily add, remove or reorganize sections of an email. When working with newsletter or event emails especially, this feature comes in handy.
  • Web Font Integration: Including web fonts may seem like it's a small detail, but it goes a long way with brand identity & recognition. The easier it is to add web fonts to an email, the better.
  • Image Uploading: This seems like a silly feature, but it can be a pain if your uploaded doesn't work!
  • Responsiveness: When I'm working with ready-built templates from an email marketing platform, it's great to know that they've been tested on multiple devices. This helps to take out some of the guess work and extra rounds of testing.

Each of these features helps my team to work with the clients in a smooth and effective way. They allow us to be creative while also meeting deadlines!— Melanie Kinney, Digital Design Director at G3 Communications

Must-Have #2: Marketing automation capabilities and responsive templates

When looking for a new ESP, there is no reason not to go with one that has automation. Marketing automation is no longer the future ofemail—it's the present. I would encourage clients to choose an email platform with advanced segmentation logic (allowing both AND and OR statements), and one that allows for a combination of auto-responders and automated lifecycle programs. Also, the platform MUST easily and accurately sync with whatever application you use to manage customers, or you won't be able to take advantage of those automation features.Any ESP should be able to tell you, ahead of time, which applications it syncs with and how it will help you set up the connection. On top of that, there are a few "nice-to-haves": responsive templates with an HTML editor (for greater customization), and an ESP that's onthe list to sync with Litmus(what a time saver!)— Belinda Blakley, Sr. Creative Digital Marketing Specialist at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine

Must-Have #3: HTML flexibility, including custom template uploads

I mostlydesignand code custom HTML emails outside of ESPs. Therefore, I look for the flexibilityto upload my own templates. My preferredway of coding emails is fluid/hybrid. It's based on a technique I learned fromNicole Merlin. This means the layout is not relying on media queries because not allemailclients support it. However, I do use responsive method for image swapping, for example. This way I can control the art direction ofvisuals betweendesktop and mobile.Emailservice providers that offer a naming convention in their template language are great. This makes it very easy to create editable content sections (or, modules). I can offer my clients one large master template. Clients can then build their own emails and use prebuilt modules on-the-fly or repeat modules for personalized of content.— Annett Forcier, Senior Developer with Cossette

Must-Have #4: Ability to create and upload custom code

Having the option to upload full HTML files is a must-have for any ESP. Being able to create and upload custom code allows you to match the needs of your business and brand better, setting you apart from the competition.In addition to importing HTML files, an ESP should have a rendering engine (like Litmus) for previewing and testing templates across various devices. An ESP that is well-designed from a visual and experience standpoint, plus drag-and-drop editors, are also great. But, if the overall application is difficult to use or navigate, then it may not be worth it.— Shannon Crabill, Email Developer at T Rowe Price

Must-Have #5: A one-stop shop for templates, drag-and-drop editing, GIF creation, and rendering

Recently, I worked with a major client on an email campaign that was set up in one of the topemail marketing platforms. When you’re sending a steady flow of emails, the ease of producing and scheduling is definitely important! I learned how valuable it was to have existing templates, which can save a lot of time. A drag-and-drop editor also allowed flexibility with modules that could be easily moved/rearranged—but it was vital that a small change in padding, image size, and font size (whether through the WYSIWYG or HTML editor) didn’t break the template or cause rendering quirks.Also, in working with the design team to create new email designs, I realized other important factors for the ideal ESP, like: a rendering tool to show how an email would look on different devices and browsers, an image/GIF database, and a photo resizing/cropping tool. Even a GIF or video-creation tool would be helpful. Essentially, an ESP should be a one-stop shop that makes a user’s experience easier—so that there’s no need to have multipleaccounts for various services just to create one email!Sherry Huang, Growth & Product Owner at RevSquare

