Workflow Transactional EmailWorkflow Transactional Email

Build an email layout

An email layout is the email itself: the subject line, the design, and any attachments. The Shopify Flow action picks a layout and a sender, then sends. Because the layout is separate from the workflow, one design can serve every customer without you touching HTML again.

The Email Layouts list

Create a layout

Go to Email Layouts and click Create email layout. You will set:

  • Name - how you recognise it. Only you see this.
  • Subject - supports {{ variables.xxx }} and {{ secrets.xxx }}.
  • Description - optional, for your own reference.

Then choose an editor:

Editor Best for
Visual builder Designed, branded emails built from drag-and-drop blocks
Rich text / HTML Simple transactional notes, or a fully custom HTML email you paste in

[!WARNING] The editor choice cannot be changed after the layout is created. If you pick the wrong one, create a new layout - it is quicker than fighting the editor.

The visual builder

The builder is a two-panel screen: settings on the left, a live canvas preview on the right. Add blocks with the Add section button or the + markers between existing blocks.

Choosing blocks in the email designer

The left panel has four tabs:

Tab What it holds
General Name, Subject, Description
Branding Colors, typography and layout spacing for the whole email
Blocks Settings for whichever block you selected on the canvas
Test Variables Sample values used for previewing, plus the system variables reference

Each block on the canvas has controls to drag it, duplicate it, delete it, or hide it without deleting.

A layout built from heading, image and text blocks

Block reference

Elements

Block Settings
Text Rich text, alignment, font size (12/14/16/18), color
Heading Heading text, size (Extra Large H1 to Small H4), alignment, color
Image Image (upload or link), alt text, width 10-100%, alignment
Button Label, URL, style (Primary / Secondary / Outline), alignment, border radius 0-24px
Divider Color, style (Solid / Dashed / Dotted), thickness 1-8
Spacing Height 4-80px
Attachment File picker and a title. See Attachments and images
Loop Repeats a block of Liquid + HTML over an array variable. See Variables and Liquid
HTML / Code Raw HTML with Liquid, including {% if %} conditionals
QR Code Data (URL or text, supports variables), size 80-300px, alignment

Layout

Block Settings
Image + Text Image position (left/right), image width 20-70%, vertical alignment, gap, background color, plus image / text / button sub-components
Two Columns Column split (50/50, 33/67, 67/33, 40/60, 60/40), gap 0-40, vertical alignment, padding, and separate left and right column contents

[!NOTE] Inside a Two Columns block you can only place Text, Heading, Image, Button, Divider and Spacing. Attachments and nested layout blocks are not allowed there.

[!NOTE] The QR Code block embeds the image inline in the message. That works on SMTP, Microsoft 365 and Google senders.

Branding

The Branding tab applies to the whole layout:

  • Colors - primary, secondary, text, body background, content background
  • Typography - heading font, body font, line height
  • Layout - max width, container padding, block padding, block spacing

The font dropdown offers system fonts (Arial, Georgia, Verdana, Times New Roman, Helvetica, Trebuchet MS), a set of Google fonts (Inter, Roboto, Open Sans, Lato, Montserrat, Poppins, Nunito, Raleway, Playfair Display, Merriweather, Source Sans 3, Oswald, Work Sans, DM Sans, Space Grotesk), and any custom font you uploaded under Settings.

The header and footer are clickable regions at the top and bottom of the canvas. Each can use a saved preset so a change to your branding updates every layout at once, or Custom (this layout only) for a one-off. See Header and footer presets.

Rich text / HTML mode

In this mode the body is a single editor with a Rich text / HTML toggle and a separate Preview toggle.

  • Rich text gives you a familiar formatting toolbar.
  • HTML gives you a raw textarea - paste a fully designed email if you already have one.
  • Insert image adds a hosted image, either from your media library or from a link.

[!WARNING] Switching from HTML back to Rich text can simplify tables, div layouts and inline styles. The app asks you to confirm first. Switching is blocked while you have unsaved changes.

The preview is read-only and shows Liquid tags as-is. To see real values, send a test email.

Preview with test variables

The Test Variables tab lists every {{ variables.x }} the app detected in your subject and body, so you can fill in sample values and see the design render properly. These values are for preview only - the real ones come from the Shopify Flow action.

Testing the layout with sample variables

To feed an array into a Loop block, enter it as a JSON array in this tab.

Send a test email

Use Send test email on the layout editor. It renders the layout for real and sends it through a sender you pick, with the subject prefixed [TEST]. This is the only way to confirm your Liquid actually resolves, since the on-page preview does not evaluate it.

Reuse a design

  • More → Save as template stores the design so you can start from it again. Saved designs live under My templates.
  • More → Duplicate copies the layout in place.
  • More → Export downloads it, and Import on the list page accepts a .zip or .json previously exported from the app - handy for moving a design between stores.

Deleting a layout

If a layout is used by a Shopify Flow step, it carries a Used in Flow badge and the delete action is hidden. Update the Flow actions that reference it first. This is deliberate - deleting it out from under a live workflow would break sends silently.