Any pointers for creating html email templates in Dentally that look nice?

Hi ​@MC Maryanne 

When you say you’ve tried pasting some basic HTML email templates, do you mean into the Body box using the </> (HTML) toggle, like this? 👇

If you’re pasting an HTML email template into the Body box using the </> (HTML) toggle, that does work, including basic inline styles like:

<p style="font-size: 16px; color: #0077cc;">
  Hello [patient_first_name], this is a styled message.
</p>

If you want to change overall styles (like default fonts or spacing across the whole template), you can also use the “Edit template styling” box at the bottom

Let me know if it’s clear and if you need additional help. I’m happy to write a few templates for you! 😊

Hi Saymon

I really appreciate your reply. I’ve been able to make a little progress with emails and I now have my images in the email (Hooray!) Do you have any pointers for the best way to change the background colour of an email in Dentally?

The edit template styling that you’ve referenced seems to only be available in the Letters section. Speaking of Letters, do you know if there’s a way to edit the header of letters for specific templates? I want to create a “form” that has a different header to the standard logo + company details. If you’re not sure, no stress. I just thought I’d ask! :)

Cheers

Maryanne

Hey ​@MC Maryanne  😊, great news on getting your images in place! Here are a few pointers to help with background colours in emails and custom letter headers:

1. Changing an email’s background colour

Dentally’s email editor only supports HTML code in the body, so you’ll need to wrap your content in a full-width block (a <table> or <div>) with inline CSS for background colours. All styling must live in style="…", since <style> blocks aren’t preserved in emails  (and you manage these under Settings → Templates → Emails  ).

Here’s a quick snippet you can paste into the Body via the </> (HTML) toggle:

<table width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" style="background-color: #f4f4f4; padding: 20px;">
  <tr>
    <td>
      <p style="font-size: 16px; color: #333;">
        Hello [patient_first_name],<br>
        Welcome to our practice!
      </p>
      <!-- …rest of your content… -->
    </td>
  </tr>
</table>

You can change the colours of this section by simply editing the # in “background-color:” with another hex key like Dentally’s blue #0071eb. Check out this website to find all the different hex keys. 

If you prefer a narrower coloured section, swap the table for a <div>:

<div style="background-color:#eef2f7; padding:15px;">
  <!-- content here -->
</div>

2. Customising a letter’s header per template

By default, letter templates pull in your practice logo and details from Site Settings → Options → Logo/Name & Address  . To override this for just one template:

• Use a “No header” base template:

  1. Go to Settings → Templates → Letters.

  2. Click New Template and, under Copy existing template, choose one of the “No header” options.

  3. In the Body (or via the Edit template styling CSS box if you’re comfortable with CSS), insert your own header HTML (e.g. a custom <img> logo and contact info in a table).

  4. You may need to tweak the page margins at the bottom of the edit screen to fit your design. Happy to help you with this if you’d like! 

3. For more complex “form” headers, use Word document templates

If you need precise layouts (e.g. multi-column forms or pre-printed headed paper), build your header in Microsoft Word, add Dentally data tags, then upload under Settings → Templates → Word Docs. When you generate a letter as a Word doc, your custom header stays intact alongside merged patient data  .

Hope this helps! 😊

HTML email templates can be quite rigid coding wise as they have to cater for so many mail clients. 

Where possible I would suggest keep to basic branding, and simple styling.

Often complex templates and styling can come with compromises to compatibility or legibility, so sometimes it can be better to keep it simple and reliable.

Hi there, 

My practice is going to be joining Dentally soon, and this is a big area of interest for me. As a corporate group, branding is a big aspect of my role as Marketing Manager. Given adding images is only possible via HTML, would it be possible to create markting email templates on the likes of Unlayer, export as HTML and upload them that way? This would eliminate our need to Mailchimp and allowes us to track our marketing comms with exisitng patients. 

It would be great to know this ahead of time. 

Hi ​@Michelled250 
I can understand why this would be helpful - our recommendation would be to test any exported message template in the sandbox environment, which you should have access to prior to joining Dentally. We don't offer specific guidance around HTML, and we can't guarantee how external templates will work within Dentally, but you can use the sandbox to see what works and what doesn't to find the right fit for your practice. Alot of practice do this already, I believe ​@Emily Bendelow created a range of templates for her group. 

You’ve also got other options out there that integrate with Dentally, such as Boxly, who not only offer new patient management workflows but also campaign-style marketing. 

Ohh Sandbox never actually crossed my mind! ​@David Rutherford .

 ​@Michelled250 Unfortunately, I do not have experience in Unlayer however I am 99.9% certain you can. I use several html builders and sometimes just good old chatgpt to build mine and then import them in to Dentally or Boxly. Via Chatgpt,You just need to copy the image address but it will need to be hosted on a website first.

 I limit what templates I put on Dentally, I use Dentally for the ‘essential emails’ that I need my team to push manually however, for Marketing emails I use Boxly Campaign Pro . The advantage of Boxly is it in a CRM system that integrates very well with Dentally so its CRM, New Leads Marketing as well as Existing patients marketing. 

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions at all!

Hi guys, this is all super helpful, thank you so much! I’ve a demo booked with Boxly on Monday so I’ll speak to them about Boxly Campaign Pro. 

hi ​@Michelled250 and ​@Emily Bendelow - very interesting discussion!

I don’t have a marketing background/HTML expertise but I’m reading with interest the chat about Boxly. Our marketing team do currently use Mailchimp however being able to have a CRM to track new patient leads would be great.

​@Saymon I think I had raised this some time back (or at least directly with our Product Success Manager) that the Dentally emails are really clunky and off-putting to patients to read, particularly on a mobile where most emails are digested. They are not engaging as they are design with a very rigid structure.

I didn’t realise this could be tailored with HTML (which unfortunately I don’t have expertise in) but in my mind it should be as user-friendly as possible to send out engaging emails to patients - after all, the point of sending an email is to engage with the patient.

Don’t worry ​@Anne-Maree Siderides I was very much the same. I had no experience with HTMLs at all. Essentially the main difference between Boxly and Dentally when it comes to creating HTMLs is that Dentally doesn’t have its own HTML builder. You just need to find a HTML builder to then paste into Dentally. You design it on the builder and then paste the code into the email template (ensuring you choose the HTML button) There is quite a range of options online. It’s a bit fiddly at the beginning but it is quite easy to pick up.