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How to navigate VTE
How to navigate VTE
Updated over a month ago

When you’re ready to build and customize the visual look of your email campaigns, use Bluecore’s Visual Template Editor (VTE).

There are three ways to build your template:

Pre-built Template: If you want to get straight into launching your campaigns, you can use some of Bluecore’s pre-built templates as a starting point, just change the images and text to your branding. This is for marketers who aren’t as familiar with VTE yet, or don’t want to go through the process of creating a new template from scratch.

Visual Editor: The way most Bluecore clients make templates is through the Visual Editor. This allows you to drag and drop different elements into your template without using any code. The Visual Editor is for day-to-day marketers deep in the Bluecore platform who want to control every piece of their campaigns.

Code Editor: If you want to hand-craft every piece of your template, and you have coding experience, you can use the Code Editor to make your email templates. Everything that can be done in the Visual Editor can also be done manually through the Code Editor. This is for the more technical marketers who already have HTML and Jinja knowledge. It’s rarely used by Bluecore customers.

⚠️ Warning: Link Tracking isn't available for templates created using the Code Editor.

Pre-built template

To create a pre-built template for your campaign, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to the Creative tab , then click Email Templates, where you can find all of your previously created templates.

  2. Click Create New Template, where you’ll be presented with three options:

    1. Pre-built Template

    2. Visual Editor

    3. Code Editor

  3. Click Pre-built Template. A grid of pre-built templates will appear

Select a template that best matches the campaign type, such as Abandon Cart.

Visual Editor

To build a template using the Visual Editor, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to the Creative tab , then click Email Templates, where you can find all of your previously created templates.

  2. Click Create New Template, where you’ll be presented with three options:

    1. Pre-built Template

    2. Visual Editor

    3. Code Editor

  3. Click Visual Editor to begin creating a new template through VTE.

  4. Name your template something recognizable connected to the campaign you want to use with this template.

Now you’re ready to create your template.

On the side of the window, you can see different elements you can drag and drop into your template, separated into three different categories - Basic Components, Dynamic Products , and Global Widgets.

  • Basic Components

    • Basic building blocks of an email, such as navigation, images, text boxes, and buttons.

  • Dynamic Products

    • Configurations and alignments to insert blocks of products into the template.

  • Global Widgets

    • Larger elements that are created once and can be used across multiple campaigns, such as entire headers or footers.

ℹ️ Note: You do not need to build a campaign in any specific order. You can build from the top to the bottom, from the bottom to the top, or any other order.

When building the template, drag the element you want to add into the preview until a blue shadow appears where the new element will appear, then drop it.

how to drag element into a vte template

As you add each element, click on it to adjust details.

⚠️ Bluecore recommends a maximum of 20 linked components added to each email template. Linked components include:

  1. Smart Content (not the number of smart options)

  2. Global Widgets

Basic components overview

There are 10 basic components you can use for building your template:

  1. Mobile Navigation

    1. Links to the homepage or other common pages, for mobile users.

  2. Desktop Navigation

    1. Links to the homepage or other common pages, for desktop users.

  3. Image

    1. A photo, with an optional hyperlink.

  4. Button

    1. A larger editable link with color and font options.

  5. Multi-Column Layout

    1. Buttons or photos within multiple columns.

  6. Text

    1. A text box with font and link options.

  7. Divider

    1. A line to break up elements of the widget.

  8. Spacer

    1. An invisible line to add space between elements of the widget.

  9. Social

    1. Built-in links to social media sites, such as LinkedIn.

  10. Code Block

    1. Space to add custom code to your widget.

  11. Smart Content

    1. Dynamic Global Widgets that can change for different recipients

Mobile Navigation

  1. Navigation Left Padding/Navigation Right Padding

    1. Add padding to the right or left of the navigation links

  2. Font Size/Line Height/Letter Spacing

    1. Adjust the font size, line height, or letter spacing of the element

  3. Horizontal Alignment/Vertical Alignment

    1. Adjust the horizontal or vertical alignment of the navigation links. The checkbox will toggle a divider line between the links, which can also be adjusted.

