Hello, I have been using Unlayer to create rich text html emails which look very professional and are a big improvement on the basic text based emails except they don't often work on the Beds24 system. I have tested these emails through MailNinja etc to test the html for quality etc and the code always passes all tests. I have been advised by Beds24 that I need to use simple emails which I don't believe is acceptable. This is 2023, not 1993. We are in the hospitality industry. Image and marketing is important and sending plain text emails does not present a professional image.
Is there a fix or a workaround to this issue? Beds24 have advised that firewall rules are restricting the emails from being sent. This needs some attention as the problem is quite random with some emails being sent successfully but others are corrupted, i.e., cut off prematurely, missing images, text etc.
I have included a sample of what the email can look like at https://www.eaglehawkhotelmaldon.com.au/sample-email
Does anyone else use rich text html emails to communicate with guests? If so, do you experience any problems?
Mark.
Using HTML Rich Text emails with Guest Management / Auto Actions
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annettemorgenroth
- Posts: 1339
- Joined: Sun Jun 30, 2013 8:44 am
I think there must be a misunderstanding.
Beds24 does support HTML messages.
We put security first though so you need to make sure you use proper and clean code because otherwise content might trigger our firewall.
Unfortunately HTML messages created by third party services is often convoluted and might contain critical content.
The solution is to use proper and clean code.
Beds24 does support HTML messages.
We put security first though so you need to make sure you use proper and clean code because otherwise content might trigger our firewall.
Unfortunately HTML messages created by third party services is often convoluted and might contain critical content.
The solution is to use proper and clean code.
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mark.hooper
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2020 5:52 am
Hello Annette, thank you for your response.
I agree that security is paramount and proper and clean code is the requirement. To this end I have searched for HTML verification / checking services (software) and when I have found and used them, they report that my HTML code is in good shape and complies to standards.
There is little choice in using a third party products to produce the HTML code - I'm a hotelier not a UX designer.
I am at cross roads in getting this issue resolved. I don't know what firewall rules are causing the problem so it literally is staring into a black hole. Some emails work 100%, some 90% and some 50% and it appears random as to when an email doesn't work. Is there a function Beds24 can provide to verify / validate HTML code?
Alternatively, is there a option to use an email service that is not impacted by the firewall?
Mark.
I agree that security is paramount and proper and clean code is the requirement. To this end I have searched for HTML verification / checking services (software) and when I have found and used them, they report that my HTML code is in good shape and complies to standards.
There is little choice in using a third party products to produce the HTML code - I'm a hotelier not a UX designer.
I am at cross roads in getting this issue resolved. I don't know what firewall rules are causing the problem so it literally is staring into a black hole. Some emails work 100%, some 90% and some 50% and it appears random as to when an email doesn't work. Is there a function Beds24 can provide to verify / validate HTML code?
Alternatively, is there a option to use an email service that is not impacted by the firewall?
Mark.
Best would be to use a system like Mailchimp, however there are tools like https://stripo.email/ that allow you to create your own templates and also they have many already made templates you can export this to HTML, i have tested a few and they are working well in Beds24.
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mark.hooper
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2020 5:52 am
Thanks, Stipo looks very similar to Unlayer. Drag and drop and it exports to HTML etc. Most of the email templates I have created in Unlayer are working perfectly, but some (the most important as luck would have it) are having problems. The template gets truncated and my frustration is not being able to find what is causing the error. I'm wanting to dump Unlayer and switch to another product like Stripe only to find I have the same problem.
It might be a good idea to provide some (or even one) HTML templates with the relevant template variables. It is indeed a first contact with the end customer and to exude some quality, professional-looking HTML templates are essential. This has also been on my to-do list for a while and have had to express my frustration several times. I think everyone is looking for the same thing, and it is always more convenient to start from a working example than to start from scratch and end up bumping into the limits of one or the other.
For anyone who's reading this, some tips:
With Stripo, you can better use HTML encoding instead of AMPHTML. And use 'Minimize HTML', not 'Set both sizes for all images in exported code' nor 'Support of Accessibility'. Then you might end up with width issues when you're trying out the e-mail template through Beds24. Especially on lines where multiple blocks are used such as a header with a logo on the left and text on the right. Or 3 photos next to each other on a line. Even if the HTML code succeeds in another system or ERP software, HTML remains somewhat fragile and must therefore be adapted accordingly so that it is compatible with Beds24. The best thing to do then is to open the relevant auto action in Beds24 and press 'Source' in the e-mail. That's where you paste the HTML code. Then press 'source' again to display the template, and press 'source' again. Then the HTML code will be neatly structured, making it easier to read. Press CTRL+A and CTRL+C to copy the entire HTML into the recommended structure. Open Notepad or Notepad++ and paste (CTRL+V) the HTML code. Then look for a certain word to be found in the relevant line and look for a width-margin. You should then reduce this 10px such that it will also work with Beds24. So CTRL+A and CTRL+C to copy the adjusted HTML code and CTRL+V in the auto action of Beds24 (make sure the 'source' is ON).
With Stripo, you can better use HTML encoding instead of AMPHTML. And use 'Minimize HTML', not 'Set both sizes for all images in exported code' nor 'Support of Accessibility'. Then you might end up with width issues when you're trying out the e-mail template through Beds24. Especially on lines where multiple blocks are used such as a header with a logo on the left and text on the right. Or 3 photos next to each other on a line. Even if the HTML code succeeds in another system or ERP software, HTML remains somewhat fragile and must therefore be adapted accordingly so that it is compatible with Beds24. The best thing to do then is to open the relevant auto action in Beds24 and press 'Source' in the e-mail. That's where you paste the HTML code. Then press 'source' again to display the template, and press 'source' again. Then the HTML code will be neatly structured, making it easier to read. Press CTRL+A and CTRL+C to copy the entire HTML into the recommended structure. Open Notepad or Notepad++ and paste (CTRL+V) the HTML code. Then look for a certain word to be found in the relevant line and look for a width-margin. You should then reduce this 10px such that it will also work with Beds24. So CTRL+A and CTRL+C to copy the adjusted HTML code and CTRL+V in the auto action of Beds24 (make sure the 'source' is ON).