An email is only as effective as its design. That’s the sad truth. If an email can’t capture the recipient’s attention at first glance, the chances of them receiving the intended information, let alone finishing the predetermined action, reduces drastically. So, to ensure good results for your email campaigns, you need more than great content. You also need one truly outstanding design.

We’ve already talked about what a great email should look like. However, there’s still the problem of how. Creating a beautiful email design from scratch is not that easy. You need to have a great understanding of how HTML works. Moreover, you must invest time and effort to perfect your designer skills. Time that most business owners simply don’t have.

So, a much better solution is to use an Email Template Builder, one that makes Email Designs as easy as dragging a few boxes.

Naturally, the market is full of such builders, and one can easily feel intimidated by the vast number of options. That’s why we’re here. To give you our honest opinion on the 5 most useful and easy-to-use Email Template Builders.

Why Use An Email Template Builder

Writing an email was never that hard. You simply write a formal letter to a person or an organization. However, when it comes to emails as a marketing tool, simply writing a few carefully chosen words is not enough. You need to mesmerize, to capture attention, to persuade. Thus, any visual aid is more than welcome.

You can judge by your own reaction when you see a CTA that’s a floating link and a well-designed button. Not to mention the branding opportunities, connected credibility, and trust they inspire.

However, creating a visually pleasing email is not an easy task. HTML knowledge is a must, but even if you have the skills to build your own email template, it will require significantly more time than simply using an email builder.

Email template builders can offer an easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface that requires zero coding skills and can create stunning visual designs. Naturally, this will save even a professional designer a lot of time; they can invest elsewhere. The best template builders will offer you pre-build templates that will instantly give you access to a masterfully designed email, where all you will have to do is change the content. However, since times change, so do preferences, you can also quickly build your vision, add brandable accents, and boost engagement with quizzes, surveys, and videos.

So, now that you have a basic idea of what you can do with these builders, let’s see which ones will best suit your needs.

BeeFree

BeeFree is, without a doubt, one of the most intuitive options for email template building. Anyone can create a mesmerizing email in minutes without any hassle or doubt. Probably the best feature of this builder is its outstandingly easy-to-use interface. One look at it, and you will know precisely where to go to achieve your goals. Integrating an image, video, or any other block to your email is as simple as dragging and dropping a set element onto a sheet.

What We Love About about BeeFree?

Now, creating an email from scratch can be intimidating, even with a builder as easy as BeeFree. Thankfully, BeeFree offers a solution. Over 1000 ready-to-go email templates based on the type of email and your industry, of course. For example, if you want to offer a service as an agency, you can search the “Agency” category. There, you will find the email template that best fits your needs.

Naturally, all elements of your email can be customized further to fit your needs and brand image. This includes fonts, colors, interactive elements, and anything in between.

But what makes this builder truly great is the real-time preview feature. This feature allows users to check how their emails will appear on desktop and mobile devices, ensuring consistency across platforms.

Last but not least, BeeFree seamlessly integrates with the largest Email service providers (ESPs). So, whether you’re using MailChimp, HubSpot, Gmail, or any of a plethora of other ESPs, you can simply integrate the ready design. They can arrange the rest.

Where Can BeeFree Do Better?

Still, there are a few downsides of BeeFree, which you must consider if you are going to use them. First and foremost, the customization options are limited if you are going to use the free version only. Considering the relatively low prices, that’s hardly the best option, but still, the free version is excessively limited. To get a true feeling about the product, it’s far better to test it through the 15-day trail and see the full range of customization options.

Still, the biggest downside is probably the lack of built-in analytics. This is a huge hurdle when it comes to tracking performance and forces users to use third-party tools to monitor their campaigns. This is one downside that advanced users will simply not overlook.

Finally, there are some precision limitations as well. While the drag-and-drop interface is a genuine masterpiece, it lacks the precision other traditional editors have. This is not a huge problem for novice email builders, who only need a great-looking, persuasive email representing their brand.

Who is it for?

Despite these minor issues, BeeFree is a great option for small to medium-sized businesses or individuals who want to streamline their email design process without the need for technical skills. Its clean interface and strong customization tools provide value, especially for those who prioritize design over complex automation features.

Unlayer

Unlayer is an intuitive email builder that goes beyond what you expect. It’s designed to accommodate a vast segment of the market, with both beginners and advanced users being able to benefit from its outstanding features. Beginners will benefit from the vast plethora of customization options and templates, while advanced users will fall in love with the seamless integration with ESPs and the collaboration tools. That’s precisely what sets this one apart. It focuses on teamwork without sacrificing the ease of use.

What We Love About Unlayer?

Unlayer’s intuitive drag-and-drop interface is one of its strongest assets. Users can easily design emails by dragging elements like images, text, buttons, and even social media links onto a canvas. For beginners, the platform offers over 600 pre-built, customizable templates, making it simple to create professional designs. Prior design experience is definitely not a prerequisite for building a successful email design.