  4. Layout

    1. Change the layout of the navigation links between side-by-side or stacked vertically.

  5. Navigation Links

    1. Choose how many navigation links will appear in the element. The dropdown on each link will open settings for each link.

  6. Widget Top Padding/Widget Bottom Padding

    1. Add padding for the element at the top or bottom.

  7. Container Background Color

    1. Set a background color, if the element is smaller than the frame

Desktop Navigation

  1. Nav Logo Position

    1. Adjust where the site logo should appear on the navigation, or remove it from the element

  2. Navigation Left Padding/Navigation Right Padding

    1. Add padding to the right or left of the navigation links

  3. Font Size/Line Height/Letter Spacing

    1. Adjust the font size, line height, or letter spacing of the navigation links

  4. Horizontal Alignment/Vertical Alignment

    1. Adjust the horizontal or vertical alignment of the navigation links. The checkbox will toggle a divider line between the links, which can also be adjusted.

  5. Navigation Links

    1. Choose how many navigation links will appear in the element. The dropdown on each link will open settings for each link.

  6. Widget Top Padding/Widget Bottom Padding

    1. Add padding for the element at the top or bottom.

  7. Container Background Color

    1. Set a background color, if the element is smaller than the frame

Image

  1. Hide widget

    1. Hide the image just for one device type. The image will still show for the other type

  2. Image Source

    1. Choose which image appears, either via URL or use an image from the asset library

  3. Link to

    1. Make the image link to a page on your website

  4. Alt Test

    1. Add alt text for screen readers

  5. Image Width

    1. Adjust the width for desktop or mobile

  6. Alignment

    1. Align the image to the left, right, or center of the template

  7. Widget Padding

    1. Add padding above or below the image

  8. Widget Side Padding

    1. Add padding on each side, for desktop or mobile

  9. Container Background Color

    1. Set a background color, if the image is smaller than the frame

Button

  1. Use Button Editor/Use Image

    1. Choose whether the button appears as an image, or use the built-in button editor in VTE

  2. Button Text

    1. Change the text seen on the button

  3. Link to

    1. Change the URL that loads when the button is clicked

  4. Text Color

    1. Change the color of the text in the button

  5. Font Size/Line Height/Letter Spacing

    1. Adjust the font size, line height, or letter spacing of the button text

  6. Font Family

    1. Adjust the font family of the button text. Use either a default font, or one from your font library

  7. Font Emphasis/Font Decoration

    1. Adjust the styling of the text on the button

  8. Alignment

    1. Align the button to the left, center, or right of the email

  9. Text Alignment Within Button

    1. Align the text within the button to the left, center, or right

  10. Top/Bottom Padding/Left/Right Padding

    1. Add padding for the button at the top, bottom, left, or right.

  11. Border Type/BorderColor/Border Thickness/Border Radius

    1. Add a border to the button, and adjust the settings for the border

  12. Button Color

    1. Change the color of the button

  13. Widget Top Padding/Widget Bottom Padding/Widget Side Padding

    1. Add padding to the top, bottom, left or right of the widget

  14. Container Background Color

    1. Set a background color, if the element is smaller than the frame

Multi-Column Layout

  1. Hide Widget

    1. Hide the element just for one device type. The element will still show for the other type

  2. Spacing Between Elements

    1. Adjust the spacing between the elements on mobile or desktop

  3. Font Size/Line Height/Letter Spacing

    1. Adjust the font size, line height, or letter spacing of the element

  4. Mobile Mode

    1. Choose the way the widget will adjust to the mobile screen sizes:

      1. Stacked - Place elements one below the other

      2. Even Division - Divide the columns evenly to fill up the width of the screen

      3. Scaled - Retain the desktop division but scale it down to fit on the mobile screen

  5. Elements

    1. Adjust the elements in the widget – either buttons or photos – adding text, changing font, or adding padding. You can also add new elements to the widget here.

