Mailvex Documentation
Everything about what the service can do
Getting started
What is Mailvex
Mailvex is a builder for branded email with built-in AI. You assemble your email from blocks in a visual editor, your brand styling is applied automatically, and the finished email exports to clean HTML for any email service provider. Beyond manual building, you also get: AI generation of emails and copy, subject line and preheader suggestions, email review and improvement, chat-based editing (edits in plain words), and importing a ready design from Figma, from an email screenshot, or from HTML. It's a fit for marketers without a designer and for agencies running multiple brands.
Sign-up and email confirmation
Your account is protected by address confirmation: after signing up, you receive an email with a link. This ensures notifications reach a real address.
Branding
Brandbook — your email brand style
A brandbook stores your brand style for emails: colors (primary, secondary, accent, background, text, button and button-text color), heading and body fonts, sizes, logo, plus brand voice, values, and target-audience description. The main benefit: the brandbook is applied automatically to new emails, so all your campaigns look consistent without setting colors and fonts by hand each time. You can create a brandbook three ways: upload a PDF (AI extracts the style for you), fill it in manually, or generate it from an AI survey about your business. Note: fonts are chosen from an email-safe list (Arial, Georgia, Verdana, Inter, Roboto, and others) so emails don't "break" in email clients.
Creating a brandbook from a PDF (AI)
A fast option if you already have a brandbook in PDF. Upload the file — AI analyzes it and extracts your brand style: colors, fonts, brand elements, voice. The extracted values are filled into the brandbook, where you can review and adjust them. It saves the time of transferring the style from the document by hand.
Brandbook from an AI survey
No brandbook yet? Answer a short survey about your business (niche, product, target audience, desired tone, competitors, preferences) — and AI will create a brand style for your emails: it picks contrasting, accessible colors (in HEX), email-safe fonts, and articulates your brand voice, values, and audience description. Handy when your style isn't defined yet and you need a starting point.
Applying the brandbook and your own variables
The brandbook applies to emails in two modes. Soft auto-apply: while you work on an email, the style is filled only into fields you haven't changed manually (default values) — your manual edits are not overwritten. Hard apply (via the "Apply brandbook" button): the style is applied to the entire email at once. This way you either softly maintain a consistent style, or forcibly bring a finished email in line with the brand. Additionally, in the brandbook you can set up YOUR OWN VARIABLES (placeholders) — for example {{company_name}}, {{first_name}}, or custom ones: you set the variable name, a label, and a sample value, then insert {{name}} into your email copy. When sent through an email platform, they're replaced with the subscriber's real data.
Creating emails
Visual email editor
An email is assembled from ready-made blocks (headings, text, buttons, images, banners) by drag-and-drop — no code needed, the markup is generated automatically and stays responsive.
Email templates
A catalog of ready templates for common scenarios (promo, welcome, abandoned cart, and more). Any template opens in the editor and can be adapted to your task.
Block templates (reusable modules)
Save frequently used blocks — headers, footers, promo sections — as modules and insert them into any email in one click, without rebuilding them.
Email blocks
An email is assembled from blocks — ready elements you drag into the email and configure in the properties panel. Available blocks include: logo/header, hero banner (a large heading with a button and background), heading with text, standalone text, image, product rows (in 1, 2, or 3 columns — with name, price, old price, button), a CTA button, a CTA banner, a row of icons with labels, "icon + text", an article card, a quote, a divider, a spacer, a footer with social links and unsubscribe, and others. Each block has its own settings: colors, text sizes, spacing, alignment, links. An important nuance: text size and color are set in the block's own settings (for example "heading color", "button color"), not through a global style — this is by design, so the markup renders correctly in email clients. Blocks can be duplicated, deleted, moved, and combined into columns.
