Email Template Creation Best Practices

When you’re building email templates, think consistency, clarity, and usability first. A well-structured template doesn’t just look good, it builds trust in your brand and may also impact where your message lands. Depending on how it’s put together, your email could show up in the inbox, get pushed into a promotions folder, or even risk being flagged as spam. Following these best practices can help keep your templates user-friendly, on-brand, and deliverable across major email service providers (ESPs) like Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and others.

1. Keep it simple and focused

Clean layouts perform best. Avoid over-complicating with too many graphics or designs, since that can hurt deliverability. Stick to one main message or action per email. Emojis are fine here and there, but keep it to 1-2 max per template so the tone stays professional.

Why this matters: Simple, lightweight templates are more likely to land in the inbox. Clutter or “salesy” type signals can push you into Promotions or Spam.
Helpful reference: How to Design a High-Converting Email

2. Subject line and preview text

Your subject and preview text should feel natural, short, and aligned with the overall tone of your email. Stay away from ALL CAPS, lots of punctuation, or phrases like “IMMEDIATE!!!” The subject and preview should complement each other but not be word-for-word repeats.

Why this matters: Short, natural subject lines and previews that avoid trigger words are less likely to be filtered and more likely to get opened.
Helpful reference: Email Subject Line Best Practices

3. Branding and design choices

Stick with your brand colors and fonts but try not to overload with images. ESPs prefer a healthy text-to-image balance, and fewer images also mean faster load times and smaller file sizes,  which can help your email get delivered smoothly. Use clean HTML/CSS where possible, and consider making your buttons styled links (not image files) so they’re more reliable and accessible.

Why this matters: ESPs look at text-to-image ratio and email size when deciding deliverability. Cleaner code and faster load times can help improve both inbox placement and user experience.
Helpful reference: The Importance of Text-to-Image Ratio

4. Accessibility and mobile optimization

Make sure your templates look good on any device like a desktop, tablet, or mobile. Most people will check email on their phone first, so responsive layouts are important. Keep your text large enough to read comfortably, and consider adding alt text to images so that if pictures don’t load, the message still makes sense.

Why this matters: If your message isn’t readable on mobile or images don’t load properly, engagement can drop. Poor engagement signals to ESPs that your email might not belong in the inbox and trigger spam filtering.
Helpful references: Guide to Email Design

5. Compliance and transparency

Trust plays a huge role in inbox placement. Always include a clear unsubscribe link, use a sender name and domain your audience will recognize, and be upfront about any fees.

Why this matters: Without an unsubscribe option, many ESPs (like Gmail) may block or filter your email altogether. Making it easy to opt out also reduces spam complaints, which directly protects your sender reputation and deliverability.

Helpful reference: CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business

6. Testing 

Before you send, test. 

• Send yourself a test email from the portal.

• Open it on multiple devices (phone + desktop).

• Check it in more than one inbox (work vs. personal).

• Make sure spacing, fonts, and alt text look right.

• Click every link and button.

• Check replacement fields 

• Confirm the “From” and “Reply-to” details make sense.
  
  

Why this matters: Small errors (broken links, bad formatting, bad replacement fields) can cause unsubscribes or spam complaints. Even basic manual testing helps you catch issues before it can damage deliverability.
Helpful reference: Why Testing Your Email Matters

Overall, keeping templates clean, on-brand, and transparent makes them easier for ESPs to deliver and can help increase your chances of reaching the inbox, not the spam folder.