Create your own custom HTML email templates

Gist provides two templates to help you get started sending emails. Add your logo and select the colors and fonts that fit your brand so you can create a reusable design for your future email campaigns.

In this article, you'll learn how to create an email template.

Create custom HTML email template

To create a template for the HTML email builder, follow these steps.

1. Navigate to Settings > Email > Custom email templates.
2. Click Create new template.
3. Add and edit your HTML code.
4. Give it a name and click Save.

You can use any of Gist's pre-made templates as the base for your custom templates.

Template code:

Personal template

Here are some tips to remember when using custom templates:

1. You need to include these tags in the template:

1. The {{ content }} tag
2. The {{ unsubscribe_link }} or {{ unsubscribe_url }} tag

Note: The unsubscribe URL should be placed before </body> tag to be picked up by our validation checks and for the message to be saved correctly.

The {{ content }} tag

The {{ content }} tag will be replaced with the body of your email. This content will change each time you send a new message. You must include this tag even if you don't intend to update the content of your message body.

The {{ unsubscribe_link }}tag
You must allow your users to opt out of your messages. The {{ unsubscribe_link }} tag will include a fully formed HTML link with text that the user can click to opt-out. You can include the link itself in the email:

{{ unsubscribe_link }}

The {{ unsubscribe_url }} tag

If you'd like to provide your own wording for the unsubscribe link, the {{ unsubscribe_url }} tag will include just the unsubscribe URL. You can do as follows:

<a href="{{ unsubscribe_url }}">YOUR CUSTOM UNSUBSCRIBE WORDING</a>

2. Using images in your template

If you're using images in your template, you can use an app such as Imgur or CloudApp to host them. Then, paste the URL into your template code, and the image will display.

Use HTTPS (not HTTP) for images to avoid mixed content warnings. HTTP images will not display in your email preview in Gist. 

3. Using CSS in your template

You can use as much CSS styling as you want. We will automatically inline all styles in the head of your custom template.

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