Classic vs Lightning Email Builder in Salesforce Account Engagement

To understand the differences between the Classic and Lightning Email Builder, you need to consider things like the editing interface, access to HTML, responsive design, dynamic content, and more. 

The good news is that I’ve done all of this for you!

Classic has been around longer, providing a familiar WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor with some HTML customisation. 

Meanwhile, Lightning is newer, leveraging Salesforce’s intuitive drag-and-drop functionality to make creating emails easier for marketers and developers alike.

But which one is better for your team? Let’s dive into the features.

1. Permissions

Permissions are a key consideration when deciding whether to use the Classic or Lightning Email Builder. Both builders require specific user roles and permissions to access and utilise their full functionality, but there are differences in how they are managed.

• Classic: To use the Classic Email Builder, users need the Marketing or Admin roles within Salesforce Account Engagement. These roles grant access to build emails and manage templates.

• Lightning: The Lightning Email Builder requires additional permissions for specific Salesforce tabs, such as Email Template, Email Content, and CMS Workspace. Users must ensure that their Salesforce user profile has visible access to these tabs. This can add complexity for teams where not all users have full permissions, such as junior marketers or contractors who may not have access to the CMS.

Verdict: Classic requires simpler, role-based access, while Lightning requires more granular permission management, which can be a challenge for teams with multiple user roles.

2. Editing interface

• Classic: In Classic, emails are built using a traditional WYSIWYG editor or in HTML. Users can manually edit sections of an email by selecting them and making changes. There’s no drag-and-drop functionality, so elements like buttons and images must be coded or manually inserted.

• Lightning: The Lightning Email Builder introduces a much more modern interface with drag-and-drop components. Simply choose your elements—text blocks, images, buttons—and place them where you need them in the email frame.

Verdict: If you prefer a user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface that saves time, Lightning is the way to go.

3. Access to HTML

• Classic: Classic provides full access to the HTML of both templates and drafts. This flexibility is ideal for teams who need complete control over the code.

• Lightning: With Lightning, you cannot access the full email HTML. However, there’s an HTML component you can use for adding custom code snippets.

Verdict: For developers who need to fine-tune email layouts and styles, Classic may still hold the edge. But for marketers who don’t want to bother with code, Lightning simplifies the process.

4. Buttons and custom fonts

• Classic: Buttons must be manually coded into the email, and you can reference custom fonts if you have the correct files and fallback options set up.

• Lightning: With Lightning, buttons are part of the drag-and-drop functionality—no code needed! However, custom fonts aren’t as easily supported. You’re limited to eight pre-installed fonts unless you use a code workaround.

Verdict: If you want to avoid coding and quickly insert buttons or other elements, Lightning is more efficient. But Classic offers more flexibility with custom fonts if branding is key.

5. Adding images and files

• Classic: In the Classic Email Builder, adding images and files is relatively simple. Users upload assets directly to the Files area within Account Engagement (formerly Pardot). When building your email, you can search for these files by name and insert them into the email. This straightforward approach works well for teams who need a quick and easy method for asset management.

  • File size limits: Files can be uploaded up to 50 MB in size. However, any file larger than 25 MB cannot be viewed directly online in line with global email standards, though they can still be included as attachments or shared via links.

  • Storage capacity: Account Engagement comes with a default storage limit of 500 MB, which can be increased through Salesforce if needed.

• Lightning: The Lightning Email Builder takes a more advanced approach by relying on the Salesforce CMS (Content Management System) for hosting and managing images and files. Users need to ensure they have the correct permissions to access the CMS, as this is where all email-related files and images are stored. From there, images can be linked to the email content in the Lightning Builder.

  • File size limits: Salesforce CMS allows for file uploads up to 2 GB, which offers much more flexibility than the Classic Builder in handling larger assets.

  • Storage capacity: The CMS offers extensive storage, supporting up to 30 million files. Additionally, it allows for content deliveries with a 50 GB bandwidth limit and 50,000 delivery view counts per 24-hour period, which can be beneficial for large-scale campaigns.

Verdict: Classic is the simpler option for smaller teams that don’t need advanced storage capabilities, whereas Lightning provides robust CMS integration, ideal for teams with heavier asset management needs.

6. Responsive design

• Classic: Responsiveness must be manually coded into email templates. Salesforce provides some responsive out-of-the-box templates, but customisation is needed for complex designs.

• Lightning: Lightning generates responsive designs automatically. However, you don’t have the same granular control over how different elements appear on various devices, which can sometimes result in inconsistent layouts across desktops and mobile phones.

Verdict: For a quick and easy setup, Lightning’s automated responsiveness is a time-saver. If you need precise control over the mobile experience, Classic may still be a better fit.