Must-Have #6: Intuitive UI and dynamic templates

When choosing a new ESP, ease of use should be considered first and foremost. The UI has to be intuitive to the user so that it flows as naturally as possible.When considering email designs, I look for readily-available templates that can be amended based on the needs for that particular campaign. The templates need to be responsive because mobile/tablet viewing has risen so fast over the years. An added plus: the ability to create a new layout from a choice of drag-and-drop templates within the system itself! Another aspect that ranks high is the ability to create dynamic variations within set templates. And, to truly make it a personalized and targeted email, it would be amazing to have theflexibility to create different layouts for the dynamic content sections.So here's a ranking of what I personally look for in an ESP:

  1. Ease of use
  2. Naturally intuitive platform and flow
  3. Choice of template layouts
  4. Dynamic variants within template layouts
  5. Ability to choose different layouts for the different sections of the email (choice of layout for header, hero image, body copy with columns, etc.)

— Priya Bransfield, Email Consultant

Wrap-Up: Design Questions to Ask When Deciding on an Email Platform

It's clear that choosing an ideal email platform means selecting one that offers the reliability, flexibility, and options that your design team needs.We love the feedback we got from our email marketing gurus! They covered all the bases, including most of the questions we typically ask:

  • Does the email platform have a drag-and-drop editor?
  • Will I need an email developer on staff to code templates?
  • Does it have a built-in template library?
  • Are the emails mobile automatically responsive?
  • How good are the mobile and desktop preview capabilities?
  • Can you easily incorporate interactive design elements?

What do you look for in an email platform? Share in our comments section!

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2024 was a banner year for email markers everywhere. From sleek newsletters to interactive promos, you flexed your creative muscle to new heights and did it with a level of speed and efficiency that made crafting award-worthy emails look easy. 

At Beefree, we’ve had a front-row seat to all the incredible ways you scaled your email production. With templates that sped up creation and workflows that brought your team closer, you’ve redefined what it means to create emails that inspire and deliver.

Let’s dive into the numbers, trends, and stories that made this year unforgettable for email makers like you. 

Total number of emails created: 1,648,180

That’s right—over 1.6 million emails were crafted using Beefree this year, each one a testament to your creativity and efficiency. Everyone from small startups to large enterprises, and teams across the globe harnessed the power of Beefree.

The templates that powered your success

Out of the 1.6 million emails created this year, 178,199 started with a little help from our template catalog.

Our most loved categories included:

  • Templates for Gmail & Mailchimp: Whether you were crafting a campaign or a one-off blast, these platform agnostic templates made it easy to integrate design and delivery effortlessly.
  • Password-reset emails: You proved that even the most utilitarian messages deserve to be noticed.
  • Notification email templates: From order confirmations to system alerts, these templates kept your communications clear, concise, and on-brand.

These favorites highlight a vital truth: even the simplest communications can leave a lasting impression. Templates have become your secret weapon, allowing you to hit the ground running, save time, and focus on the creative flair that makes your emails stand out.

(source)

Total time saved per week: 2 hours

Time is money, and in 2024, Beefree users saved big. On average, 59% of users shaved off at least 2 hours per week on email creation, giving them more time to focus on strategy, creativity, and all the other things that make their emails shine. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

An impressive 81% of users reported being able to design emails at least 3x faster since implementing Beefree. What used to take hours now takes mere minutes with pre-designed templates and built-in collaboration tools. 

(source)

More time saved = more time to design

By cutting down on the nitty-gritty of email production, like formatting, coding, and repetitive edits, Beefree gave you the freedom to focus on what truly matters: design. 

With more time on your hands, you experimented with bold new layouts, fine-tuned your visual storytelling, and perfected those interactive elements that kept your audience engaged.

(source)

84% of Beefree users saw an increase in design quality after implementing our tool and 84% have increased on-brand email creation by 50% or more. 

Think about it: The less time on production meant more time to think creatively and innovate.

New height reached 

With more time on your hands and even more accessible design solutions, 2024 became the year you pushed boundaries and achieved more than ever before. And as your email production scaled, so did your ambitions. 

This surge in productivity and creativity signaled that you were ready for the next step—a plan that could grow alongside you and offer even more tailored support for your evolving needs. Recognizing this, we launched our Business Plan in May, designed specifically to meet you where you’re at. 