  6. Widget Top Padding/Widget Bottom Padding

    1. Add padding for the element at the top or bottom

  7. Widget Side Padding

    1. Add padding for the element at the left or right, for either desktop or mobile

  8. Container Background Color

    1. Set a background color for the element

Text

  1. Hide Widget

    1. Hide the text just for one device type. The text will still show for the other type

  2. Content

    1. Change the text seen in the template, and adjust font settings, such as bold, italics, or underline. You can also change the font entirely, using fonts from the Font Library. This is also where you can insert dynamic coupon codes and leverage customer attributes.

  3. Font Size/Line Height/Letter Spacing

    1. Adjust the font size, line height, or letter spacing of the element

  4. Text Transform

    1. Transform the text in the element, either UPPERCASE, lowercase, or Capitalized.

  5. Widget Top Padding/Widget Bottom Padding

    1. Add padding for the element at the top or bottom

  6. Widget Side Padding

    1. Add padding for the element at the left or right, for either desktop or mobile

  7. Container Background Color

    1. Set a background color for the element to appear behind the text

Divider

  1. Hide Widget

    1. Hide the line just for one device type. The line will still show for the other type

  2. Color/Divider Line Type/Thickness

    1. Change the color, type, and thickness of the divider line

  3. Widget Top Padding/Widget Bottom Padding

    1. Add padding for the element at the top or bottom

  4. Widget Left Padding/Widget Right Padding

    1. Add padding for the element at the left or right

  5. Container Background Color

    1. Set a background color for the element to appear behind the line

Spacer

  1. Hide Widget

    1. Hide the spacer just for one device type

  2. Height

    1. Change the height of the spacer

  3. Background Color

    1. Add a color for the element, or make it transparent

Social

  1. Hide Widget

    1. Hide the element just for one device type. The element will still show for the other type

  2. Ignore Campaign Level Tracking

    1. Ignores previously set tracking parameters for social media links in this widget.

  3. Icon Width/Icon Spacing

    1. Adjust the width or spacing of the social media icons

  4. Alignment

    1. Adjust the alignment of the icons within the element

  5. Social Icons

    1. Adjust the icons in the widget, or add new ones

  6. Widget Left Padding/Widget Right Padding

    1. Add padding to the right or left of the element

  7. Widget Top Padding/Widget Bottom Padding

    1. Add padding to the top or bottom of the element

  8. Container Background Color

    1. Set a background color for the element to appear behind the icons

Code Block

  1. Custom Code

    1. Add your custom HTML or Jinja code here. This is only recommended for experienced coders.

Smart Content

  1. Name

    1. Name your piece of Smart Content, so you can keep track if you have multiple.

  2. Options

    1. Edit the options for the Smart Content widget. You can adjust the triggers for when different Global Widgets will appear, Customer Attribute, Product Attribute, or Date. You can also add options, and reorder the priority

  3. Fallback

    1. Choose whether a fallback option is available, if none of the options trigger

For more information, see Smart Content Overview.

Dynamic products overview

Dynamic products all bring products into your template, so the following overview will showcase when you might use each of the widgets.

  1. Feature Left/Right

    1. Show one primary product on the right or left side of the template, then a column of smaller products on the other side. Useful if you have one primary product and other tertiary products to showcase

  2. Grid

    1. Create a grid of available products, with customization on the number of rows and the number of products per row. Useful if you have numerous products, with slight differences between them

  3. List

    1. Similar to grid, but only one column of products. Also useful if you have numerous products, with slight differences between them

  4. Hero Product

    1. Shows just one product. Useful if you have one product to push to customer

  5. Single Row

    1. Similar to grid and list, but only one row of products, up to four. Also useful if you have numerous products, with slight differences between them

  6. Banner Product

    1. Shows one product, but wider than Hero Product, and across the width of the template. Useful for pitching one product to customers

  7. Single Column

    1. Similar to grid, but only one column of products. Also useful if you have numerous products, with slight differences between them

  8. Hero Product with Content

    1. Similar to Hero Product, but with an image or text block built into the widget

Related Articles
On-site Visual Template Editor: Text, Images, and Dividers
On-site Visual Template Editor: Coupons
On-site Visual Template Editor: Buttons
On-site Visual Template Editor: Timer and Spinner Widget
Global Widget overview
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