Keyboard shortcuts and command palette
Speed up your work in the editor from the keyboard. The command palette opens with Cmd/Ctrl+K: start typing an action name — the list filters (search understands both English and Russian words, e.g. "button" or "кнопка"), move with the ↑/↓ arrows, run the selected item with Enter, and close with Esc. Commands are grouped into categories: Blocks (quickly add a block — heading, text, button, image, products, divider, spacer, hero banner, footer), Actions (Save, Undo, Redo, Duplicate block, Delete block, Export HTML, Share/preview), Navigation (Email settings, back to the email list), Help (Show keyboard shortcuts). Dedicated shortcuts for frequent operations: Cmd/Ctrl+S — save, Cmd/Ctrl+Z — undo, Cmd/Ctrl+Y or Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Z — redo, Cmd/Ctrl+D — duplicate the selected block, Cmd/Ctrl+P — preview, Delete/Backspace — delete the selected block, Esc — clear selection, "?" — open the full list of shortcuts. Commands that require a selected block (duplicate/delete) only work when a block is selected. For the view-only role, editing commands are hidden.
Variables (personalization)
Insert variables like {{customer_name}} into your text — your email platform will substitute the recipient's real data. There's a list of popular variables and the option to add your own.
Importing a design from Figma
Have a ready email design in Figma? Import it into Mailvex. The service reads the design, finds the email body (the largest frame), and breaks it into sections top to bottom: each section becomes an email block. Sections with text-in-image (banners, complex graphics) are transferred as images — they're exported from Figma and uploaded to our CDN, so they look exactly like the design. Live buttons are detected automatically (by the layer name button/кнопка/btn) and become editable CTAs — you just need to add links to them. Additionally, the service collects a palette (up to 5 main colors) and a list of the design's fonts as a hint for the brandbook. What's important to understand: text "baked into" a banner image stays an image and can't be edited in Mailvex (to change it, rebuild the banner in Figma and re-import). Import works best with designs built to our recommendations (section frames top to bottom, live text as separate layers, 600px width). After import, the email opens in the editor as a draft that you refine.
Importing from an email screenshot
Upload an email screenshot — AI recognizes its structure and text and assembles a draft from blocks. How it works: the image is first uploaded to our CDN, then recognized by an AI model (gpt-4o), which breaks the layout top to bottom into sections (header, banner, heading, text, products, button, icon row, article card, divider, spacer, footer), extracts all visible text verbatim (headings, paragraphs, button labels, product names and prices), and determines the approximate main colors. An important limitation: the images themselves (photos, logos, icons) are NOT extracted from the screenshot — they can't be retrieved at proper quality, so empty image slots with hints (alt) are created in their place, and you insert your own images. Accuracy: structure and text are recognized well, while colors/spacing are approximate — the email almost always needs some refinement. It's a fit for simpler "block-based" emails; for complex designer banners with text-in-image, import from Figma is more accurate. File formats: PNG, JPG, WEBP, up to 10 MB.
Importing ready HTML or ZIP
Already have a finished email as an HTML file (or a ZIP with HTML and images)? Upload it to Mailvex to store, view, and send it all from one place. It's important to understand how it works: an imported email opens as a SINGLE HTML — you can view it (switching desktop/mobile width), edit the subject and preheader, edit the HTML code itself, and send/export it, BUT it is NOT automatically broken into editable builder blocks (parsing imported HTML into blocks is in development). So the block editor doesn't apply to such an email yet — you work with it as a whole HTML. If you need block-level editing, build the email in the builder (including via import from Figma or a screenshot, which do produce blocks).
Images
Image editor
A built-in image editor lets you prepare an image right in Mailvex, without opening third-party programs. Features: cropping (with aspect-ratio presets — free, 1:1, 16:9, 4:3), rotate and flip (horizontal and vertical), contrast adjustment, ready-made filters (B&W, Cool, Vignette, Matte, and others), and resizing (down to the pixels you need — useful for reducing the size of a heavy image). After saving, the processed image goes into the media library.
