The tool you choose for building emails has a direct impact on how fast you work, your budget, and campaign quality. A marketer with no technical skills spends hours on manual coding or ends up depending on a busy developer. A developer spends days on tasks an editor can handle in 20 minutes.
Let's break down how these approaches differ, when each one makes sense, and how to choose the right tool for a given task.
How HTML coding and an editor differ
HTML coding means building an email from scratch by writing code by hand. It gives you maximum control over every pixel. A developer needs to know the quirks of how emails render across 50+ email clients, including the peculiarities of older Outlook versions that ignore modern CSS.
One email built manually takes a specialist 3 to 8 hours. That's without counting testing across different clients and revisions based on feedback.
An email editor is a visual editor with ready-made, pre-tested blocks. An email is built by dragging and dropping elements: text, image, button, header, columns. Responsiveness and email client compatibility are built into the templates ahead of time.
A marketer with no technical skills can build an email in 15–40 minutes.
When you need manual HTML coding
Manual coding remains essential for a narrow set of tasks.
Non-standard interactive elements. Embedded product carousels, mini-games inside the email, complex AMP components — these require code an editor doesn't generate.
Uncompromising, unique design. If an email needs to precisely replicate a complex brand book with non-standard spacing, fonts, and block behavior, a developer delivers a result an editor can't match.One-off, high-stakes campaigns. For an email that's sent once to a list of a million people and demands pixel-perfect accuracy, bringing in a specialist is justified.
When an editor is enough
An editor covers the vast majority of email marketing tasks.
Recurring campaigns. Digests, promos, trigger sequences, onboarding — all of these are recurring formats with the same structure. An editor builds them quickly and predictably.
A team without a developer. A marketer manages a campaign from idea to send without waiting on a technical specialist.
A master template for the whole team. A template configured with the brand style once. Then any team member can create emails to a consistent visual standard.
A hybrid approach. The editor is used as the foundation, and custom HTML is inserted into a dedicated block for unique elements.
When an editor isn't the right fit
The honest answer: an editor doesn't solve every task.
If an email requires complex animation with controllable states, an editor will only give you a basic GIF. If a designer built a unique layout with a non-standard grid, an editor will only approximate it. If you need full AMP interactivity support, you'll need a developer.
In these cases, the right approach is manual coding or a hybrid solution: an editor for the foundation, code for the specific blocks.
Comparison table: manual coding vs. editor
Factor | HTML coding | Editor |
|---|---|---|
Build time | 3–8 hours of a specialist's time | 15–40 minutes of a marketer's time |
Cost | Freelance from ₽5,000–15,000 per email | Fixed subscription from ₽2,000/month |
Quality | Maximum, pixel-perfect | High, within the bounds of templates |
Flexibility | Full freedom over every element | High, plus an HTML block for non-standard elements |
Team onboarding | Requires HTML and CSS knowledge | Basic interface skills |
Outlook support | Depends on the developer's experience | Built into pre-tested templates |
How Letteros combines both approaches
Letteros is built on the principle of hybrid markup — marketers don't have to choose between simplicity and flexibility.
Ready-made templates with guaranteed compatibility. The library of professional templates is coded with the specifics of Mail.ru, Yandex Mail, and Outlook in mind. Responsiveness is built in — no manual testing needed.
Deep customization without code. The visual editor lets you fine-tune every block down to mobile spacing — without knowing HTML.
An HTML block for custom elements. If you need a unique component, insert your own code into a dedicated block. The email's responsive foundation won't break.
Built-in testing. Preview across desktop and mobile clients, and check dark theme — right in the editor before sending.
A master template for the team. The brand style is locked in once. Every email is built on top of it — no matter who builds it, the result is consistent.
Conclusion
Manual HTML coding and an editor aren't competitors — they're tools for different jobs. If you need a one-off, non-standard campaign with a unique design, bring in a developer. If you need recurring campaigns, speed, and independence from technical specialists, an editor solves the task faster and cheaper.
A hybrid approach is optimal for most teams: an editor as the foundation, with the ability to insert custom code exactly where it's actually needed. That's exactly how Letteros is built.