Newsletter template: what belongs in it and how to build one
A good newsletter template is a single column no wider than 600 pixels, with your logo at the top, a clear hierarchy of headings and text, one main button, alt text on every image, a plain-text version, an unsubscribe link and the sender's address at the bottom. Lock those eight parts into a reusable template and each edition only needs its content replaced.
This page is a guide and a product page in one. First what every template should contain and where it goes wrong in dark mode, on mobile and in Outlook. Then how you build such a template in 2Mail's drag & drop builder and test it before sending.
The eight parts of a good template
Not design preferences, but parts that each prevent a concrete problem: unreadability, spam filters, complaints or a legal obligation you forget.
One column, 600 pixels wide
A single column reads the same everywhere, from a wide screen to a phone. 600 pixels is the width almost every mail client shows without a horizontal scrollbar.
Your logo at the top
The recipient must see at a glance who the mail is from. The logo links to your website and sits above the first heading, not as a big banner pushing the content down.
A clear hierarchy
One main heading, subheadings per topic and short paragraphs. Someone scanning must know within five seconds what the mail is about. Use font sizes that stay readable on a small screen.
One main button
Every newsletter has one thing you want the reader to do: order, sign up, read. Give that action a button set as text, not as an image, so it stays visible even without images.
Alt text on every image
Several mailboxes only show images after a click. The alt text is then what the reader sees. Without alt text, an image-heavy newsletter is reduced to white space.
A plain-text version
Alongside the HTML version you send a plain-text version. Spam filters look at it, and some recipients only read that version. The builder generates it; just check that it reads well.
An unsubscribe link
Mandatory, and in your own interest: whoever cannot unsubscribe clicks 'spam', and that weighs more than an unsubscribe. Put the link visibly at the bottom, in plain language.
The sender's address
Your company name and postal address at the bottom of every newsletter. It is a legal requirement and a trust signal at the same time: a real company, at a real address.
Dark mode, mobile and Outlook
A template that looks good in your browser is not finished yet. Three environments cause most of the surprises.
Dark mode
Mail clients in dark mode invert or adjust your colours. A dark logo on a transparent background disappears; white text in a coloured button becomes unreadable. Use logos with their own background and test in dark mode before you send.
Mobile
A large share of your recipients reads on a phone. A single column scales by itself, but buttons must be large enough to hit with a thumb, and font sizes under 14 pixels get zoomed or ignored on mobile.
Outlook
The desktop version of Outlook uses its own rendering engine that does not know much modern CSS: background images, rounded corners and some spacing drop out. Build your template on tables, keep the styling simple and send a test to an Outlook account.
The test send is therefore not a formality. Send your template to at least three real mailboxes: a webmail, a phone and Outlook on a PC. What looks right there looks right almost everywhere.
2Mail's template builder
You do not need to write HTML. The drag & drop template builder in the dashboard turns the eight parts above into blocks you drag, fill in and save.
Drag blocks
Text, image, button, divider and columns: you drag the blocks into the order you want and fill them in. The builder keeps the width and the structure in order, so the result holds up in every mail client.
Reusable templates
Save your layout as a template and reuse it for every edition. Logo, colours, footer and unsubscribe link stay fixed; you only replace the content. Every newsletter stays recognisable and no mandatory part gets forgotten.
Test send
Send a test to yourself and your colleagues before sending the campaign to your list. That way you see the mail as your recipients see it, with the real subject line, in the real mailbox, on the real device.
Building a template in five steps
Count on half a day for the first version. After that a new edition only costs you the time to write the content.
Choose the structure
Start with one column of 600 pixels and settle the order: logo, main heading, intro, two or three topics, button, footer. Sketch it on paper before you open the builder; that is faster than dragging back and forth.
Place the fixed parts
Set the blocks that return in every edition in the builder: the logo, the colours, the footer with your company name and postal address, and the unsubscribe link. This is the part you never touch again.
Fill in the content and the main button
Write a heading and two or three sentences per topic, add an image with alt text and place one clear button. Check that the plain-text version the builder generates reads well.
Test in real mailboxes
Send a test to a webmail, a phone and an Outlook account, and look at it in dark mode too. Fix whatever shifts or disappears and test again.
Save it as a template
Store the tested layout as a reusable template. You start the next edition from that template and only replace the content, so the design and the mandatory parts stay intact.
Checklist before you send
Run through these six points for every edition. They take two minutes and prevent the mistakes you can no longer recall once the campaign has left.