Ask ten marketers what “high-quality email design” means. And you’ll hear the same, predictable list: pixel-perfect layouts, custom-coded designs, perfect rendering across devices.
But if you look at what yields results in email campaigns, the definition can seldom be that straightforward.
Every time a new email design approach or technology comes along, our instinct is to go by the old standards. Early websites were judged by print design rules. The first HTML emails looked like digitized flyers. And now, with modular template services rehashing email production, we’re tempted to measure them by the yardstick of custom coding.
But quality doesn’t wear the same face across every medium, format, or workflow. That’s why the real question isn’t whether modular template services are better than custom coding—it’s which one delivers quality for your brand, in this moment, with your goals.
What are Modular Template Services?
Email marketing isn’t slowing down anytime soon. On the contrary, it’s gathering momentum.
Teams that used to juggle one or two campaigns at a time are now managing four, five, sometimes more.
Litmus reported that the number of marketers producing five emails at once nearly doubled between 2023 and 2024. Imagine the amount of work to push through design and development pipelines.
To say that the email production becomes cumbersome would be an understatement, especially when you have to build every single email template from ground zero. And then the teams start questioning themselves, when did this supposed-to-be-agile marketing channel turn into a “production nightmare”
That’s the gap modular template services are meant to close.
The services are focused on coding and designing a library of reusable content blocks called modules. These content blocks, such as, headers, hero images, footers, CTAs, testimonials, etc, are ready to be stacked and used in an HTML email template. The designers and developers have already coded, tested, and adjusted them to your brand personality.
High-performing modular email templates rest on the foundation of an email design system so strong that every module block fits together with no effect on consistency, compliance, or rendering across clients.
A good partner in modular email design generally handles this task this way:
They audit the emails you send most often. What elements or patterns repeat? They take those recurring pieces, design and code them to modularize. They secure your stakeholder buy-ins for email-specific design guidelines, also. And stress-test them across the big email clients.
The result is a toolkit: a modular system you can pull from whenever you build a new campaign.
The benefit over a traditional template is obvious once you’ve seen both. A static template is rigid—you get a single layout, and any deviation sends you back to the design queue. Modular templates adjust like your favorite memory foam pillow.
Even if you want to swap a product block for a testimonial, neither you depend on a developer, nor you compromise brand consistency.
So no, modular template services aren’t just about shaving time. They’re about setting up a workflow where speed, brand control, and scalability line up.
If you’re running campaigns across multiple products, regions, or languages, that shift isn’t just a convenience. It’s a survival strategy.
We have the numbers to back it up.
Eight out of ten teams using modular design systems say they can get an email out in two weeks or less.
Nearly the same number – 77% – say their overall program improved once they switched to modular email designs.
And if you ask practitioners, you’ll hear the same thing. Carin Slater, Email and Content Growth Marketing Manager at Litmus, described it like this:
“Ever since we started using a modular design system, my email production time has been cut down significantly. Emails that used to take me hours, now can be done in half the time! Combining the modules that I created with Litmus Design Library has only increased my productivity and now I can create some emails in as little as 10 minutes!”
What does custom email coding involve?
Custom coding sits on the opposite end of the spectrum. Instead of working with pre-built modules, developers hand-code templates or full campaigns from scratch.
Custom email designs win when a brand wants a one-off experience no template could capture. Think back to the times when you wanted interactive product reveals, complex personalization, or campaigns that blur the line between web and email.
Custom coding gives creative teams full freedom to experiment without being boxed in by existing components.
But that freedom comes with a cost: longer development cycles, higher dependency on technical staff, and steeper maintenance over time.
Benefits of modular email template services
Why are so many brands moving toward modular template services? A few reasons stand out:
- Speed-to-Market
Have you been through those Monday morning meetings where the boss announces a flash sale starting Wednesday?
The request may be unrealistic, but then modular email templates are built for those. With them, even your marketing coordinator can pull together a decent Flash sale email while your developers are coding custom emails.
- Cost efficiency
Brands have cut their email production costs by 50% after switching to modular systems. And not just developer salary savings, it’s the overhead of managing custom builds, testing cycles, and revisions. - Brand consistency
Ever noticed how sometimes emails turn out as good as the team that built them? Modular email templates exist to prevent that. Modules go handholded with brand guidelines set by you. Meaning every subsequent email is cohesive in its branding. - Scalability without growing pains
When you’re scaling, it’s common to have your plat full of new product lines, new markets, new everything. When the team is expanding, modular email templates are their training manuals. New design hires can get on and contribute immediately instead of spending weeks learning your custom framework.
Benefits of custom coding
That said, modular systems aren’t the quick relief pills for every brand. Custom coding still holds advantages that can’t be overlooked while going gaga over modular emails:
- Creative freedom
If your brand thrives on envelope—pushing campaigns, custom coding gives you space and tools to innovate. - Unique branding
Some industries can’t risk looking “templated.” - Advanced functionality
Dynamic pricing integrations, custom APIs, or advanced personalization are some features that are tough to crack with modular systems. It’s best if you let your developers take the lead here. - Long-term control
With custom email templates, you’re not dependent on a modular template agency or third-party platform. Custom code means you own your destiny, even if that destiny occasionally includes 2 AM debugging sessions.
Modular email templates or custom coding: Which fits your brand?
- Budget: What’s your budget? Who’s on your team right now, not who you plan to hire? If cost efficiency is a need of the hour, modular services make sense. Custom coding demands ongoing developer investment.
- Time-to-market: Modular email designs have all the hallmarks of what fast-moving industries like eCommerce and DTC consider lean. But when it comes to justifying the longer sales cycles typical of B2B SaaS, custom checks all the boxes.
- Team expertise: Got a great in-house dev team? Making good use of it through custom coding might be an obvious move. If your team is lean, modular is easier to operationalize.
- Campaign complexity: If 80% of your emails are product updates and newsletters, modular makes sense. Save custom development for interactive campaigns or unique user journeys.
Here’s what we’ve learned works: start modular, then selectively go custom. For those usual, bread-and-butter campaigns, modular email templates suffice. When you have something special, say a product launch, or rebranding, or a big campaign, that’s when you invest in custom email development.
Conclusion
Modular templates bring speed, scalability, and cost control. Custom email coding offers freedom, uniqueness, and advanced capabilities.
The smarter question isn’t which is better overall, but which is better for this campaign, at this stage of your brand’s growth. For many, the answer starts with modular template services and expands into custom coding for those high-impact campaigns.
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