Overview
Customized email templates enable you to use your branding on all automated outbound communications! With this new feature, you can change the subject line, color, themes, and language within emails!
⚠️ Please note that this feature is focused on the upload and use of custom templates and not building/creating those templates within GUIDEcx.⚠️
There are a variety of tools in the marketplace that can be used for template creation.
We wanted this feature to be system-agnostic so users can build templates wherever they choose and then leverage them in GUIDEcx.
User Access
Admins and Managers have access to upload templates and designate whether the organization is using the default template or custom template.
How to Import a Customized Template
TL;DR
Download the email template first so you can play off that
Use a free HTML online editor like this one
Make your customizations
Save the new email template (make sure it’s a .html file)
I use Text Editor (free on mac)
Upload the new email template!
Sit back and enjoy the new email template! (Don’t forget to conduct a few tests to ensure it’s working as expected!)
Navigate to the Custom Emails tab by either clicking the logo linked to Company Details or using the kabob menu and selecting the Custom Emails tab.
If you template is ready to go, you can immediately upload by clicking “+ Add Custom Email Template”
Provide a subject line, select which email template category you would like to upload and then upload the file!
Previewing the Uploaded Email Templates
Click the preview icon along the right side of each template row to see how it will look:
From the preview modal, you can download the template again if you need to make further modifications.
Navigating the Custom Emails Page
See Available Merge Tags
This tool allows you to view each template type and see which merge tags are available for use within that template. Additional merge tags are not available at this time, but might be considered in future iterations. To see the merge tags, simply select a template type from the drop down and a modal will populate with available options.
Download Default Templates
This tool allows you to simply download the existing default templates that GUIDEcx provides and gives you a potential starting point for customizing the template. We understand that some users are going to have resources that allow them to lean heavily into branding and customization while others might only want to update a bit of language in the existing templates.
Managing your Email Templates
Once a template has been uploaded you will see it listed in the table on the Custom Emails Page. Within that table there are options for managing the email templates, which include the following:
EDIT: you can access the Edit menu by clicking anywhere on the row. This launches a modal where a user can update the subject line of an already existing email template or upload a new version of the template.
PREVIEW: Clicking the preview icon launches a preview of the template. Within the preview you can download the template if desired.
ENABLED: This checkbox is what manages whether or not an uploaded template is actually being used. If the box is checked, then the template will be used, if the box is unchecked then the custom template will not be used and users will receive the default template.
DOWNLOAD CUSTOM EMAIL: A user can simply download a copy of the template. This is great if a user wants to update a custom template, but has misplaced the file they originally uploaded when creating the template.
DELETE CUSTOM EMAIL: This deletes the uploaded template permanently (there's no way to restore it).
Best Practices
If you wanted to only change the subject line, then all you'd need to do is omit the template file altogether and just specify a custom subject line.
Use of a template is universal within the organization. You cannot alternate from default template to custom template on a per project basis. Your choice is to use a custom template or a default template, but whatever choice you make applies to all projects. As an example, you could choose to update and customize the “Project Welcome” template but nothing else. That means that for all projects users would use the new “Project Welcome” template and then all other emails would be the system default templates.
Users should find the template creation tool that works best for them. At many organizations there will be team members who have the necessary skills and experience to quickly build custom templates. Some organizations might already even have a software solution in place, so users should definitely have some internal collaboration before adding a new software to your tech stack.
Continue to leverage merge tags! Merge tags are an incredibly powerful tool for customizing emails and should continue to be used as part of your custom templates.
FAQs
Can I alternate between custom templates and default templates on a project by project basis?
Can I alternate between custom templates and default templates on a project by project basis?
No, if a template is enabled it is enabled for the entire organization and will be used until it is disabled within the settings.
Can I have a variety of templates in each category and choose which one I want to use?
Can I have a variety of templates in each category and choose which one I want to use?
No, the best way to think about these templates is that you have two choices:
1. Either use the default templates or
2. Use a custom template that replaces the default template.
It shouldn't be thought of as a library of templates, rather a way to create a more branded, customized version of the template that will be used at scale.
In my business we serve multiple audiences that speak different languages, will I be able to have multiple templates with different languages?
In my business we serve multiple audiences that speak different languages, will I be able to have multiple templates with different languages?
Unfortunately, not at this time. This is our initial version of this tool and adheres current parameters of one version of an email being sent at scale. However, if you have primarily served a non-English speaking audience, this enhancement allows you to tailor your emails to that audience and have the templates written in that language instead of English and potentially serve them better rather than relying on browser translations.
Can I design and create templates within GUIDEcx directly?
Can I design and create templates within GUIDEcx directly?
No, this feature focuses on the importing of templates created by other 3rd party tools. The one we use is Sendgrid.