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A better email template for Zendesk



Posted Jan 04, 2013

My name is Ben Lucier and I've been a Zendesk customer for as long as I can remember. I wrote this article on my personal blog, and at the request of Zendesk, I thought I'd share it here too. I hope it makes your life easier.

If you’re a new customer of Zendesk, you’ve probably noticed the bland default HTML template. The simple default is the best choice for those just starting out because it’s uncomplicated to read if you’ve got a basic understanding of HTML and inline CSS.

I thought I’d share a template that I’ve been using for a while now that might be helpful if you’re looking to add your company logo, office hours, contact information and social media channels.

First, let's take a look at what an email looks like with the Zendesk default template applied:

The template is pretty darn drab, isn't it?

When customers contact your company, they’re looking for something. Maybe they’re having trouble and need help, or they might be inquiring about buying something.

Don’t let the opportunity pass!

Putting the important details in your help desk email template is a great way to let your customers know about your customer community, social channels, support hours, and more.

Here’s what the template looks like with a revised template:

The new template includes hours of operation, phone number, company logo, and links to the blog, help site and forums, Twitter, and Facebook.

If you want a more helpful email template for Zendesk, I've attached a file which contains all the necessary files you need and follow the instructions below.

Customize the Zendesk email template for your company

  • Open ‘companylogo.png’ in your favorite image editor and add your own logo. It works best if you keep your logo to a maximum height of 45 pixels.
  • Upload companylogo.png, social-facebook.png, and social-twitter.png to your company website.
  • Replace <a href=”http://YOURCOMPANY.COM”> with your company’s domain name.
  • The sample HTML file uses relative filenames in order for you to view the HTML. Before using the template, make sure you add the full URL (including the HTTP) to your uploaded images. For example: <img src=”./companylogo.png” would be <img src=”http://caninesoftware.com/companylogo.png” (assuming caninesoftware.com is your company domain name).
  • Look for and replace “http://www.facebook.com/YOURFACEBOOK” with your company Facebook URL.
  • Look for and replace “http://www.twitter.com/YOURTWITTER” with your company Twitter URL.
  • Look for and replace “help@YOURCOMPANY.com” with your company’s email address

Once you’ve finished customizing the template with your company details, the only thing left to do is add the email template to Zendesk. You can do this by logging in as an administrator, then clicking Admin Center -> Channels -> Email. Then, delete the existing HTML in the HTML Template field and paste your new HTML. Remember to click Save.


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5 comments

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Jennifer Rowe

Zendesk Documentation Team

This is awesome, Ben. Thanks for sharing with the community!

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Great tip.  It looks way better than the generic layout, no offense Zendesk :)

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Ben: Thank you. I really enjoyed this tip and I am using your suggested template. 

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Thanks, Ben. I adapted this one for our Zendesk email template as well.  I needed alternate social buttons (LinkedIn and G+ are more relevant to us) so I grabbed these and added them. No sweat. 

http://zurb.com/playground/social-webicons

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Ben, 

Thank you for this, was a really nice starting place for us customizing the emails from Zendesk!  Thank you for sharing. 

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