Email Structure

To flexibly create emails that display correctly in all email clients (Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail) and on different devices, the editor uses a four-level hierarchy: Stripe → Structure → Container → Block.

Email editor with a three-container structure selected and its Settings tab open in the side panel
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Uploading your own HTML

The editor opens an HTML template even when it doesn't follow the structure described below. Adapt the template to the Reteno editor structure before you send, and check the result in the editor. When you save the template in the editor, the editor adds its own service attributes and styles to the code; the email content stays the same.

Add the editor classes, such as esd-block-text and esd-block-image, only to blocks that follow this structure. If such a class is left in arbitrary markup, the email may not open in the editor — remove the class from that element.

Stripes

Stripe is a top-level element that divides an email into horizontal sections and helps organize the main areas of the message:

  • Header — the top part of the email with a logo or navigation;
  • Content — the main area containing text, images, buttons, and other blocks;
  • Footer — the bottom section with contact information, social media links, and legal details;
  • Info area — placed above the header or below the footer and contains service links (for example, view in browser or unsubscribe links).

When a contact opens the view-in-browser link, the web version shows a service panel above the email. Its language follows the reader's browser language when a translation for that language exists, and English otherwise.

Add the view-in-browser link in the settings of a text or a button: in the list of link types, open the tab with the Special links group and choose View in browser. If you paste a copied address of the web version as a regular Site link instead, the contact opens a version where the dynamic content, product blocks among them, is not substituted. Do not shorten that address through an external service either: at send time the platform appends a key that identifies the recipient, so a link shortened in advance stops working.

The address of the web version appears only after the email has gone out in a bulk campaign — even one to a single contact — and not immediately after the campaign starts.

Preview of a complete email showing the preheader bar, hero banner, and content section stacked as horizontal stripes

Structures

Structure is an element inside a Stripe that defines the number of containers in a horizontal row.
To add another structure, click the + icon and select the required configuration.

Structure element selected in the email with the Structure label and delete button highlighted and the container layout options shown below

A structure can contain up to 11 containers in a row.

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Note

It is not recommended to use separate Stripes for each Structure unless necessary, as the number of stripes affects the size of the HTML email and may lead to partial email display in Gmail.

Containers

A Container groups content inside a Structure. You place blocks inside containers — for example, to create a feature card with an image, a short description, and a button.

In an empty container, you will see icons for adding basic blocks:

  • image;
  • text;
  • button;
  • spacer.
Empty container selected in the email layout with the Drop content here area and quick block icons highlighted

Element Settings

Stripes, Structures, and Containers share a unified set of tabs.

Settings Tab

This tab contains parameters that define the element’s behavior and the conditions for its display in the email. The available options may include both common settings (available for all elements) and element-specific ones, depending on the element type (Stripe, Structure, or Container).

Common settings:

  • Padding (except for Stripe) — outer and inner spacing between structures and containers with blocks;
  • Display Conditions — rules for showing or hiding the element after the email is sent;
  • Include in — select the email version where the element appears (HTML, AMP HTML, or both);
  • Hide element — hide the element in the desktop or mobile version of the email.
Structure Settings tab highlighted showing containers, padding, margins, display conditions, and the Hide Element option
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Note

Switch the preview to Mobile (the device icon in the toolbar) before opening a structure or container's Settings tab to see mobile-specific controls — Containers Inversion, Padding on Mobile, and Margins on Mobile. These apply only to the mobile view and are separate from the default padding/margin settings shown in desktop preview.

Specific settings:

  • Stripe — configure the email area (Header, Content, Footer, or Info area);
Stripe settings with the Message Area dropdown open showing the Header, Content, Footer, and Info area options
  • Structure — set the number of containers, their width, and the spacing between them.
Structure settings showing three containers with their widths, the gap between containers, and padding values

Styles Tab

Structure Styles tab highlighted showing the background color, background image, border, and radius options

Data Tab

Use this tab to connect data sources and work with dynamic content (for example, data from a website).

Structure Data tab highlighted with the data source description and the Connect Website Page button

Blocks

A Block is the smallest structural element of an email template. You place it inside a container, where it holds the content. Use a block to add text, images, buttons, videos, and other message elements.

