In autumn 2024 the Quanda email editor gained six updates: autosaving a draft email every 5 minutes, a new email structure with a background colour for the whole header and footer, a background colour or image for the whole email, a SPAM test that also checks the content, subject line and URLs, better email display in MS Outlook and an email preview straight from the campaign overview. For each update you will learn where to find it in Quanda and what to watch out for.
In brief
- Your draft email saves itself every 5 minutes, with nothing to switch on.
- Change the background colour of the whole header or footer with one click.
- A background colour or image now covers the whole email, header and footer included.
- The SPAM test also checks the subject line, text and target URLs and stops a risky email from being sent.
- Cleaner email code means better display in Outlook and longer emails without clipping in Gmail.
- Open an email preview with one click straight from the campaign overview.
In brief: what is new, since when, who it concerns and where to find it
- What is new: autosaving your email every 5 minutes, a background colour for the whole header and footer, a background colour or image for the whole email, a SPAM test that checks content, better display in Outlook and an email preview from the campaign overview.
- Since when: since autumn 2024, with nothing to switch on.
- Who it concerns: everyone who creates emails in the Quanda email editor and sends campaigns.
- Where to find it: in the email editor under the cog wheel in the right-hand menu (email background), in the SPAM test when setting up mailing and in the Actions column of the email campaign overview.
What has changed since this article was published: The SPAM test is now a standard part of setting up a campaign for mailing. It checks both the technical and the content side of the email and returns a score from 0 to 10, see the guide Setting up mailing in a simple campaign. The earlier 2024 updates are summarised in the article Six updates in the email editor.
Over the last 2 months we have added several interesting improvements to the email editor, and not only to the editor. Read on to see what's new.
1. Autosaving your email
We have added a feature that automatically saves your draft email every 5 minutes. You don't need to turn it on. As soon as you open the email page, the clock starts and after 5 minutes the email is saved automatically. From then on it is saved every 5 minutes. If you leave the page and come back later, the clock resets. After 5 minutes the email is saved automatically again.
Tip: Autosave protects you from losing your work, for example if you close the browser by mistake. Still, save the email yourself before you leave it after a bigger edit. That way you don't have to wait for the next 5 minutes to pass.
2. A new email structure
We have changed the structure of the email so that you can set a background colour or image for the whole email better and more easily. We have also added the option to set a background colour for the whole header row or the whole footer. With one click you change the background colour of the entire header or footer of the email.
3. A background colour or image for the whole email
You can now set the background colour of the email, header and footer included, with one click. You will find it in the email settings under the gear icon in the right menu, where you can also set the email width and the background colours of the email body, header and footer.
You can now also add a background image for the whole email. The background image can therefore sit under the header and the footer as well. This lets you create even more attractive, better looking emails.
An email preview with a background image. The image now shows under the email header and all the way to the bottom edge of the email, including under the whole footer.
Tip: Not every program that displays emails supports background images. So always set a background colour too, one that matches the image and keeps the text easy to read. If the image doesn't load, the recipient can still read the email. How email programs that block images behave is covered in the article Can't see images? Don't worry. Read the title.
4. The SPAM test now checks content, subject lines and URLs
To make the whole application more secure, we have extended the email SPAM test to check the subject line and the email body, including the target URLs.
We are responding to the growing number of attempts to misuse Quanda to spread inappropriate content, fraudulent and phishing emails.
Jan SpáčilCEO QuandaQuanda now checks the content of the email, and if it comes across a word, phrase or inappropriate URL, it marks the email as "SPAM" and stops it from being sent. You immediately receive an email with a warning that highlights the word, phrase or URL that failed the check.
A copy of this email also goes to our support team. As soon as we receive it, usually within minutes, we review the email on our side, and if everything is fine, we adjust the check and you can send the email as usual. Before sending, the email has to pass the SPAM test again, and then you send it.
A note from October 2024: This whole system is new and is still being fine-tuned and "settling in". We expect everything to be adjusted within a few weeks so that you won't even notice this new check. Thank you for your understanding and patience.
The SPAM test also shows you a score from 0 to 10. The closer the result is to zero, the lower the chance that the email ends up in the junk folder. The most common content issues and how to fix them:
| What the SPAM test finds | How to fix it |
|---|---|
| A subject line written in capital letters only | Write the subject normally, with capitals only at the start and for names |
| A risky word in the subject line, such as "free" or "sale" | Describe the specific benefit, such as what the recipient gets and by when |
| An email body made of a single image | Put the key message in text and let the image support it |
| More images than text | Add text so the email makes sense even without images loaded |
| Low contrast between the text and the background | Choose dark text on a light background or the other way round |
| A link whose visible address differs from the real one | Put the link on a word or sentence, not on text that looks like a URL |
Why the last row? After sending, Quanda replaces links with its own to measure clicks, so text that looks like a web address then leads somewhere other than it appears to. An email program may flag that as fraud, see the guide Why are some e-mails marked as "Fraudulent"?
5. Better email display in MS Outlook
We have also put a lot of work into optimizing how emails display, especially in MS Outlook.
For years it has been a real challenge for us to fine-tune emails so that they display in MS Outlook too, the way you want them and the way you create them in the email editor.
Jan SpáčilCEO QuandaIt is not an easy task. Fine-tuning even small things takes days, more complex ones whole weeks. So what have we managed to do?
- Cleaner email code. We have cleaned up the entire email code and removed all unnecessary code. This lets you create a longer email and avoid unwanted "clipping", which happens when the email is larger than 102 KB. With less code, the email can be longer.
- Text in the header and footer. We have fine-tuned how text displays in the header and footer, including its alignment and formatting.
- The background of the whole email. We have fine-tuned the use of a background colour and image for the whole email.
- Header and footer over an image. We have fine-tuned the display of the header and footer background colour in combination with a background image for the whole email.
- Columns aligned to the top. We have managed to fine-tune the vertical "top" alignment of multi-column email content. If your email has 2 or more columns, their content now aligns to the top.
Tip: The 102 KB limit is enforced by Gmail. It cuts off a longer email and hides the rest behind a link to view the entire message, so the recipient may not even see the footer with the unsubscribe link. Instead of one very long email, send two shorter ones or shorten the text and link to your website. Before sending a campaign, send yourself a test email to Outlook and to Gmail and check how it looks.
6. Email preview straight from the email campaign overview
We heard you :-) and added an icon (in the Actions column) that opens an email preview in a new tab straight from the email campaign overview. You no longer have to click all the way through to the email editor page. Thank you for the suggestion, and we look forward to more!
In the editor you can also switch the email preview to mobile view and check that the email displays correctly on a phone too. Step-by-step instructions for building an email are in the guide E-mail editor of a simple e-mail campaign.
What to try in Quanda right now
- Give the header and footer of your email a background colour that matches your brand.
- Try a background image for the whole email, together with a background colour for programs that don't show it.
- Run your email through the SPAM test and fix everything that raises the score.
- Check that no link uses a web address as its text.
- Send yourself a test email to Outlook and Gmail and compare how it displays.
- Open an email preview from the campaign overview and review older campaigns you want to build on.
In closing
If you have any questions about these updates or an idea for what would make working with email even easier, let us know at support@onquanda.com or call us on +420 605 163 892. We are happy to look at your ideas and, if possible, put them into practice. If you would like help with your email from the start, book a free consultation. More email editor updates from 2024 are in the article Six updates in the email editor.
All the best!
Honza from Quanda