This plan was crafted to offer the advanced features and scalability that busy teams need, like enhanced collaboration tools and more customization options. 

Is the Beefree HTML Email Builder Right for You? >

After upgrading to a paid plan, 41% of Beefree users saw an ROI in just under a month! 58% report that Beefree has been a KEY part of scaling their email programs. 

(source)

Beautiful design matters 

A well-crafted email design does more than look good; it communicates your brand’s personality, values, and message in a way that’s instantly recognizable and engaging. It draws the reader in, guides their eyes through the content seamlessly, and encourages action, whether it’s clicking through to a website, signing up for an event, or making a purchase.

In 2024, you embraced the power of beautiful design like never before, and you were rewarded for it. Beefree users increased their CTR by an average of 25%.

The marketing ROI on the one email alone was immeasurable. Open rates increased by over 20%, engagement rates by 31%, and best of all, the subscribers fell under a healthy .1%. All are driven by the creative firepower of Beefree. 

Aimee Meester
, Founder and CEO, Madison Taylor Marketing 
Read the case study

In a digital landscape where first impressions are everything, beautiful design isn’t just nice to have—it’s a necessity. And with Beefree, creating visually appealing emails has never been easier, empowering you to continue delivering designs that captivate and convert.

We can’t wait to see what you create next.

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A few weeks back, we kicked off the first-ever 2024 Really Good Email Awards (cue the confetti). The “award show” was paired with downloadable resources sharing the ins and outs of what made these emails winners. Today, we’re taking it one step further and sharing how you can build award-winning emails in Beefree.  

But first, what is an award-winning email? 

Winning emails like Miro’s welcome series and the AllTrails x Calm collab didn’t just meet expectations—they redefined them. Besides being the most loved by the RGE community, the winning emails beautifully balanced creativity, trends, and best practices. They gave us insight into the future of email design and how to break the rules intentionally. 

While each email was different in its own unique way, we noticed a consistent pattern in them all: On-brand, but never boring. Let’s take the emails by Sundays as a really good example of staying on brand. Everything from their Black Friday emails to their order confirmation emails follows the same brand guidelines, ensuring a cohesive experience at every touchpoint. 

Resource from our Award Ceremony

This realization was validating! As marketers, we know how important presenting a cohesive experience is for brand recognition, awareness, and loyalty. But as passionate designers, we're always looking at the next cool design trend. This pattern of "on-brand, yet never boring" pushes us to explore new and creative ways to showcase our branding and spread our message.

Designing on-brand, never-boring emails with Beefree

Beefree makes balancing creativity with your brand guidelines seamless. Its combination of brand management, productivity solutions, and a no-code drag-and-drop editor enables everyone to create beautiful designs that inspire people to action and drive results. 

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Step 1: Set your brand guidelines

Your brand, your rules. Lock in colors, fonts, and logos so your emails look like you —even if Greg from accounting gets a little too creative with the copy. 

There are several ways to set your brand guidelines in Beefree, but our favorite is to use our “Get Brand Styles” feature, which can be accessed in your workspace’s style settings.


Once you’re in your settings, click on “Get brand styles” and input your website’s URL. From there, Beefree will retrieve your brand’s colors, fonts, and social links. You can learn more about this feature here

Once you import your brand’s essentials, you can continue to add brand elements. You can get as granular as you’d like. From a predefined width for emails and pages, to the appearance of your CTAs. 

With our Advanced Style Kit, you can even set predefined background colors, set the appearance of lists, and tables. 

Once you add your style settings, every email your team creates with Beefree will have the same brand colors, icons, links, fonts, and whatever else you decide to assign. Now, let’s say you want to take things one step further. 

Step 2: Create re-usable content blocks 

Beverage brand and winner of our Endless Cheer Award, “Athletic Brewing,” is a great example that following a template doesn’t have to be restrictive. 

All of their holiday templates follow a similar layout: A hero section with a standout image, a large title, body text, and a CTA followed by a similar content block below. 

