Hosting images for HTML email designs

By HTML Export

If you wish to export your design as HTML to send via a 3rd party service, you may need to host your images somewhere online. This ensures they will also be displayed in the email template after you have exported the design.

Step 1: Find our where to host your images

Many email service providers (ESPs) do not host the images in your email template for you. In this case, you need to host them yourself. This means all of your images need to be uploaded to a web-based location which is publicly available (i.e. your website or web server), so that your recipients can see them in the email.

The best way to identify this location is by consulting with your IT department or whoever is responsible for running your website. They will help you figure out where you can host your images, give you the specific URL prefix you need to enter into Mail Designer 365, and show you how to upload all the image files.

Step 2: Export your Mail Designer 365 design

When you have finished designing your email template and are ready to export to your ESP, go to "Share" > "Website / HTML."

Exporting a Mail Designer 365 template as a HTML file

In the export window, you will see the option "Prefix image URLs with:". Here, as referenced in the previous step, you should enter the exact URL prefix given to you by the IT department.

After this, fill out the rest of the export fields and then click on "Export" to export your design as a HTML file.

Step 3: Upload images to your web server

Following export, you can proceed to upload your images to the location where they will be hosted from. Follow the URL prefix you entered into Mail Designer 365 and upload all of the images from the HTML export folder to that location.

If you have difficulty uploading files or require permission to access the server, an IT administrator or similar will be able to help.

Now, you can upload your email template to your chosen ESP. You will find a list of our export guides for individual email services here.

A Quick Tour of Mail Designer 365

Advanced Design Techniques

Background

Blend Modes

Campaigns

Configuring Text Styles

Creative Tools

Editing Text

Graphics and Other Objects

HTML Export

Image Areas

Images

Layout Blocks

Links and Buttons

Optimizing your Template for Mobile

Other Sharing Options

Plain Text

Preparing your Design for Sending

Preview your Design

Tables

TextScout

Using Retina Images with your Design

Exporting to other email marketing tools

By Gabrielle HTML Export

In addition to integrated sending options for email campaigns, Mail Designer 365 also supports all major email service providers. If your newsletter provider supports custom HTML templates with images, you should be able to export your design from Mail Designer 365 and import the HTML into your tool of choice.

Preparing your design for import

Depending on your service, you may need to import your design in one of the following ways:

‣ Create and upload a compressed zip archive containing all of the files you exported from Mail Designer 365

‣ Upload your HTML file and a separate zip file containing all of your images

‣ Copy & paste the contents of your HTML file and upload your images

‣ Upload all of the exported files individually

Getting help with other email marketing tools

This manual can only outline the basic steps required to upload a design to an email marketing tool. As every newsletter service works differently, you’ll need to consult the documentation provided by your email service provider to see if it is possible to import custom HTML templates and how they recommend you upload your design.

A Quick Tour of Mail Designer 365

Advanced Design Techniques

Background

Blend Modes

Campaigns

Configuring Text Styles

Creative Tools

Editing Text

Graphics and Other Objects

HTML Export

Image Areas

Images

Layout Blocks

Links and Buttons

Optimizing your Template for Mobile

Other Sharing Options

Plain Text

Preparing your Design for Sending

Preview your Design

Tables

TextScout

Using Retina Images with your Design

Exporting your design as a website

By Gabrielle HTML Export

Mail Designer 365 can export an HTML file containing your design. You can reuse your design with other services, or publish a copy as a webpage.

Once you have created your design, you can export it as a wesbite. This allows you to do even more with your design:

  • Offer readers with email programs that don’t support HTML the option to view your message as a webpage in their browser
  • Link to your newsletter directly from your website, for people that would like to see a newsletter before they subscribe
  • Upload your design to a third-party newsletter service

To export your design as a website

‣ Open your design

‣ Choose Share > Save as Website from the toolbar

‣ Choose a location to save your design

‣ Optional: Enter a custom name for the exported .html file

‣ Optional: If you plan on uploading your images to a separate web server, you can enter an absolute URL prefix for images:

Mail Designer 365 will create a folder containing the HTML file and images that make up your newsletter.

 

A Quick Tour of Mail Designer 365

Advanced Design Techniques

Background

Blend Modes

Campaigns

Configuring Text Styles

Creative Tools

Editing Text

Graphics and Other Objects

HTML Export

Image Areas

Images

Layout Blocks

Links and Buttons

Optimizing your Template for Mobile

Other Sharing Options

Plain Text

Preparing your Design for Sending

Preview your Design

Tables

TextScout

Using Retina Images with your Design

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