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With ActiveCampaign's Classic Designer, you can use drag-and-drop design blocks to create beautiful campaigns, automation emails, and templates without having to know code.
Types of email design blocks in the Classic Designer
Email design blocks are building blocks you can use to create your campaigns, automation emails, and email templates. They are available with the drag-and-drop email designer.
You can use any of these blocks to create and customize your email or email template.
Email design blocks include:
| Block name | Plan level available | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Text block | All | Use this to add text to your email or email template. Once you’ve added a text block to your email, click on the text block to reveal the editing toolbar. From there, you can change the font, size, color, and alignment of your text. You can also add links and personalization tags. In the “Options” tab to the right, you can change line height (the space between each line), background color, and adjust padding and margins. |
| Image | All | Use this to add an image or gif to your email or email template. You can also use the image editor to modify any images you wish to use in your emails. |
| Button | All | Use this block to make a call-to-action stand out in your email. The “Options” tab in the right menu will let you change the text and add your link. You can also adjust the color, size, and shape of the button to your liking. |
| Video | All | Use this to link to a video in your email. The block will generate a screenshot from your video and display it in your email with a play button. When contacts receive your email, they will be able to click the play button and your video will open in a new tab or window in their browser. |
| Line break | All | Use this design element to add a horizontal line break in between your content blocks. |
| Spacer | All | Use this mobile-friendly design element to add a blank space between your content blocks. |
| RSS feed | All | Use this to insert your RSS feed into your email. This block makes it easy for you to automatically share news and new blog posts with your contacts. |
| Social links | All | Use this to add your social media links to your email. Doing so will let recipients share your message on their social networks. |
| HTML | All | Use this to add your own custom HTML code to your email. For example, you can use this to include a countdown clock. |
| Products | Plus, Professional Enterprise | This block will appear as a desgin block that you can add to any automation email. Note that you must have the Shopify Deep Data integration set up in your account in order to use this block. This block can display the following items for products in your connected Shopify store:
|
| Abandoned cart | Plus, Professional, Enterprise | Available with automation emails only. This block will appear when creating emails for any automation that uses the “Abandons Cart” trigger. |
| Predictive content | Professional and Enterprise | This block will help you send the right content to the right contacts to increase your click rate. |
Add and move email design blocks
Add design blocks
Adding design blocks to your email is easy. To do so, drag the block you wish to use from the right menu to your design.
As you drag the content block to your email, you'll notice a green highlight line. This line indicates where the content block will be placed when you release the design block.
Move design blocks
Once you add a design block to your email or email template, you can easily move it. To do so:
- Hover your mouse over the block you wish to move.
- Click the four-directional handle that appears to the right of the block.
- Drag and release the block to the desired spot.
Email design block settings
Each design block in your email or template has its own settings.
Email design block settings include:
| Setting name | Description |
|---|---|
| Duplicate | Clicking this option will create an exact copy of the block. Not available for Predictive Content. |
| Make conditional | You can choose which recipients will see this block based on segments. Read the "How to use conditional content" help article for more information. Not available for Predictive Content. |
| Hide on mobile devices |
This option will hide the block when the email is viewed on a mobile device. |
| Save to content library | This option will let you save the block to a content library. Once it's saved, you can easily add it to any email or template you create. See the "How to save and reuse email content" help article for more information Not available for Predictive Content. |
| Delete this |
This option will remove the block from your design. |
To access the settings for a design block:
- Hover your mouse over the block.
- Click the gear icon that appears.
A modal menu will appear and list all settings that you can adjust for the block. Click the setting option in the modal that you wish to use.
Email design block "Options" menu
Each design block has styles unique to them, but all blocks contain a similar set of styles you can edit in the right menu under the "Options" tab. This menu will appear when you click any block in your layout.
| Option name | Description |
|---|---|
| Block background | Use this to add a color to the background of a single block. |
| Block border | Borders are set as a pixel value and can be increased or decreased. As you adjust the pixel for your border, you will have the option to set the style (solid or dotted) and set the border radius. You can also choose a color for your border. |
| Block margin | Margins are set as a pixel value and can be increased or decreased. You can also choose which sides will have margins. |
| Block padding | Padding is set as a pixel value and can be increased or decreased. You can also choose which sides will have padding. |
| Column background | Use this to add a color to the background of a column. |