The email designer
Rows, columns and blocks — and why email layout has rules.
The designer builds your email out of rows that hold columns that hold blocks. That nesting isn’t arbitrary — it maps onto the structure email clients actually understand, which is what makes a design survive Outlook.
Building a layout
Add a row and choose its shape — one column, two, three, or an uneven split. Then drag blocks in from the left rail: text, image, button, divider, spacer, social icons, a menu, a video thumbnail, or raw HTML.
Drag to rearrange, or use the arrows on a block for precise moves. Each block has its own settings on the right: padding, background, borders, alignment.
⌘Z works throughout
Up to fifty steps, including AI rewrites and applying a whole template. Experiment freely — there’s no state you can’t get back to.
Text
Click a text block and type — editing happens on the canvas, so you see the result as you write. The formatting toolbar appears in the right panel: headings, fonts, sizes, colours, links, lists.
Insert merge tags like {{firstName}} from the toolbar, and use the ✨ button on the block to rewrite what you’ve written.
Images
Drag one in from the media library, or upload as you go. Images are hosted permanently, so a delivered email doesn’t break later.
Always write alt text. Most clients block images by default, so alt text is what a large share of your audience actually sees on first open. The pre-send review checks for it.
Email isn't a web page
Email clients are twenty years behind browsers, and Outlook is behind the rest. The designer keeps you inside what works, which is why it offers rows and columns rather than free positioning.
Two things worth knowing:
- Multi-column rows stack on phones. Design so reading order still makes sense stacked — check the mobile preview.
- Web fonts often don’t arrive. Gmail and Outlook strip them, so every font falls back to a system one. Treat a webfont as a bonus, not a brand guarantee.
Common issues
It looks different in the inbox
Expected to some degree — every client renders differently. Send yourself a test and read it on a phone, which is where most people will.
My layout breaks in Outlook
Usually a design leaning on something Outlook ignores. Simplify: fewer nested rows, standard fonts, no overlapping elements.
A border I set on text didn't appear
Text blocks handle borders differently from buttons because of an email-client limitation. If it’s not showing, try wrapping the text in a row with a background instead.
The email is huge
Gmail clips long emails, hiding your footer and unsubscribe link. The pre-send review warns you. Trim copy or move some behind a link.
FAQs
Can I paste in my own HTML?+
Yes — there’s an HTML block. Whatever you paste is yours to make work across clients, though.
Can I save a design to reuse?+
Yes — Save as template in the designer. More on templates.
Is there a dark-mode preview?+
Not as a toggle. Some clients invert colours automatically, which is another argument for reasonable contrast and against text baked into images.