# Templates

> A template is a reusable email design built in MailCamp's drag-and-drop editor. Templates let teams maintain a consistent look across campaigns without rebuilding the layout each time.

## What it is

The template is the starting point for an email. It defines the structure, branding, fonts, colours, and any standing content (header, footer, social links). When you create a campaign, you can start from a template, then change only the parts that vary — the headline, body copy, images, links.

## Key concepts

- **Drag-and-drop editor**: drop content blocks (text, image, button, divider, columns) onto a canvas; no coding required.
- **Block**: a reusable unit of content — text, image, button, social links, video, divider, spacer, or custom HTML.
- **Row / column**: layout primitives. Rows stack vertically; rows can contain one to four columns.
- **Merge tag**: a placeholder that is replaced with each contact's data at send time — for example, the recipient's first name or city.
- **Mobile preview**: every template has a desktop and mobile preview so you can verify how it will look in any inbox.
- **Image hosting**: images you upload are stored and delivered automatically; no separate hosting needed.

## Default templates and your templates

MailCamp ships a library of starter templates you can browse from the editor. Anything you save lands in **Your templates**, kept separate from the defaults so your own work never mixes with the built-ins. Templates are scoped to the account: everyone on the same account sees the same ones, and there is no cross-account sharing.

## Common workflows

### Creating a template

1. Open **Templates** in the navigation and choose **New template** — or open an existing campaign and use **Save as template** to capture a design you already built.
2. Pick a starter layout or begin with a blank canvas.
3. Drag blocks onto the canvas and edit text and styles in the side panel.
4. Add merge tags where personalisation is needed.
5. Preview on mobile and desktop.
6. Save with a descriptive name and give it a tag or two.

### Using a template in a campaign

1. Pick the template in the campaign wizard.
2. The design loads into the editor as the starting point; you change only what differs for that send.
3. The campaign keeps its own copy — editing it never touches the template.

### Keeping a library findable

You pick a template from a dropdown in the campaign wizard, so a short consistent name ("Newsletter — monthly", "Promotion — flash sale") plus a tag makes the list scannable once it has grown. Saved rows work the same way: a row you save from the editor is reusable across templates and campaigns.

## Limits and edge cases

- Editing a template does not change campaigns already created from it.
- Custom HTML blocks give you full control but may look different in different inboxes — always preview before sending.
- Some modern web layouts (such as multi-column grids) behave differently in email clients than in browsers; the editor steers you toward designs that render well everywhere.

## Web routes

Paths use `:id` as the placeholder for a template's identifier.

- `/templates` — template gallery (default templates and your templates).
- `/templates/new` — create a new template.
- `/templates/:id` — view a template.
- `/templates/:id/update` — edit a template.
- `/templates/import` — import a template.
- `/campaigns/templates/tags` — tags used to organise templates.

## Related

- [Campaigns](/llms/campaigns.txt) — where templates are used.
- [Custom fields](/llms/custom-fields.txt) — drive merge tag values.
- [Tags](/llms/tags.txt) — organising a template library.
- [Assets](/llms/assets.txt) — the images a template pulls from.