Should I use a template engine for emails?
Yes. Use Handlebars for variable substitution ({{firstName}}) in HTML templates. Use MJML for responsive email design that compiles to email-safe HTML. Both save time and ensure consistency across your transactional emails.
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More FAQs in Email Templates and HTML Design Creating Professional Emails for Node.js
Email clients (Gmail, Outlook) strip <style> tags, don't support flexbox/grid, block JavaScript, and may not load external fonts or images. You must use inline CSS, tables for layout, system fonts, and hosted image URLs. Email HTML is very different from web HTML.
600px is the standard email width. This fits most email client preview panes (Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail). For responsive design, use percentage widths and media queries (though some clients strip <style> tags, so test carefully).
MJML is a markup language specifically for emails. You write simple MJML XML, and it compiles to responsive email HTML that works across all clients. It handles tables, inline CSS, and responsive design automatically, saving hours of manual HTML work.
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