You’ve probably heard of AWeber. Perhaps you’ve used their service. Perhaps you’ve even purchased their product. Launched in 2007, AWeber is the #1 email marketing tool used by WordPress users around the world. And if you’re using WordPress, you’re probably aware of its powerful ‘template’ feature.
Using WordPress templates is a great way to save time and ensure your emails look consistent across all accounts. While these templates can be accessed and customized in numerous ways, including using pre-made designs, you can also create your own unique look by combining a variety of WordPress blocks and templates.
Create a Template for AWeber
To get started, simply visit https://github.com/aweber/email-marketing-templates in your browser and click the ‘Create Template’ button. You’ll be taken to GitHub, where you can edit the details of the template you just created.
From the Get Started screen, you can access and configure all of the template’s features, plus you can download a zip file containing the template’s source code.
You can use the above-mentioned link to access any AWeber template, but if you’d like to learn how to make a template for the service specifically, continue reading.
Make A Template For AWeber’s Classic Form
There are two main ways you can make a template for the Classic Form of AWeber. The first is by using one of their pre-made designs. The second is to use a text editor to handcraft a unique design.
Let’s look at each method in detail.
Use One Of Their Designs
If you’ve ever shopped at walmart.com, you may be familiar with the site’s minimalist design. The homepage is incredibly simple; there’s just a large picture of an LED light bulb and a few big buttons, like ‘Shop Beds’ or ‘Shop Living Rooms’.
The problem is, unless you have an extremely limited color palette, you can’t exactly craft the perfect minimalist design yourself.
So, if you have a specific design in mind that you think would look excellent with your brand and you want to ensure the emails you send out look consistent, this is the way to go. Simply access the template you want to use and follow the prompts to complete the form.
Text-Editor-Based Form
The second method of creating a template for the Classic Form is to use a text editor to handcraft a unique design. For instance, you could use Visual Studio Code, which is a free, cross-platform code editor that supports multiple languages, including CSS, JavaScript, and HTML. Or, if you have a Mac, you could use BBEdit, which is a popular text editor used for web design and development.
You don’t necessarily need a code editor to make a template. You can also use a text editor to simply edit the source code of an existing design.
If you have a specific design in mind but don’t want to use an entire code editor to make the changes, you can open up the template you want to edit in a text editor and make the desired changes, like adding new fields, moving things around, or completely redesigning the layout.
When you’re happy with your changes, you can save the template and close the text editor. To get back to your original design, simply open up the template in the code editor and hit ‘reopen.’
Make A Template For AWeber’s Landing Page
AWeber’s landing page is where new users enter their email addresses to subscribe to your list. This is a great place to insert a form so new users can quickly sign up without any fuss.
To make a template for their landing page, simply click the ‘+’ symbol in the top-right corner of the template you want to use and choose ‘Landing Page’ from the drop-down menu. Give it a descriptive name like ‘Sign Up’ and click ‘Create Template’.
AWeber’s landing page form has a few fields, like an ‘Email Address’ and a ‘Password.’ If you want, you can add more fields to the form with the plus sign. For instance, you could add a field for a ‘Mobile Number’ or an ‘Address’ so users can provide more information about themselves. It’s up to you.
Once you’ve created the landing page form, you can add it to your own WordPress site using the Add New button found in the bottom-right corner of the dashboard.
If all of this seems overwhelming, don’t worry. As with most things in life, getting started is the hardest part. Once you do, you’ll wonder why you didn’t make templates sooner.