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Design your email — the email canvas, content & layout blocks

Design responsive emails using the drag‑and‑drop canvas and layout blocks

August 4, 2026
ID:
78

You design the email on the email canvas — a drag-and-drop workspace in the Design step (Step 3). The right-hand panel has four tabs: Content, Layouts, Styles and Attachments. Templates are reached from the toolbar above the canvas.

Toolbar

Above the canvas you can undo/redo, Browse templates, Save as template, Preview, Send test email, and (for A/B campaigns) Switch to Design B.

Content tab — Blocks

Drag any of these onto the canvas and configure them:

  • Rich Text — rich text; insert merge fields via the Merge fields option in the block's ⋯ (more options) menu, or by typing @. The block's right-hand settings also include styling controls: Background colour, Border (colour and thickness), Corner radius (roundness), and a shadow / pop-out effect. You can also insert and edit tables in this block — see Tables in a Rich Text block below.
  • Button — links to a URL.
  • Image — set link, size, alignment, padding and alt text.
  • Video — embed via URL.
  • Attachment — adds a download button (upload the file).
  • Divider — a horizontal divider line.
  • Social Media — Facebook, Google, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Vimeo and X; control style, size, shape, alignment, orientation and padding.
  • Location — embeds a map.
  • Unsubscribe Link — required; the builder warns you if it's missing.
  • Survey — links to a SwiftFox Form. Don't add an Add/Update Contact block — email tracking associates the submission to the recipient automatically.
  • Columns — split a section into columns to control layout.

Tables in a Rich Text block

Click into a Rich Text block to bring up its toolbar, then select Table to insert a three-by-three table with a header row. The table is added straight into the content — there is no size picker or dialog first.

With the cursor in the table, the arrow beside the Table button opens the editing menu, grouped as:

  • Columns — Add column before, Add column after, Delete column.
  • Rows — Add row above, Add row below, Delete row.
  • Table — Toggle header row, Merge or split cells, Reset column widths, Delete table.

Layouts tab

Pre-built layout blocks you can drag in and customise: Header, Callout card, Call to action, Button list, Event card, Paragraph and Footer.

Templates

Click Browse templates in the toolbar to open the Template library, where you can search, filter by email tag, sort, preview and then Apply & use template to bring that design onto the canvas. Applying a template replaces all existing content on the canvas, and the campaign is then completely detached from the template — later edits to (or deletion of) the template do not affect the email.

Save your current design as a reusable template with Save as template — you're asked for a Template name, a Description and Tags.

Managing the library itself (editing, duplicating, deleting and tagging templates, and building one from scratch) is covered in Email templates: the Template library, saving & managing templates.

Styles tab

Enable a View in Browser Link, set the Body background colour and Background colour, the Width (in px), and the List style (Aligned or Inline).

Attachments tab

Add downloadable files to the email (alternatively use an Attachment content block for an in-body download button).

Preview & test

  • Preview with a selected contact to resolve merge fields and see the email as that contact would.
  • Send a Test Email — choose the test recipient and the "person for merge" so the merge fields populate.