Resource from our Award Ceremony


Beefree’s Saved and Synced Rows are an easy way to build out templated layouts for your emails. Most users turn frequently used content blocks, such as headers or footers, into Saved Rows so they can easily use them in other designs. You can also save rows as “Synced” when you want to apply any changes made to a row to all of your other email templates. 

You can find all of your Saved and Synced Rows in the builder's Rows tab by selecting “My Saved Rows.”

Templates and re-usable content blocks aren’t just made to help you speed up creation time; they’re about allowing you and your team more time to be creative. The less time you spend worrying about what layout to create, the more time you can spend coming up with clever messaging or taking high-quality product shots. 

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Let’s get to the fun stuff.

Step 3: Bring your visions to life 

In our downloadable resource, we shared the characteristics of each email that made it stand out. We highlighted key elements such as persuasive copy, value-driven content, actionable CTA’s, interesting layouts, and so much more. 

We could spend hours sharing tips and tricks to emulate the award-winning characteristics of an email, but for now, we’ll share some of Beefree’s features that can help take your emails from “meh” to “Why didn’t I think of that?” 

Display conditions

Why settle for one-size-fits-all when you can design emails that feel like a direct DM to each recipient? Beefree’s Display Conditions feature allows you to pick a condition (or write one from scratch if you are technically savvy), apply it to a row, and thus show different content based on the recipient. 

We can see a great example of how Display Conditions could be used in Rael’s award-winning email below: 

Really Good Email Awards Deck

The “Hook, Line, and Sinker” Awards goes to Rael for its charming abandoned cart email that feels like a warm reminder rather than a hard sell.  Instead of just pushing one product, the thoughtfully curated product suggestions make it easy to explore complementary items. 

uevi.co/7663GXCO

Interactivity

Throughout all winning emails, we saw brands bring their message to life with movement. Whether they used videos, gifs, icons, or crafted visually interesting layouts – making their emails interactive was crucial in getting our attention. 

Resource from our Award Ceremony

With Beefree, you can turn your designs into playgrounds. Easily add videos, GIFs, countdown timers, surveys, hover effects, and more. To see what’s possible, we recommend browsing through our template catalog! 

Mobile design mode 

Part of crafting a truly on-brand experience is ensuring that your brand looks good anywhere. Beefree takes responsiveness and dynamic design to the next level by allowing you to create custom mobile experiences. With Mode Design Mode you can re-arrange, re-size, and remove elements for smaller screens. 

uevi.co/2498UJQM 

Step 4: Let AI take care of the little things 

Creating award-winning emails takes vision, creativity, and time. But let’s be honest—sometimes, the little tasks, like tweaking ALT text or sourcing the perfect image, can slow you down.

With Beefree’s AI-powered solutions, you can let your eager intern handle the busy work while you focus on making your emails unforgettable.

AI Image Generator

Struggling to find the perfect image? Beefree’s AI Image Generator lets you create custom visuals that enhance your email’s message. Just add an image block to your email and in the Content Properties panel on the right, click “Create with AI,” then fill out the details. For additional prompt suggestions visit this support page

Alt Text Generator

For us, alt text isn’t just a best practice—it’s essential for creating accessible emails. But crafting the perfect descriptions for every image can feel like a chore.

 Beefree’s AI ALT Text Generator takes care of it for you, automatically generating accurate and descriptive ALT text for your images, gifs, icons, and stickers. 

AI Copy Assistant 

When Greg from accounting gets a bit of writer’s block or when you need a little help writing a catchy CTA, AI is here to help generate bold and fresh ideas. 

Ready to start designing? 

A really good email involves a balance of best practices and bold moves. The winning emails didn’t just make an impact; they set the standard for what’s possible in email marketing. Now, it’s your turn to take the lessons, insights, and inspiration from these campaigns and channel them into your next great idea. Start designing with Beefree for free!

If you’re looking for even more inspiration or tactical takeaways, don’t forget to download the deck or watch the Award ceremony replay! 

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