7. Dynamic content

• Classic: Dynamic content can be easily inserted using the “thunderbolt” symbol in Classic, allowing you to personalise sections of your emails based on recipient data i.e. job title, location, or other criteria stored in Account Engagement.

• Lightning: The process is more manual in Lightning. To insert dynamic content, you need to navigate to the Content section, find the dynamic content ID, and paste it into the appropriate section of your email. For example, if your dynamic content ID is 1234, you would insert {{dynamic_content_1234}} into the text component.

Verdict: Classic offers a simpler approach to dynamic content, whereas Lightning requires a few extra steps.

8. Editing & ‘undo’ features

• Classic: In Classic, editing is done by selecting each section of the email and making changes directly in the WYSIWYG editor or straight into the HTML. This gives you the freedom to manipulate the layout but lacks modern drag-and-drop functionality. One significant downside is that if you delete an element, such as an image or section, there’s no easy way to undo this action—unless you’re typing text, where Ctrl+Z can help you roll back changes.

• Lightning: In contrast, the Lightning Email Builder brings a more intuitive and user-friendly approach to editing. With a drag-and-drop editor, you can easily move components like text blocks, images, and buttons around the email layout. Importantly, Lightning has an “Undo” button, which allows you to quickly reverse the last change you made—whether it’s moving a section, adding an image, or making a formatting adjustment. This feature adds an extra layer of efficiency and safety, ensuring that accidental changes don’t slow you down.

Verdict: Lightning clearly wins in terms of editing simplicity and error recovery with its drag-and-drop interface and handy undo feature, while Classic offers more manual control but without the convenience of an undo button for non-text elements.

9. Preview and testing

• Classic: In Classic, you won’t need a Litmus account to run tests.

• Lightning: In Lightning, you will need a Litmus account for testing.

Verdict: Classic wins out here given the ease of testing without registering for a Litmus account.

10. Reusing templates

• Classic: Templates are reusable across campaigns. Once a template is built, you can easily modify it for new campaigns while keeping the design consistent, reducing the need to build emails from scratch every time.

• Lightning: The Lightning Builder has a dedicated Email Templates tab, where users can manage and reuse templates. The drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to build and modify layouts quickly.

Verdict: Both builders allow for template reuse, but Lightning makes the process a little smoother with its dedicated template management tab.

11. Using emails in Engagement Studio

• Classic: In the Classic Email Builder, only email templates can be selected for use in Engagement Studio. Once an email template is created, you have the option to make it available for 1:1 emails, list emails (one-off sends), or as autoresponder emails. This gives you flexibility in how your email templates are used within different types of automated workflows.

• Lightning: In the Lightning Email Builder, using emails in Engagement Studio is a bit more streamlined. When building your email in the Email Content section, there’s an option to “Activate for Automation”, making the email available for use as an autoresponder or a template in Salesforce Engage. This ensures that your emails can easily be integrated into various marketing automation sequences.

Verdict: Both builders allow for the use of emails in Engagement Studio, but Lightning provides a clearer and simpler process by directly activating emails for automation without needing to manage them as separate templates.

12. Reporting

• Classic: Reports for emails created using the Classic Builder can be accessed from the Account Engagement Email tab in the Lightning interface. You can track key metrics such as opens, clicks, bounce rates, and unsubscribe rates. You also have the option to create custom reports using Salesforce’s built-in reporting features to get deeper insights.

• Lightning: Reporting for emails built with the Lightning Builder can be accessed through the Account Engagement Reports section, under Marketing Assets > Emails. Here, you’ll get an overview of the email performance, including the same important metrics as above, such as open rates, click-through rates (CTR), bounce rates, and unsubscribes. Again, you can also build custom reports to filter data based on specific criteria, such as email campaigns or time periods, giving you a more granular view of performance.

Verdict: You can report on both Classic and Lightning emails in exactly the same way, out of the box. As an aside, MarCloud always recommends digging into custom reports for better insights.

In summary, here are the key feature differences for the Classic and Lighting editors:

When deciding between the Classic and Lightning Email Builders, it ultimately depends on your needs:

• Choose Classic if you need full HTML access and granular control over design elements.

• Choose Lightning if you want a quicker, more intuitive experience with drag-and-drop functionality and automated responsiveness.

Each builder has its strengths, so the choice may come down to whether your team values simplicity or customisation more. If you want our two cents, feel free to request a call.

Ready-to-use email templates

Leaning towards Classic but stuck for email templates? 

Head over to MarCloud Technologies and explore our range of customisable email templates, designed to work seamlessly with Account Engagement and all email clients.