Responsive Email Editor Overview

The responsive Reteno editor saves you time and helps you focus on segmentation, analytics, and personalization. You don't need to know HTML — drag and drop blocks to build your layout.

Let’s review the drag-and-drop editor’s capabilities.

Creating an Email Template

Before you begin, make sure you have access to a Reteno account with permissions to create email messages.

  1. Go to Messages → Messages → Email.

  2. Click New Email.

Settings
  1. Open the Gallery tab and select the template that best fits your campaign from the available categories.
Settings

You can now edit the selected template directly in the editor.

Editor Panels

The editor workspace consists of several panels:

  1. Email Management — manage the email lifecycle: save, undo actions, preview, test, etc.
  2. Structure and Modules — build the layout using predefined structures and modules.
  3. Content Blocks — add content such as text, images, buttons, etc.
  4. Message Settings — set core parameters, including subject, hidden preheader, and sender name.
  5. General Styles — configure global styles for stripes, headers, buttons, and other elements.
  6. Comments — collaborate with team members directly in the template.
Editor workspace with the Email Management toolbar, Structure and Modules icon, Content Blocks icon, and Message Settings, General Styles, and Comments icons numbered 1 to 6

You can drag and rearrange panels to customize the editor layout.

Settings

Template Structure

To create flexible emails that display correctly across all email clients (Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail) and on various devices, each email uses the following hierarchy: Stripe → Structure → Container → Block.

Settings

Stripe

A 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 part with contact details, social links, and legal information.
  • Info area — placed above the header or below the footer and contains service links (for example, a View in browser link or an Unsubscribe link).
Settings

Structures

A Structure is the largest element inside a Stripe and is added by default. To update or add another structure, click the Add Structure (+) button and select the required layout.

Structure label highlighted above a product card row, with a layout selection menu open and the Structure settings panel showing three containers

A single Structure can contain up to eleven containers in a row.

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Note

Avoid using a separate Stripe for every Structure unless necessary. The number of stripes increases the email’s HTML size and may cause Gmail to display the message only partially

Container

A Container groups content Blocks inside a Structure, for example, to create a product card. When a container is empty, it displays icons for adding basic blocks:

  • Image
  • Text
  • Button
Content blocks panel highlighted next to an empty container showing Image, Text, and Button icons

To add other blocks, drag the required block from the Content blocks panel into the container.

Blocks

Blocks are the smallest elements of an email. You use them to build and format the actual content.

Image

Use the Image block to quickly capture attention, visually highlight the key idea of the email, and simplify information perception.

Settings

Text

The Text block includes a built-in editor that lets you configure fonts, colors, spacing, and background styles. The block also supports AI-powered text generation.

Text block panel highlighted next to the email's body text on the canvas

Button

The call-to-action (CTA) button is a mandatory element of an email campaign that motivates subscribers to go to a website, social network, etc. The main button in the email is usually made in the same style as the buttons on the website.

Settings

You can place a button in a separate Structure with a single container, or in a Structure where the container includes the button and other content blocks.

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Note

A Structure with a single container that contains only a Button block does not reflow relative to other containers in the email.

Spacer

The Spacer block helps visually separate content blocks. In the block settings, you can configure the line type, color, height, and responsiveness.

Settings

Video

Some email clients don’t support HTML5 video playback. In those clients, the email displays a preview image, and the video opens in a browser when the contact clicks it.

In the block settings, add the video URL (YouTube or Vimeo) to the Video Link field.

Settings

The editor automatically pulls the video cover image. You can also set alt text and customize the play button.

Settings

Social Networks

Use the Social block to add links to your social media channels. Configure the link, alt text, size, alignment, and padding.

Settings

You can also use custom icons from the image bank or upload your own images.

Banner

A Banner combines an image with text and helps draw attention to key information. Use prebuilt banners available in the system or create your own.

You can design a banner in two ways:

  • Add an image with text to the block.
Settings
  • Use a ready-made banner from the module library.
Settings
Add text to a banner

You can add text in two ways:

  1. Use the editing panel (it opens when you click the image).
Banner block editing panel with the Text tool highlighted and a text box added over the image
  1. Use an image editor.
Settings

To add text in the image editor:

  1. Select Text.
Image editor toolbar with the Text tool highlighted
  1. Enter your text, then click Apply → Save.
Image editor with the Primefood text added over the image and the Save button highlighted
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Important

If you add text in the image editor and save it, you can’t edit the text or font later.

For a responsive layout, create separate banner versions for desktop and mobile, then hide each version where needed.

Banner block panel with the desktop and mobile device icons highlighted, showing separate desktop and mobile banner versions in the email

Appearance of both versions of the banners:

Side-by-side desktop and mobile preview of the email showing the Tasty Food banner and image

Timer

The Timer block encourages recipients to act quickly.

Settings

Configure the block using these settings: color, font, and size for each unit (days, hours, minutes, seconds).

Settings

After the countdown ends, you can replace the timer with an image. This helps if a subscriber opens the email after the promotion ends.

Settings

Menu

Use the Menu block to add navigation links to different areas of your message, such as the header or footer. It’s an easy way to include small CTAs — for example, if the user isn’t interested in the campaign offer but already knows what they want to find on the site. The block usually stays the same from one campaign to the next.

Reteno offers three menu types: Links, Icons, and Icons and links.

Settings

HTML

The HTML block lets you add your own HTML and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). In the adaptive editor, you can only edit images and links. You set up responsiveness yourself.

Settings

AMP Elements

AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) technology lets you create emails that work like stand-alone web pages. Subscribers can take action right in the email – for example, browse products or book a meeting.

Learn more about creating a template at the link >

Support Chat

The email editor includes a built-in Intercom chat. If you have any questions while working on your email, you can contact the support team without leaving the editor or losing your workflow context.

Email editor with the Intercom support chat icon highlighted in the bottom corner


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