Use Layouts in the New Builder

Layouts create columned areas for the content in your email.

In this article, you’ll learn how to use layouts in the new email builder.

Before you start

Here are some things to know before you begin this process:

• This article focuses only on layouts for the new builder. For similar content blocks in the legacy builder, check out Use Image + Text Content Blocks in the Legacy Builder.
• Layouts let you customize different padding, margin, and alignment options for desktop and mobile versions of your email. Switch the Link Desktop and Mobile Styles toggle off in the editing panel to set separate values for those styles.

For more information on each email builder and their content blocks, check out About Mailchimp’s Email Builders.

Add a layout to your email

There are two types of layout blocks.

• Blank layouts are empty column sections. Add content blocks and formatting to the columns to complete the layout.
• Prebuilt layouts are column sections that include predesigned content blocks and formatting to help you get started. Add, remove, or change content as needed.

To add a layout to your email, follow these steps.

1. Click Add, then click and drag a Layout block into your email from the side panel.
2. Add or change content blocks in your layout as needed.
3. Edit styles and settings as needed.
4. Click Save and exit to save your changes.

Edit layout styles

To edit styles in a layout, follow these steps.

1. Click the layout you want to work with.
   
   Note: Select a full layout to open its style menu. Select a content block within a layout to open the content block’s style menu.
2. Click the Color field to change the background color of your layout.
3. In the Border section, use the drop-down arrow to choose your border style.
4. In the Rounded Corners section, enter a value or use the up and down arrows to change the size. The default value is 0, which means the corners are squared. Uncheck the Apply to all sides box and enter different values to create asymmetrical corners.
   
   Rounded corners won't display in most Outlook desktop versions, but will display in browser versions of Outlook.
5. In the Number of columns section, select or change the number of columns in your layout.
6. In the Desktop column ratio section, use the drop-down to choose your column ratio.
7. In the Mobile content orientation section, select how you want your columns to display on mobile devices.
8. Switch the Link Desktop and Mobile Styles toggle off if you want to set different styles for desktop and mobile. Click On Desktop or On Mobile to set different styles for content alignment, padding, and margin.
9. Set the Content Alignment as top, center, or bottom.
10. In the Padding section, enter a value or use the up and down arrows to adjust the padding for the top and bottom of the layout.
11. In the Margin section, enter a value or use the up and down arrows to adjust the padding for each side. Check the Apply to all sides box to apply the padding equally.

Enable dynamic content

You can turn any content block into dynamic content that displays different content to recipients based on conditions you set. This helps target different types of contacts at the same time with a single email.

To learn more about dynamic content and how to enable it in your content block, check out About Dynamic Content.