Still, as we’ve already mentioned, the focus of Unlayer is collaboration. Businesses can assign roles, manage permissions, and allow multiple users to work on the same project. This feature is especially useful for agencies or larger teams, as it speeds up the feedback and approval process, ensuring smooth collaboration.

To put the icing on the cake, Unlayer allows us to save custom blocks for reuse in future campaigns. Naturally, this saves a ton of time but also allows users to keep track of which features of their email drive the results.

The platform offers a Chrome extension, allowing direct integration with Gmail. As you can imagine, this is an outstanding solution for busy website owners, who can simply design their email directly from Gmail and send it in a matter of minutes.

Where Can Unlayer Do Better?

One of Unlayer’s significant shortcomings is the absence of built-in tracking and analytics tools. While the platform provides an excellent design experience, users must rely on third-party integrations to monitor the performance of their email campaigns, such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.

Another area where Unlayer falls short is in its lack of A/B testing functionality. This feature is crucial for marketers who want to test different versions of their emails to optimize performance, and its absence might deter more data-driven users.

Who is Unlayer For?

Freelancers and agencies will benefit the most from Unlayer due to its ease of use and collaboration functions. However, small to mid-sized businesses will also find it particularly useful thanks to the permission controls and role assignment options, ensuring that different experts can do their part on a single platform.

Postcards

Designmodo created one truly spectacular builder, allowing non-tech-oriented users to create effective and winning email campaigns. Postcards is a visually-driven email builder that stands out for its ease of use and robust design capabilities. It’s particularly tailored for marketers, designers, and business owners who want to create professional, mobile-responsive emails without any coding knowledge.

It’s the modular system that makes the difference, as it allows users to create their unique email design based on pre-made modules. Once stacked, these modules can be customized to perfection according to the brand’s needs.

What We Love About Postcards

When it comes to Postcards, the effortless navigation and use are definitely among our favorites. Sure, other builders offer a seamless experience as well, but Postcards take it to a whole new level. Whether you’re using one of the 60+ pre-made templates or you are building your own with the 100+ modules at your disposal, creating a stunning email design is a breeze.

Moreover, Postcards ensures that emails look great on all devices, with built-in mobile optimization and full mobile customization capabilities. This is essential for today’s marketing landscape, where the majority of users check their email on the go through their smartphones.

Furthermore, there is the one-click export feature, which is by far the easiest one across the email-building tools. With a single click, you can sand your ready designs to some of the most prominent ESPs. Naturally, this significantly streamlines the entire process.

And, of course, let’s not forget about the customization. All modules can be heavily customized to answer all brand’s needs. With the newly introduced Brand Settings feature, you can now manage your brand’s assets more efficiently.

Finally, we have the recently introduced real-life collaboration. The real-time cursors display and see what everyone does live is a gold mine for companies whose email projects are more of a team effort.

This makes Postcards a forefront runner for both big and small companies.

Where Can Postcards Do Better?

One drawback is that Postcards currently offers limited support for dark mode in emails. Given the increasing popularity of dark mode in many email clients, this can easily be a dealbreaker for some designers. Of course, there are workarounds, though, but still, it’s one thing that Postcards can work on.

Building a new module is another mild inconvenience. Don’t get us wrong. It’s easy enough, and you have all the needed elements pre-made. But it’s still less intuitive than other builders. On the other hand, if you use the premade modules and templates, a toddler can build your email.

Finally, we have the names of their modules. They are quite handily separated into various categories like Content, Menu, Header, Footer, etc. However, the different modules inside lack a descriptive naming. This, of course, would barely be an inconvenience to people with some email-building knowledge. For complete newbies, however, this could be quite overwhelming. The previews of the module certainly help, but a descriptive headline, like “promotional email header” or “lead generation header” or something indicating what the purpose of this premade module was, would add additional value to the already handy email builder.

Who is Postcards For?

Regardless of the small inconveniences, Postcards are often preferred by marketers, designers, and small businesses who understand the power of a beautiful email. The powerful tool is quite efficient at making emails look unique and on brand, thanks to its modular system.

Topol.io

Simplicity and efficiency – that’s what Topol.io is all about. Whether it’s the intuitive drag-and-drop interface, the responsive design, or the seamless integration with most of the known ESPs, working with this email builder is as effortless as it comes.

What We Love About Topol.io?

The user-friendly interface is, without a doubt, the best Topol feature. Users can quickly create HTML emails by dragging and dropping various design elements, such as images and text blocks, without needing to write any code. Even those with no design background can easily navigate the platform to create engaging and mobile-optimized emails in minutes.

However, Topol offers much more. The email designs you can build with the builder are not simply gorgeous emails. They are responsive templates that can be reused in various marketing campaigns. But more importantly, all emails will be just as beautiful on a mobile phone as they will be on the desktop. This is a huge prerequisite for a successful email campaign.

Users can also create and save custom blocks for future campaigns, streamlining the email creation process. Additionally, Topol allows for image embedding, which means images can be linked from external sources without needing to be uploaded, saving time and server space.

