It doesn’t store or recall changes (I have to remember each spec and reinput it with every tweak). You do not allow a memory recall for all uploaded images for both between emails and the webpage and emails. YET, it recalls a header just fine. Heaven forbid you didn’t click save and accidentally navigate away from the page. Even in the website development, there are TWO *.scss files you have to change to get to see all changes on a page. All with insufficient references to what each actually changes/does. The same in the email… create a collum? there is a hundred class settings with nothing but gibberish in front of them. I mean I have taught myself 3 different codes, but this interface is ridiculously hard to navigate, change, read, and understand. You literally ask “size” and give zero idea of the units of measurements much less reference to what you are working with.

I am not a programmer, but even I can see you lack some of the most basic tools to accomplish the most simple tasks. My web admin has asked us not to host on your site simply due to the extreme difficulty to bring ANY help in to keep our pages relevant to our clients. I have my website and newsletter hosted on a different service, and the more I try to use you for our Party, the less I want to use you, on top on justifying the added cost. This complaint is 3 years old and you still have this problem. I am thankful for your responsiveness, but the lack of results is speaking volumes.

We hired a NB Architect to develop a better format, unfortunately even with that help we are still forced to change code vs. the drag and drop norm that became the standard in the early 2000’s. NB is a great program but needs to provide better abilities in this area and stop trying to use this as an up-sell opportunity.

Nathan – we can definitely help you format your header correctly. Please email [email protected] with a link to the email template you’re trying to update & your header image and our theme team can take a look. I absolutely hear you that our themes need updating to both the style and the way you edit them, unfortunately I don’t have any news on when they will be updated.

So why is my template distorting my header and looks fine in the web page? Why can I not use a different header, or at least remove it? I am trying to create a newsletter and a monthly email that I need a different look for and I am stuck with using only a fraction of the templates due to this.

“Let me google that for you link” is your answer to a client’s question?
I am still dishing out money to Mailchimp because NB cannot scratch their quality.

Saying this: NB is lucky that they don’t have any other database program that links to the apps for campaigns.

I created email blasts for a client back in 2005 with Constant Contact and even ELEVEN YEARS AGO their interface was MUCH more advanced and easy to use than this one. I have had to combat this antiquated interface for only one day and I want to shout on a rooftop how nobody should sign up for this.
I even called your number and talked with a woman who just showed me where the HTML code was located. I changed the code to simple things like a background color and saved it and NOTHING HAPPENS. I don’t see a change in your little preview box on a different tab (not in real time on the same tab) and nothing is changed when I send a test email to myself.
How in the world are you still in business?

Agreed with the group, the NB email templates are very disappointing…hard to use from a functional standpoint and embarrassing from a visual standpoint. NB- when will the email system be improved?

These email templates are a real disappointment. Having used Vertical Response, Constant Contact and Mail Chimp — which allow you to customize templates and content without having to know HTML. They are very intuitive and user friendly. NB templates are visually uninteresting at best and are overly complicated to work with on top of it.

I want to echo the frustrations of others surrounding the available email templates. For a newsletter, the available templates are uninspiring and limited. I heard rumor that new templates will eventually be released, so I really hope that’s happening soon. I was able to import a newsletter I designed in iContact, by putting the entire html of the newsletter in the template file and leaving the body blank. I then had to insert the necessary NB liquid elements in order to send. The entire process was very clunky and time consuming, and I ended up leaving the associated images in iContact where I originally uploaded them instead of uploading them to NB and manually changing the image url. Using this method requires that I keep paying for my iContact account if I want to use their templates, which is an unexpected expense. I am very disappointed with the email functionality and template availability in NB and really hope they work to improve this soon.

Yes – I agree with everyone here. One of the weakest points of the NB platform is the email system. Most groups I work with had been using Constant Contact, Mailchimp, or another system with much more robust design options. It doesn’t feel good to move to an email system that feels more limiting and elementary.

I have a decent understanding of html and in the past worked with several of the big email blast providers (Constant Contact, iContact, Emma, etc.). I regret to say this is weak point for the NationBuilder system. Editing and creating customized email blast templates should not be as difficult as it is. None of the others find the need to reference possible third parties to be contracted for this service. I mean doesn’t that pretty much makes clear that it is an issue? Most require a very basic understanding of html, if that.

I’ve spent countless hours reading comments and posts attempting to troubleshoot email template design issues (before ultimately giving up, by the way), so I know I’m not the first to make this observation. But I really would like the concern to be taken seriously and the issue to be resolved to solidify this weak point in the system.

Hey @kristingillies, there are no differences in functionality between any of the templates; all differences are cosmetic, and some pull in images from the website the broadcaster is associated with.

It would be great to know what the difference between each of these public email templates are. For example, what added functionality or layout options i get by using the newsletter template versus the basic email template?

I also want to have an “in this issue” set of links in the left column, or at the top of the newsletter, so readers can click to an item further down. So I went to one of the free email templates online that you referenced and created such a template, but I don’t know how to import it into NationBuilder.