Media library
All of a project's images are stored in the media library and available to insert into any image block. The library is split into folders: "All images", "AI-generated" (created via AI generation), and "Uploaded" (your files). Images can be moved between the "Uploaded" and "AI" folders, renamed, duplicated, and deleted. From here you can also upload your own files, search for free stock photos, and use AI generation. Images are stored on our CDN, so they display correctly in emails for recipients.
Uploading your own images
Upload your own photos and graphics — by dragging a file or selecting one from your device. Uploaded images go into the "Uploaded" folder in the media library and are stored on the CDN, ready to insert into emails. An email tip: watch your image weight — heavy images slow down how an email loads; if needed, reduce the size in the image editor (see the section on the image editor).
Free stock photos (Unsplash)
No need to look for images elsewhere — Mailvex has a built-in search for free Unsplash photos. Enter a query (for example "coffee", "mountains", "office"), pick a suitable photo — it's imported to our CDN and added to the media library, ready to insert. Handy for quickly finding quality images for an email.
AI tools
AI image generation
Create images for emails from a text description, without having ready photos. Describe the image you want (for example "A bright banner with a summer sale, sunny day, minimalist design"), choose a format and quality — AI generates the image and adds it to the media library (the "AI-generated" folder). Formats: 16:9 (banner), 1:1 (square), 9:16 (vertical), 4:3 (horizontal). Quality: 1K (fast), 2K (standard), 4K (high) — the higher it is, the longer generation takes. You can set reference images (links to pictures) to define the style of the result — one link per line. Generation counts toward your plan's limits. Tip: use 16:9 for email banners and 1:1 for product cards; if generation fails, clear the references field or change the description.
AI subject line and preheader suggestions
Based on your email's content, AI suggests 5 subject-line options and 5 preheader options. Subject lines are short (up to 50 characters), catchy, without spam words (no ALL CAPS, "!!!", "guaranteed"). Preheaders are 40-90 characters, complementing the subject rather than repeating it. It works from the text already in your email blocks: if the email is empty, the feature will ask you to add text first. It helps lift open rates without writing a subject by hand. Each call counts toward your daily AI-request limit.
AI text edits (rewrite the selection)
Select text in a block and ask AI to rewrite it in one of 6 ways: Shorten, Expand (add specifics, not "filler"), Rephrase, Fix grammar (spelling and punctuation only, meaning and style preserved), Change tone, Custom instruction (any instruction in your own words). For "Change tone", 5 tones are available: friendly, formal, playful, urgent, premium. The edit is shown as a before/after preview — applied only after you confirm. Placeholders like {{name}} and {{unsubscribe_link}} are preserved; AI doesn't touch them. Counts toward your daily AI-request limit.
AI block variations
Not sure how to word a block best? AI suggests several alternative versions of its text content (headings, subheadings, text, button labels, and for products — names and prices) — pick the one you like. ONLY the text changes: the block type, styling (colors, spacing), and images stay the same. Available for blocks with text (banner, heading, text, products, button, article card, etc.); blocks without text (divider, spacer, image) have no variations. Counts toward your daily AI-request limit.
AI email review (improve the email)
AI analyzes your finished email and gives a readiness score from 0 to 100 plus 3-6 specific improvement tips, sorted by importance (high / medium / low). For each tip — what the problem is and how to fix it. The review is built on real facts about the email (structure, text length, presence of a call to action, unsubscribe link, etc.) and complements the technical checks — compatibility, spam words, contrast, broken links. AI doesn't invent problems that aren't there: if the email is good, there will be fewer tips and a higher score. Counts toward your daily AI-request limit.
Checks and sending
Email-client compatibility check
The compatibility check shows how your email will render in different email clients (Outlook, Gmail, Apple Mail, and others): the analyzer finds risky layout spots that might "break" in certain clients and suggests what to fix. This is about correct rendering; for the overall email check (spam, contrast, links, size), see the "Email check" section.
