Methods to create HTML templates with Gmail

With YAMM, you can send personalized emails in bulk with a simple Gmail draft as a template. But you can also choose to create an advanced formatted template using HTML and CSS directly in your Gmail draft. This article introduces the different methods you can use to reach this goal, as well as the associated benefits and drawbacks.

info To create beautifully designed newsletters, you can also Create your template in Google Docs and import it in Gmail.

Use an HTML template from a gallery

If you are starting from scratch and want to reach a nice output involving no specific coding skills, you can use an existing template:

From Gmail Layouts (preferred option)
From YAMM template gallery

Create your own HTML template

If you cannot find what you need in one of the template galleries, you can create your own template with the following method:

Method	Benefits	Drawbacks	Required knowledge	Link
Create your template in an online HTML editor and paste the rendered HTML into your Gmail draft	Fast method No knowledge of HTML or CSS required	Rendering may not be as expected, extensive tests should be run prior to mail merge	None	You can use a tool like this HTML online editor

Import an existing HTML template into Gmail

If you already have an HTML template that you want to leverage to send mail merge campaigns with YAMM, you can import it into your Gmail draft using one of the following methods:

Method

Benefits

Drawbacks

Required knowledge

Link

Copy/paste the rendered HTML in your Gmail draft

Fast method
No knowledge of HTML or CSS required

Rendering may not be as expected, extensive tests should be run prior to mail merge

None

Copy/paste the source HTML code in your Gmail draft in plain text mode

Clean rendering

YAMM email tracking is disabled with plain text drafts
Advanced knowledge is required

HTML

CSS

Code and create your own template in Gmail using HTML/CSS

Edit your HTML template in your Gmail draft

Whether you have used a template from a gallery, created your own template from scratch, or imported an existing HTML template from another tool, you can edit your HTML code with one of the following methods:

Method

Benefits

Drawbacks

Required knowledge

Link

Use your browser developer tools

Clean rendering

Advanced knowledge is required

HTML

CSS

Customize your template using your browser HTML/CSS editor

Use a Gmail HTML editor extension