Designing and coding emails can actually be a lot of fun… well, if you use Mailchimp!
Any web designer that has had to work on either the design and mostly the coding of an email knows the pain it can be. Not only because all of the limitations that email programs impose, and how tedious is the testing, but because you find yourself coding like is 1994. Thankfully there’s Mailchimp! I recently discovered it and can’t be more excited about it.
It was actually a really a good timing for it, since they happen to be running their “Design Throw-down” contest, so a great motivation to try and test their system. The verdict: they pass with an A!
So, why is it so good? To begin with they offer very handy documentation on their very well design website. Is easy to access, and a lot of times very fun. No kidding. They really put time on making the whole process something to enjoy (watch their videos!). To continue, they have also developed a super easy email template language to learn, that allows you to setup your template so your client can not only change/edit content but even make design adjustments, of course if you want them to. Another great little thing is their “merge tag” system that allows further customization and placement of dynamic content.
As far as the design goes, I went for a design to pair the AD-Traveler Theme I did for the Weebly contest. I thought that if any body where to use that template they could might as well, find a matching email template on MailChimp.
So here it is: The AD-Traveler Email Template
The template, laid out as a newsletter features a customizable banner, links to social media, repeated regions to place as many desired articles and a side bar with quick links, contact info and forward to a friend. You would be amazed how nice it looks even in gmail (the IE 6.0 for email applications). One cool little thing about this layout is it’s elastic colored background, so that when you open it it really pops and calls for attention. And in case you are using Mailchimp as a freebee (emailing a list of 500 for free), their badge look really nice in this design, just saying…