And, of course, all known ESPs are in the mix. Topol.io can seamlessly integrate with almost all ESPs, further streamlining the email marketing campaign.

Where Can Topol.io Do Better?

While Topol.io offers many design elements and templates, there are some limitations to the extent of customization. The editor can definitely bear more template options and advanced customization features. However, as a builder who is oriented toward novice users rather than experts, this is not such a huge problem.

Then, there is the extremely limited free plan. You have only 14 days without a subscription, and although the price is not too steep, it still can be a barrier for some freelancers, who rarely need the full extent of what Topol.io is offering for its premium version.

Finally, while the design is pretty easy to handle, sending your design to ESP platforms like Gmail and Zapier is a bit more complicated. For a tool that’s so easy to work with, this is definitely a surprise.

Who is Topol.io For?

Topol.io is best suited for small to medium-sized businesses, freelancers, and marketing teams that need a straightforward tool for creating visually appealing, responsive emails. Its drag-and-drop editor, combined with the ability to save reusable blocks, makes it a time-saving solution for those with frequent email campaigns. However, it may not be the best fit for larger enterprises or designers who need extensive customization options or a vast template library. Still, if you are looking for a fast and easy solution to conduct regular email campaigns, Topol.io is a great tool to have.

Stripo

If you are looking for advanced HTML customization options that complement a powerful drag-and-drop editor, Stripo is the way to go. Unlike many basic email builders, Stripo allows users to seamlessly integrate interactive AMP content and customize templates with minimal coding, making it a flexible tool for both beginners and more advanced users.

As you can guess, there is a slightly steeper learning curve, but the builder is, without a doubt, the most powerful of the bunch.

What We Love About Stripo?

Naturally, the builder is as straightforward as they come. The drag-and-drop interface is user-friendly and accommodates all beginner’s needs. The editor is well-organized, with customizable blocks that can be dragged and dropped into place. The best part is that you can switch to HTML for further customization. This opens many doors for more experienced email designers to create truly unique and stunning templates.

For those who need additional help, there are over 1300 pre-build templates, many of which are editable and easily customizable. This allows users to quickly adapt pre-made designs to their brand’s needs without starting from scratch.

One of Stripo’s unique features is its support for Accelerated Mobile Page (AMP) content. This enables interactive elements like forms, quizzes, and polls to be embedded directly into emails. As you can imagine, this skyrockets the engagement possibilities of any email and is a great way to create various email types.

Finally, Stripo is, without a doubt, the champion when it comes to integration. The platform offers seamless connection to over 70 ESPs and CRMs. Furthermore, you can export your emails as HTML, PNG, or PDF if, by any chance, you are not using one of the 70 ESPs.

Where Can Stripo Do Better?

While Stripo has a vast template library, most are reserved for premium users. Those accessible with the free version are with limited options.

Furthermore, Stripo is not great when it comes to dark mode. This can be an issue for designers who want to ensure their emails are optimized for users who prefer this display option. Still, as we already mentioned, there are some workarounds by choosing neutral colors that look good both in light and dark. Moreover, without a doubt Stripo will soon introduce a solution to this problem.

Finally, we must address the steep learning curve surrounding the advanced features. While the drag-and-drop editor is easy to use, the AMP and HTML customization can definitely intimidate beginners and even intermediate users. Still, once you get the hang of it, these options give you unlimited customization power over your emails.

Who Is Stripo For?

Stripo is ideal for marketers, small businesses, and agencies who need a versatile and efficient tool to create responsive, visually appealing emails. It’s particularly suited for teams looking for interactive email capabilities through AMP or those who value seamless integration with various ESPs. However, those seeking an all-in-one platform that includes email marketing management and analytics may need to look elsewhere, as Stripo is more focused on the design aspect of email marketing.

Some final words

Choosing your email builder will depend on your needs, of course. You need to consider your industry’s standards, what your audience will expect, and your branding needs. Most importantly, however, you must be ready to accommodate the influx of traffic that your emails will generate. The most devastating thing you can experience is an overloaded server when your emails start producing much-needed traffic. Such a scenario will instantly ruin your current endeavors, as you will lose trust, customers, and authority. Even worse, many of your subscribers will never return or even flag your email as spam. This will be devastating for any future email campaign.

That’s why you need HostArmada to ensure your hosting infrastructure is ready for the challenge. You need resources to accommodate your influxing traffic – we have it. What about speed – ours is the fastest available. Plus, we offer top-notch security and a 99.9% uptime guarantee. Our cloud-based hosting service allows for generous buffer zones, meaning your website won’t go down due to a sudden massive increase in traffic. On the contrary, we will organize the traffic in a manner that will give every customer the best experience on your website.

So, check out our offers and choose the one that best suits your needs. Remember that a great email campaign, no matter your industry, brand, or goal, is to ensure you won’t leave your customers hanging. So our services are not a luxury. They are the essence of your success.