Email check
Before sending, run your email through the "Check" panel — it finds problems that hurt delivery and perception. What's checked: spam risk (high/medium/low level and a numeric score, with a list of found spam signals — e.g. caps, "!!!", risky words), text-and-background contrast (accessibility — whether the text is readable), broken links (unreachable URLs in the email), email size (in KB — heavy emails deliver worse). A summary is shown: the number of errors and warnings. The AI email review is also available here (see the "AI review" section) — it complements the technical checks with substantive tips. If there are no problems, you'll see "No spam signals found" and "No contrast problems found".
Alt text for images (AI)
Alt text is a description of an image that's shown when images are disabled and used by screen readers (accessibility). In Mailvex you can generate alt text for ALL images in an email with one command: AI recognizes each image and fills in a meaningful description. This improves the email's accessibility and how it displays when images fail to load. Counts toward AI limits.
Sending a test email
Before a real campaign, send a test to your own inbox to see the email in a real email client. Enter the recipient's email (yours is filled in by default) — and the email arrives the way subscribers will see it. It's useful for checking how the layout, images, and links look in real mail.
Exporting the email (HTML / ZIP)
You can export a finished email to send it through your own email platform. Available: copying the HTML and downloading a ZIP archive (HTML together with assets). There are two modes: standard (images on our CDN — the simplest) and self-hosted (set your own base URL for images if you host them yourself). On export, you can account for UTM parameters and your ESP (email service provider) profile, so the markup and links fit a specific service. Export counts toward your plan's limits (the number of exports per month).
Collaboration
Team and roles
Work on emails together. A team has three roles: Owner (full access, manages members and invitations), Editor (creates and edits emails, templates, media), Viewer (view only — can't edit). Only the Owner can invite new members — by email. The team's shared resources (emails, templates, brandbooks, media) are available to members according to their role. A member's role can be changed, and a member can be removed (owner actions).
Email comments
Discuss an email right in the editor using comments. A comment can be left on a specific block (by selecting it) or on the email as a whole. Comments can be marked as resolved and deleted — handy for making edits as a team without losing notes. A Viewer can take part in the discussion depending on the role settings. Comments also work for guest review: if you open an email via a public link with comments enabled, even someone without an account can leave notes (see the section on the public link).
Plans and payment
Plans and what they include
Mailvex has a free Free plan and paid ones — Starter, Pro, and Agency. They differ in limits: the number of emails and projects, the volume of AI features per month (email and copy generation, subject suggestions, email review, text edits, template filling, translation, image generation, alt text, chat editing), the number of exports, image storage size, and the number of team members. AI features consume the corresponding plan's monthly limits. On Free, exported emails have a Mailvex signature at the bottom; paid plans don't. A detailed feature comparison and current prices are on the "Pricing" page.
Limits and what happens when you reach them
Each plan has limits — for example, the number of emails or AI generations per month. When a limit is reached, creating new emails, generations, or exports is temporarily restricted, but all previously created emails, projects, and data are fully preserved — nothing is lost. Monthly limits (AI text and image generations, exports) reset at the start of the next month. To lift the restrictions sooner, you can move to a higher plan.
How to pay
Payment happens on the "Pricing" page inside your account. You choose a plan and a period (month or year), then proceed to pay by card or via SBP. After payment, the plan activates automatically, usually within a minute. Annual payment is more cost-effective than monthly — the longer the period, the cheaper per month.
Subscription and auto-renewal
A paid plan is set up as a subscription with automatic renewal: when the paid period ends, the fee for the next one is charged via the specified method. You can cancel auto-renewal at any time in the "Subscription" section — your access to the plan will remain until the end of the already-paid period, and there will be no further charges. Before an auto-charge, a reminder arrives by email, so you can always decide whether to renew.
Managing your subscription
The "Subscription" section in your account is the single place for everything about payment. It shows your current plan, the next renewal date, payment history, limit usage, and buttons to turn auto-renewal off and on and to change your plan. Everything related to paying for your plan is gathered here.