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Hello,
I recently downloaded the trial of Adobe Muse to create a header for my email templates. I use both Constant Contact and Demand Force for email communication and both give the option of uploading your own html file.
This is what my preview looks like:
And when I upload it into Constant Contact and Demand Force, it looks like this:
I am just trying to create simple header (photo) with menu bar that links to our website pages.
Do my images / CSS files need to be hosted on the internet and NOT my computer? That is the only thing I can think of that would make it not load either....
Any suggestions would be great!
Thank you!!
Katie
I use Mail Chimp and they have the option to upload a ZIP file with your created HTML. Everything is hosted with Mail Chimp this way so no need to host on a outside server. The ZIP file just needs to have everything in there (not in folders, just loose). You would have to change the image links in your HTML file to read just the image name (i.e. "image1.jpg" and not "images/image1.jpg").
I'm not sure if CC or DF have the ZIP option. Maybe this helps
Thanks
Jay
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You are correct. Your CSS and your images all need to be hosted on the web for the email to render properly. An HTML email doesn't store images or css in the "HTML" file, it merely references them. So, you need to host your images and css on the web, and correct the links in the html file to the new web location.
Also, rather than using CSS, you should change to inline styling.
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Using the output from Muse for e-mail templates is not going to work in general.
Muse output is designed for the requirements of popular web browsers on desktops, tablets and phones. The requirements for generating HTML/CSS that works well across popular e-mail readers are very different.
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So what product would you suggest to build HTML emails in? Do you have any suggestions for someone who doesn't know HTML or CSS. I'm a print designer, using mostly Indesign. Should I just stick to templates in Mail Chimp or Constant Contact?
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What products in the CC range can be used (best to be used) designing HTML-mail messages? Currently I use Word, but I find Word to stiff for my needs.
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Hey, a bit late, but perhaps ...
I had the same problem. The problem with muse: A HTML-mail requires a special type of coding, called inline-coding. It's inevitable because of the myriads of mail-software.
What I did:
I checked some providers of HTML-mail-templates.
Useful are;
http://templates.cakemail.com/
http://www.benchmarkemail.com/resources/Free-HTML-Email-Templates
http://www.graphicmail.de/site/features_templates.aspx
When I found one that came quite close to my idea of a mail template, I opened it in Dreamweaver.
Ok, I know, that's for coding afficionados.
But if you open both the code and the preview side by side you easily find the lines where to change the text. There is also a menu where you can change the type attributes / CSS.
Then you have to change the colors according your personal CI (either directly in the side bar menu or by replacing the web color code in the code lines. (copy, search, paste)
You may check the effects of your changes immediately by pressing the preview button,
That's it.
And mailing via mac requires a special procedure: Open your mail in Safari (only Safari!), type cmd+i, and a new mail window will open, your mail perfectly adjusted.
Marianne, Germany
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I use Mail Chimp and they have the option to upload a ZIP file with your created HTML. Everything is hosted with Mail Chimp this way so no need to host on a outside server. The ZIP file just needs to have everything in there (not in folders, just loose). You would have to change the image links in your HTML file to read just the image name (i.e. "image1.jpg" and not "images/image1.jpg").
I'm not sure if CC or DF have the ZIP option. Maybe this helps
Thanks
Jay
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If you have access to it, try using dreamweaver. It comes with pre-fabricated templates and you can always create your own to expedite the process for you.
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Email templates need to be very simple, table based layouts to work consistently in email clients which don't always support HTML, CSS or JavaScript. Outlook is one of the worst culprits.
My advice is to find an industry tested email template from Constant Contact or Mail Chimp that you can work with in a modern code editor like BlueGriffon, Pinegrow or even Dreamweaver. You're not building a web page. Email is an entirely different beast. All assets -- images, scripts, etc... will need to be hosted on your server with absolute links. For example, https:/yourdomain . com / images / image1.jpg.
Keep in mind also that email is primarily a text based form of communication. Many email clients reject images for security reasons. So don't rely too heavily on them to get your message out. Text is more reliable. See link below for more details on HTML Emails.
HTML E-Mail & Newsletter Blasts - https://alt-web.com/
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Is there anything in the Adobe suite that can help build email? DW if way too complex.
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suzmemphis wrote
DW if way too complex.
Not true. DW has e-mail templates already built-in. Go to File > New > Starter Templates. Pick one and hit the Create button. See screenshot.
Save As email.html and then swap out the placeholder images & text with your own. It doesn't get any simpler than that .