HTML Forum

**darlyb** · 10-24-2005, 07:56 PM

Hello all... I am very new to web design. I have a potential employer wanting me to do "Mini websites" for him. I think we'd call that a HTML emailable newsletter in college but, I am a graphic design major and only took a few web design classes. (basic HTML, Dreamweaver, basic Java script) Does anyone know where I could find some tutorials on-line for something like this?

Basically he wants to email the clients and when they open it the email has links, photos, ect. for the client. He calls it a "mini website with out the cost of hosting."

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Darlyb

**Rufo** · 10-25-2005, 12:58 PM

Quote:

HTML emailable newsletter

I agree - calling it a "mini website" is a bit misleading.

A few problems spring to mind though:

HTML emails with pictures require that the images be hosted somewhere. *
Depending on how many clients he has, you may need to come up with a way of automating the sending of emails.
Not everybody can handle / appreciates HTML email.

Rufo.

* could somebody please confirm this? or are relative URLs interpreted as references to attached files?

**dmb06851** · 10-25-2005, 02:05 PM

I Googled for "html in email", and variations, and gathered the very strong impression that it is quite a daunting can of worms.

There are apparently incompatibilities between the coding which email providers support and it is virtually impossible to get details of any of them. At least that's what I read.

I can copy an image from the design window in my web editor, paste it into the Yahoo mail composing window and send it to another Yahoo address. But it doesn't work if I send it to an address with another email provider. The well known rectangle with a small red cross appears to the recipient.

**john551** · 10-25-2005, 02:33 PM

Its easy to host your Images and then add them to yr html newsletter. Or you can attach the image using the mime type. May be you can use some open source php script like phplist. www.phplist.com

**darlyb** · 10-25-2005, 04:10 PM

Thanks for your prompt replies. I too was finding cross email to be a problem.

Sigh... I don't think he know's what he's talking about. He know's what he wants and what he's seen, but not what it takes to make it happen. He's a real estate broker and I'm guessing he want's to send out listings and the like. Maybe some training stuff to his agents. I am asumeing a lot of photo's are going to be involved.

I was able to find several places that host and you just upload your information and photo's into template newsletters. I don't know if they will be willing to pay for it or not. Relativly speaking it's not that expensive.($15-$60 a month depending on how many emails you send out) But then, why would they need me?

If anyone can come up with a script that will work on email crossovers that would be great. Thanks again for the help.

Darlyb

**Anacrusis** · 10-25-2005, 04:21 PM

I've always used and recommended www.verticalresponse.com for complex mailings. They handle it pretty well and you can just worry about the content and not how it gets to the users.

**Mooofasa** · 10-26-2005, 06:25 AM

I think it would be better if you asked this question in the PHP forum. I know that you can create a mailing system with database from scratch pretty simply. However, I am not yet a guru in PHP. ASP can also be used.