Managing content of emails via CMS blocks

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You can manage the content of emails you send to customers by editing email templates via CMS Blocks.

There is a number of default emails that are automatically sent on different occasions, like customer registration or order shipment. You can change the default emails by editing their email templates via respective CMS blocks. For the full list of the emails with their email CMS blocks, see Default email templates

Prerequisites

To start managing the content of emails, go to Content > Blocks.

Each section contains reference information. Make sure to review it before you start, or look up the necessary information as you go through the process.

Creating an email CMS block

If your development team has introduced a new email for your project, you have to create an email CMS Block for it.

Info

You don’t need to create new email CMS Blocks for the default email templates. Instead, you edit the available email CMS Blocks to adjust them to your needs.

To create an email CMS Block:

  1. On the Overview of CMS Blocks page, select + Create block.
  2. On the Create CMS block page, select a Template.
  3. Enter a Name.
  4. Click Save. This saves your block and takes you to the page.
Info

On the Create CMS block page, you can ignore all the other fields, including Store Relation, as they do not affect the behavior of the email templates.

  1. Enter the content of your email for all the locales.
Note

Content Items are not rendered in emails.

  1. Click Save. This populates your email template with the provided content.

  2. Pass the name of the created email CMS block to your development team to add to the respective .twig email template.

Note

You don’t need to activate the email CMS block, as the deactivated status of the email CMS block does not prevent emails from being sent.

Reference information: Creating an email CMS block

ATTRIBUTE DESCRIPTION: REGULAR CMS BLOCK DESCRIPTION: EMAIL CMS BLOCK
Store relation Store locale for which the block will be available. Irrelevant.
Template Defines the layout of the CMS Block. Defines the layout of the Email CMS Block.
Name Name of the block. Name of the block. Should correspond to the name defined in the email template the block will be assigned to.
Valid from and Valid to Dates that specify how long your active block is visible on the Storefront. Irrelevant.
Categories: top Block or blocks that will be assigned to a category page. The block will be displayed at the top of the page. Irrelevant.
Categories: middle Block or blocks that will be assigned to a category page. The block will be displayed in the middle of the page. Irrelevant.
Categories: bottom Block or blocks that will be assigned to a category page. The block will appear at the bottom of the page. Irrelevant.
Products A block or blocks that will be assigned to a product details page. Irrelevant.

Viewing email CMS blocks

You can view an email CMS block like a regular CMS block. See Viewing CMS blocks for details.

Editing email CMS blocks

To edit an email CMS block:

  1. On the Overview of CMS Blocks page in the Actions column, select Edit Block next to the block you want to update.

  2. On the Edit CMS Block: [Block ID] page, you can update the Name or choose a different Template.

Note

If you updated the name, pass it to your development team to update the name of the respective .twig email template.

  1. Click Save. The page refreshes, displaying the message about the successful update of the email CMS block.

Reference information: Editing email CMS blocks

ATTRIBUTE DESCRIPTION: REGULAR CMS BLOCK DESCRIPTION: EMAIL CMS BLOCK
Store relation Store locale for which the block is available. Irrelevant.
Template Defines the layout of the CMS Block. Defines the layout of the Email CMS Block.
Name Name of the block. Name of the block. Should correspond to the name defined in the email template the block is assigned to.
Valid from and Valid to Dates that specify how long your active block will be visible on the Storefront. Irrelevant.
Categories: top Block or blocks assigned to a category page. The block is displayed at the top of the page. Irrelevant.
Categories: middle Block or blocks assigned to a category page. The block is displayed in the middle of the page. Irrelevant.
Categories: bottom Block or blocks assigned to a category page. The block is displayed at the bottom of the page. Irrelevant.
Products A block or blocks assigned to a product details page. Irrelevant.

Editing content of email CMS blocks

To edit the content of an Email CMS block:

  1. In the Actions column of the Overview of CMS Blocks page, select Edit Placeholder next to the email CMS block you want to update.

  2. On the Edit Block Glossary: [Block ID] page, update the content of the email CMS block. You can use plain text to create content of the emails, or apply glossary keys and variables. See Tips and tricks for details.

Note

Content Items are not rendered in emails.

  1. Select Save. The page refreshed displaying the message about the successful update.

Tips and tricks

  • Add a glossary key to the email CMS block. When the email is sent, the key is replaced with the translation you defined for the locale selected by the customer. To learn how to add translations, see Managing glossary

  • Add variables to the email CMS block to replace them with customer and order specific details. When the email is sent, the variables are replaced with the actual details. For example, add firstName, and it is replaced with the name of the customer the email is sent to. A developer can provide a full list of variables and create new ones.