Email header and footer
Every email sent from Flexmail includes a default header and footer. The header contains a link for contacts to view the message in a browser. The footer contains an unsubscribe link, a link to update the profile, and the Flexmail logo. You can configure which of these elements appear in your emails from your account settings.
- Go to Settings, then Update header and footer.
- Choose which elements you want to show or hide.
- Click Save.
Header options: browser view link. Footer options: profile update link, unsubscribe link, Flexmail branding.
Adding system links back manually
If you hide an element from the default header or footer, you can still include it at a specific location in your message. In the Email Builder, add a link to a text, image, or button element and select System page as the link type, then choose the relevant page (browser view, unsubscribe, or update profile). In the HTML editor, use the personalisation placeholder menu.
Link to tracking preferences
If the open tracking consent policy is active and open tracking is turned on, the default footer of a marketing email contains the link "Manage tracking preferences". This takes the recipient to their profile page, where they choose whether to allow open tracking.
- Flexmail decides whether to include the link in the email at the moment of sending. An email that has already been sent no longer changes.
- Flexmail builds the web version of an email at the moment someone opens it. The link appears according to the account settings of that moment: present if the policy is active and open tracking is on, otherwise not. The web version can therefore differ from the email the recipient received.
- If you use a custom footer, the email does not get a tracking link. The unsubscribe link still leads to the same profile page.
- In the preview, the link behaves like the unsubscribe link: it does nothing.
GDPR considerations
GDPR Including a clearly visible, functioning unsubscribe link in every marketing email is a legal requirement under GDPR. If you disable the unsubscribe link in the footer, you must add it manually in the message body in a clearly visible location. Flexmail will not allow you to send a campaign if the message has no unsubscribe option.
Pro tips
- Keep the browser view link in your header. Some email clients render HTML poorly, so the browser view link gives contacts a reliable fallback and costs nothing.
- The profile update link in the footer lets contacts update their own contact details. Keeping it visible reduces manual requests for data updates.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Disabling the unsubscribe link without adding it back into the message. This prevents your campaign from being created and causes GDPR compliance issues.
- Trying to turn off the Flexmail branding if you have a subscription that requires it. Check your subscription details before removing branding from the footer.
Next steps
- See "What to include in your footer" in Best practices for guidance on footer content beyond the default elements.
- See "Add a link" for how to add system page links anywhere in your message.