Newsletter template: four examples to download for free

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, your message in real text, 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.

Below you first find the four starter templates of 2Mail as examples of a newsletter template, each free to download as HTML and with the situation the layout is meant for. Then what every template should contain, where it goes wrong in dark mode, on mobile and in Outlook, and how you build such a template in 2Mail's drag & drop builder.

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Four newsletter templates in HTML

These are the four starter templates you begin with in 2Mail's template builder. You pick one, replace the text, colours and images, and save the result as your own template. Rather start from scratch? Then you begin with a blank canvas.

The images are screenshots of the starter templates themselves, and each download is that same file: the HTML the 2Mail builder produces for that template. The sample text is placeholder copy that you replace with your own. Already a customer? Then choose "Start from template" in the builder: the same layout, but editable with blocks. A downloaded file is loaded through Templates → "Upload HTML" and then edited in the code editor.

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Template, layout, design or format?

These words get used interchangeably and in practice mean the same thing: the fixed design you pour each edition into. "Template" points at the reusable file, "layout" and "format" more at how it is arranged.

The layout of a newsletter

The layout is the order and rhythm of the blocks: what sits at the top, how many topics follow and where the button goes. A single column is the safe choice; two columns are fine for a product grid, provided they stack underneath each other on mobile.

The header of a newsletter

The header is the strip above the first heading: your logo, linked to your website, and optionally a link to view the email in the browser. Keep it low and calm. A navigation menu with six links belongs on a website, not in an email, and pushes the content down.

Format and dimensions

The common format is 600 pixels wide, with images you supply at double width so they stay sharp on a phone. The length is up to you, but keep the HTML light: Gmail clips a message once the code goes above roughly 100 kB, and then your unsubscribe link disappears too.

Newsletter design: 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.

Your message in real text

Put what you have to say in text blocks, not in one large image. Spam filters distrust an email that consists of images only, and anyone who has images blocked then sees nothing. Real text always stays readable.

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.

Testing in real mailboxes is therefore not a formality. In 2Mail, create a small test group with your own addresses and send the campaign there first, 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 and builds the HTML on tables, with provisions for Outlook.

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.

Live preview on desktop and mobile

While you build, you see the email in a live preview and switch between the desktop and the mobile view in one click. If you want to see it in a real mailbox, send the campaign first to a small test group with your own addresses and those of your colleagues, and only then to your list.

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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 in the live preview how the whole thing looks on desktop and on mobile.

Test in real mailboxes

Create a small test group with your own addresses and send the campaign there first: to a webmail, a phone and an Outlook account. 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.

Subject line and preview text are correct and not cut off on a phone.

Every link works and points to the right page, including the logo and the main button.

Every image has alt text; the mail stays understandable without images.

Unsubscribe link and sender's address are at the bottom and visible.

A send to your own test group has been checked on mobile, in Outlook and in dark mode.

SPF, DKIM and DMARC are set up for the sending domain, and the sender name is recognisable.

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Frequently asked questions about newsletter templates

How wide should a newsletter template be?

No more than 600 pixels, in a single column. That is the width almost every mail client shows without a horizontal scrollbar, and a single column scales to a phone by itself.

What must a newsletter contain by law?

A working unsubscribe link and the sender's name and postal address. Both are legally required, and the unsubscribe link is in your own interest too: whoever cannot unsubscribe clicks 'spam', and that weighs more heavily with mailbox providers.

Why does my newsletter look different in Outlook?

The desktop version of Outlook uses its own rendering engine that does not support much modern CSS: background images, rounded corners and some spacing drop out. Build your template on tables, keep the styling simple and always send a test to an Outlook account.

How do I make my template work in dark mode?

Use a logo with its own background instead of a transparent one, avoid white text that is only readable thanks to a coloured button and test the mail in a mail client with dark mode switched on. Mail clients invert or adjust colours, and you only see that in a real test.

Do I need to know HTML to build a template in 2Mail?

No. The drag & drop template builder in the dashboard works with blocks for text, images, buttons and columns. You drag them into the order you want, fill them in and save the whole as a reusable template for the next editions.

How do I test a newsletter before sending it?

First look at the live preview in the builder, which switches between desktop and mobile. Then send the newsletter to a small test group with yourself and your colleagues, with at least three real mailboxes: a webmail, a phone and Outlook on a PC. Check the subject line, every link, the alt texts, the unsubscribe link and the display in dark mode before you send the campaign to your list.