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Getting Familiar With the Design Email Editor

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Elvanto's Design Email Editor lets you create visually appealing and engaging emails to communicate with your church or organization. This article provides an overview of the editor's features and how to use them.

The Design Email Editor is divided into three main sections:

  • Content: This is where you'll find all the tools to build your email.
  • Blocks: This section offers pre-designed blocks to jumpstart your layout.
  • Body: This is where you set the overall design and settings for your email.

Content

This section houses the tools you'll use to build your email. Simply drag and drop the elements you need onto your email canvas. Here's a rundown of the available tools:

  • Columns: Create layouts with multiple columns to organize your content.
  • Buttons: Add call-to-action buttons that link to websites, forms, or other online resources.
  • Divider: Insert visual dividers to separate sections of your email.
  • Heading: Create headings and subheadings to structure your content.
  • Text: Add and format text content, including paragraphs, lists, and links.
  • Image: Insert images to enhance your email's visual appeal.
    • Important Note about Images: The Design Email Editor automatically compresses images during the sending process, regardless of the overall email size. This helps optimize email delivery and load times.
  • Menu: Create navigation menus within your email.
  • HTML: Insert custom HTML code for advanced customization.

Blocks

Jumpstart your design process with pre-built blocks! These blocks offer various column sizes and layouts, providing a foundation for your email structure. Simply drag and drop a block onto the canvas and customize it with your content.

Body

Before diving into content creation, use the Body section to set the overall design for your email.

General:

  • Text Color: Set the default color for your email text.
  • Background Color: Choose a background color for your email.
  • Content Width: Control the width of your email content.
  • Content Alignment: Align your content to the left, center, or right.
  • Font Family: Select the default font for your email.

Email Settings:

  • Pre-header Text: This is a short summary that appears after the subject line in the recipient's inbox. Use it to provide a preview of your email's content.

Links:

  • Color: Set the color for hyperlinks in your email.
  • Underline: Choose whether to underline your hyperlinks.

Image Sizing

Header Banner

  • Desktop:
    Width: 650px–700px
    Height: 90px–200px

  • Mobile:
    Width: 350px
    Height: Up to 100px

Body Banner

  • Desktop:
    Width: 650px–700px
    Height: 350px–500px

  • Mobile:
    Width: 350px
    Height: 200px

Footer Banner

  • Desktop:
    Width: 650px–700px
    Height: Up to 150px

  • Mobile:
    Width: 350px
    Height: 100px

Tips for Using the Design Email Editor

  • If your images are rotating when uploaded, try converting them to JPEG format before uploading.
  • Use the pre-header text to provide a concise and engaging preview of your email's content.
  • Experiment with different blocks and content elements to create visually appealing and effective email layouts.

Troubleshooting: Transparent PNGs Displaying Unexpected Background Colors

The Issue: You may notice that logo files or images uploaded as transparent PNGs appear inconsistent across different devices. For example, a logo may display correctly with a black background on desktop email clients, but appear with a white background on mobile devices (particularly iOS).

The Cause: This is often expected behavior for PNG files. PNGs support an "alpha channel" (transparency). However, not all email clients, browsers, or image viewers handle transparency the same way.

  • If a platform does not fully support transparency, it may fill the transparent area with a default color (usually black or white).

  • Even if the platform supports transparency, the underlying "canvas" color of the application (e.g., Dark Mode vs. Light Mode settings) will show through the transparent parts of the image, altering its appearance.

Resolution: To ensure your image background looks consistent on every device, we recommend "flattening" the transparency by converting the file format.

Steps to Fix:

  1. Open your original design file.

  2. Add a solid background layer. Ensure the background behind your logo/image is set to the specific color you want (e.g., solid black #000000) rather than leaving it transparent or using a placeholder.

  3. Export as a JPEG or PDF.

    • JPEG: Best for photographs and web images where small file size is a priority. JPEGs do not support transparency, so they will force the background to remain solid.

    • PDF: Best for high-resolution documents or print-ready files.

  4. Re-upload the new file to your email template.

Placement Advice

You mentioned you weren't sure if this was the right place for the info. Here is a quick guide on where to put it:

  • If your article is a general "How to design emails" guide: Add this as a "Pro Tip" or callout box in the section about uploading images.

  • If your article is a technical FAQ: This deserves its own heading, likely under "Image Troubleshooting" or "Common Display Issues."

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