Container in the email layout with its Image, Text, and Button blocks labeled

The editor’s side panel contains all available blocks.

Email editor side panel with the block icons highlighted

To add a block, drag it into a container.

Dragging the Button block from the side panel into a container with the Drop here hint shown
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Note

If the container is empty, quick-add icons for basic blocks (image, text, button) appear inside it. Click the required icon to add a block without dragging it from the panel.

Adding a block from the quick icons inside an empty container

Click the block to open its settings, grouped into the following tabs:

  • Settings — define the block’s behavior and display conditions in the email: links, spacing, alignment, display conditions, and more.
  • Styles — control the appearance: colors, background, borders, and other visual properties.
Button block settings with the Settings and Styles tabs highlighted

Let's look at the elements of the Blocks tab.

Image

Check out the possibilities of working with images in a separate article.

Text

The text block has a built-in editor that allows you to change the font, background color, indents, etc. In addition, the text generator using artificial intelligence is at your service.

Text block selected in the email with its paragraph highlighted and the text settings open in the side panel

Button

Check out the possibilities of working with buttons in a separate article.

Spacer

The spacer helps visually separate different content blocks. In the block settings, you can select the line type, color, adaptivity, etc.

Spacer block in Line mode with the dashed separator line highlighted and its width, border, and alignment settings shown

Social Networks

Adds links to the brand’s social media pages — Facebook, Instagram, and others.

Social block with the social media icons highlighted in the email and the icon list in the settings panel

Block settings:

  • Icon type – choose the display style of social media logos: colored or monochrome.
  • Social networks list – add, disable, reorder, and enter links for Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, and others.
  • Icon size – set the height and width of the icons in pixels.
  • Space between icons – adjust the horizontal spacing between icons on large screens.
  • Title and alt text – additional labels for accessibility and hover tooltips (can be enabled or disabled if needed).

Menu

The Menu block is placed in almost all emails. You can add it both in the header and in the footer. The menu is an easy way to add small CTAs if, for example, the user is not interested in the campaign offer but knows what they want to see on the site. Usually, the block from campaign to campaign stays the same.

Menu block highlighted in the email header with the menu items and their links shown in the settings panel

There are 3 types of menus:

  • links
  • icons
  • icons and links

HTML

The HTML block is intended for adding your own HTML and CSS code. Note that only the functions of editing pictures and links will be available from the entire adaptive editor. The user configures the adaptability independently.

HTML block selected in the email with the code editor highlighted at the bottom

Banner

Displays a large visual element for the main message of the email. Image editing tools are available, similar to those in the Image block.

Banner block highlighted in the email with the image editing toolbar above it and the banner settings panel open

Video

The block displays videos from external platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo, or Instagram. The email shows a preview image with a Play button that opens the video page. This helps attract attention and increase engagement, for example, for product reviews, promo videos, or branded content.

Video block highlighted showing a YouTube preview image with a play button and the video settings panel open

You can add a video link, configure alt text, use a custom preview image and choose the play button style. Set the preview size for desktop in the block settings.

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Note

Most email clients do not support video playback in emails. After clicking the play button, the video page will open on the service where it is hosted.

For a video hosted on your own server rather than YouTube, Vimeo, etc., you can embed a native HTML5 player (MP4/WEBM) using an HTML block instead of the Video block. Only a handful of clients (for example, Apple Mail and Outlook for Mac) render inline video, so pair the embedded player with a fallback preview image linking to the hosted video for clients that don't support it.

Timer

More about creating a Timer >

AMP Blocks

AMP technology allows you to create emails that look like stand-alone web pages. The subscriber can perform an action directly in the email: browse a carousel of app features, answer a survey, book a session, etc. Instructions for setting up AMP elements:

Navigation and Actions with Elements

To select an element, click it in the editor.

Selecting an element in the email editor to open its settings panel

You can perform the following actions with any email element:

  1. Hover over the three-dot icon next to the required element.
Structure element with the three-dot icon highlighted next to it
  1. Select the appropriate option from the context menu.
Element toolbar with the delete, duplicate, move, and Save as Module icons highlighted

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