I'm managing around 30 different transactional email templates, and it's become quite a hassle to update them. For instance, if I need to change a footer or a call-to-action, I have to edit 30 separate files one by one.
Most email builders are set up for campaign workflows, focusing on design and sending through an email service provider (ESP). However, I'm in need of something that works more like a headless CMS with the following features:
- Templates should be stored centrally and accessible via an API.
- A visual editor that allows the marketing team to make updates without needing developer assistance.
- Options for dynamic content with variables.
- The ability to update a shared section once so that all templates automatically reflect the changes.
Since our emails are triggered directly from our app rather than through a standard ESP campaign flow, the usual builder-to-ESP model doesn't really suit our needs. Has anyone found a solution for this, or is managing raw HTML in the codebase the norm?
2 Answers
Right now, I'm actively working on a similar issue for another SaaS project. If you're interested, I'd love to get some feedback on what I'm developing!
What you're looking for typically requires two systems in place. You could keep the more fragile layout components in your codebase using React Email or MJML with partials, and let your marketing team manage the copy through a CMS. The idea of a single visual editor with global partials is appealing, but it can get tricky when debugging issues in Outlook. Seems like a classic trade-off, right?
I get what you're saying, but it can be a pain when marketing wants more than just copy changes. It usually ends up creating extra dev tickets.
Absolutely! Is your approach more focused on visual editing or coding from the start?