Adding photos and images to your email

A complete guide to using images in Flodesk emails (and what’s not possible)

Images can make your emails more engaging, help tell your story faster, and break up long sections of text. Flodesk makes it easy to add photos, GIFs, and designs from tools like Unsplash, Giphy, and Canva.

Before you start, here are two important things to know upfront:

• You cannot crop images inside the Flodesk email builder.
  Images must be cropped or edited before uploading.

• You cannot place a plain Text block next to an Image block.
  To show text and images side by side, you must use a Layout block.

Keep reading for step-by-step instructions and design tips.

You can add images whether you’re starting from a template or building an email from scratch.

1. Hover over any element in your email

2. Click the plus (+) icon above or below it

3. Select Image from the block list

This adds an Image block with a placeholder.

Click the image placeholder in your email. In the right-hand sidebar, choose Add image from… and select one of the options below.

• Choose My computer

• Accepted formats: PNG, JPEG, or GIF

• Maximum image size: 10MB

Important:
Drag-and-drop is not supported and may prevent your image from saving correctly.

If your image won’t upload, double-check the file format.
For example, HEIF images won’t work. You’ll need to re-save them as PNG or JPEG first.

Select Add image from… > Unsplash to browse and insert free stock photos.
This option is also available inside Layout blocks.

Select Add image from… > Giphy to insert animated GIFs.

Note: GIFs are supported in Image blocks, but not in Layout blocks.

If you connect your Canva account to Flodesk, you can pull designs directly into your email.

• Edit or crop the image in Canva

• Re-sync or re-insert it into Flodesk after editing

Learn more about how to connect your Canva account to Flodesk here.

No. Image cropping is not available inside the Flodesk email builder.

If you need to crop, resize, or edit an image:

• Do it before uploading, or

• Edit the image in Canva (recommended if you’ve connected your Canva account)

Once the image is added to your email, you can only adjust its display width, not the crop.

Use the width slider in the right sidebar.
Maximum image width is 600px.

Alt text stands for alternative text and it's used to describe the appearance and function of an image for screen readers—on a web page or, in this case, in your email.

1. Go to Accessibility

2. Add a short description (up to 125 characters)

3. Leave it blank if the image is purely decorative

You can make your image clickable.

1. Open the Link menu

2. Paste a full URL (must start with https://)

If you connected your Grow by Mediavine account to Flodesk, you can use Grow Email Connect links in your newsletters.

When you turn on the "Use Grow Email connect" toggle, Flodesk will automatically convert the URL to a Mediavine link (grow.me) with Mediavine’s tracking identifiers, including subscriber email address. So you don’t have to create these tracking links any more manually!

Additionally, wherever you add links to your email, you can also take advantage of Link actions.

The available actions you can assign to any link in your emails include:

• Adding subscribers to one or multiple segments

• Removing subscribers from one or multiple segments

• Adding subscribers to one or multiple workflows

• Removing subscribers from one or multiple workflows

• Tagging subscribers with a custom field

Instead of linking to Google Drive or Dropbox, you can attach a file directly.

• Upload PDFs, ZIP files, or audio files

• Maximum size: 10 MB

• Files are hosted on Flodesk and accessed via a secure link (Note: Unlike in regular emails, the attached file won’t be physically attached to the email.)

Subscribers download the file by clicking the image.

You can also connect your file upload to Link actions, as subscribers will access the uploaded file via a dedicated URL by clicking on the image.

If your Flodesk subscription includes Checkout, you can also connect directly to one of your existing Checkouts. Select it from the dropdown menu, and when subscribers click the image, they’ll be taken straight to Checkout.

To display images side by side:

1. Select the Image block

2. Open the Block menu

3. Under Grid & aspect ratio, choose:

   • 2 images

   • 3 images

   • 4 images

You can set the images to be vertical, horizontal, or square.
Each image can have its own link, file, or Checkout connection.

You cannot place a plain Text block next to an Image block.

To show text and images side by side:

• Use a Layout block that includes both an image placeholder and a text area

Layout blocks are specifically designed for multi-column designs and ensure your email stays responsive across devices.

When you can’t upload an image to your email design from your computer, it's most often due to a browser cache issue or because your browser is not updated to the latest available version. Do the following:

• Log out of Flodesk

• Clear your browser cache, and

• Log back in.

If clearing your cache doesn't resolve it, you can also try the following:

• Switching browsers

• Restarting your computer

• Checking that your browser and OS are updated

• Checking that you don't have a pop-up blocker enabled on your browser

If the issue persists, contact support@flodesk.com with your account details for further assistance.

• You can add PNG, JPEG, and GIF images using Image blocks

• Images cannot be cropped inside Flodesk

• Use Canva to edit images before or after importing

• Text and images side by side require a Layout block

• You can link images to URLs, files, or Checkout pages

Can I crop images in the Flodesk email builder?
No. Images must be cropped or edited before uploading, or edited in Canva if connected.

How do I put text next to an image in Flodesk?
Use a Layout block with image and text placeholders. You can’t place a plain Text block next to an Image block.

Why doesn’t drag-and-drop image upload work?
Flodesk doesn’t support drag-and-drop image uploads. Use the upload button instead.

What image formats are supported?
PNG, JPEG, and GIF. HEIF files are not supported.

Can I edit my Canva image after adding it to Flodesk?
Yes. Edit it in Canva, then re-sync or re-insert the updated design into your email.