Types of Templates

When you design an email campaign in MailChimp, you’ll typically begin with one of our templates. Choose from a variety of options designed with different business goals and styles in mind, or code your own template from scratch.

In this article, you'll learn about the different templates types, so you can decide which one is best suited for your needs.

MailChimp Templates

Featured

When you know what you need your email marketing campaign to do but aren't sure about how to design it, Featured templates can help.

Whether you want to promote a new product, send a survey, or make a special store or brand announcement, our Featured templates recommend what to include in your campaign. All Featured templates make use of our drag-and-drop editor, so they're mobile-responsive and allow you to easily change the look of your email campaign to suit your needs. Plus, each Featured template includes a special logo placeholder that automatically pulls in your default brand logo.

To view Featured templates, navigate to the Templates page, and click Create Template. Featured templates are in the Layouts tab.

You can also access these templates in the Campaign Builder.
Featured template options include:

• Sell Products
  Market a line of products or promote seasonal items.
• Make an Announcement
  Share details about a sale, event, or other big news.
• Tell A Story
  Send a newsletter to let people know what you've been up to.
• Follow Up
  Send a tailored email to people who have engaged with you.
• Educate
  Explain your products or share knowledge about a topic.

Basic

Our Basic templates use the drag-and-drop editor to help you add your own content to a blank, mobile-friendly email layout. Most of them include a special logo placeholder that automatically pulls in your default brand logo.

Two template styles are available in the Basic tab: regular and full width. Regular templates default to a single color background with a border. Full width templates include Boxed Text blocks that offer background color options. No matter what template you choose, you can add a Boxed Text content block in the drag-and-drop editor.

To view Basic templates, navigate to the Templates page, and click Create Template. In the Layouts tab, scroll past Featured templates to see the Basic options.

You can also access these templates in the Campaign Builder.

Basic template options include:

• 1 Column
• 1 Column - Full Width
• 1:2 Column
• 1:2 Column - Full Width
• 1:2:1 Column
• 1:2:1 Column - Full Width
• 1:3 Column
• 1:3 Column - Full Width
• Simple Text

Themes

We teamed up with some of the most talented designers on the web to bring you beautiful templates that are simple to use. You don't have to know anything about design or programming to get started. Just pick one of our predesigned themes, plug in your content, and you've got a beautiful email campaign. These predesigned Themes offer a number of categories to choose from like newsletters, e-commerce, holiday, sports, and events.

Themes templates use a drag-and-drop editor similar to our basic templates, but were created by designers with specific design elements in mind, so some editing options may not be available.

To view Themes templates, navigate to the Templates page, and click Create Template. On the Themes tab, you’ll see several different categories of predesigned templates.

You can also access these templates in the Campaign Builder

The Themes template categories include:

• Featured
• E-commerce
• Events
• Newsletters
• Notifications
• Photography
• Stationery
• Integrations (if applicable)

Integrations

Integrations templates allow you to populate email campaigns with data pulled in from our built-in SurveyMonkey and Eventbrite integrations. These can only be accessed from the Campaign Builder, under Themes templates.

Code Your Own

If you want more control over your email design than our templates offer, consider creating your own custom template. Designers can use MailChimp's template language to create a dynamic template they can import as HTML. This is helpful for web designers who want to upload a template for a client, and create sections that are editable, repeatable, or hideable.

To view or add a Code Your Own template, navigate to the Templates page and click Create Template. On the Code your own tab , you’ll see options to Paste in code , Import HTML , or Import zip.

You can also access Code Your Own templates in the Campaign Builder.

For more help with custom-coded templates, check out these resources.

Getting Started with MailChimp’s Template Language
Types of Custom Templates

Import a Custom HTML Template

Which Templates to Use

If you don't see a template that's specific to your needs or to your industry, this list will help you decide which template to use.