Show HN: Open-source low-code email editor

[chandlercraig]

Hey HN, Chandler from Dittofeed (https://github.com/dittofeed/dittofeed).

We just added low-code functionality to our open-source email template editor. The editor features a Notion-inspired “/” command interface for inserting new blocks.

You still have the option of using MJML or HTML, but we wanted to give everyone an easier option for creating primarily text-based emails.

We have a live demo of the editor which you can access here (just hit the “Create Template” button): https://demo.dittofeed.com/dashboard/templates

Since this is the first iteration of the feature, we’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback on how we can improve it.

You can reach us anytime at:

[e-mail]

If you’d like to self-host Dittofeed and want help from us and the community, you can join our Discord: https://discord.gg/HajPkCG4Mm

[z3ugma]

Your submission link goes to https://github.com/dittofeed/dittofeed/tree/main/packages/em...

Would you put a README in there in GitHub? No idea what I should look for in this subfolder in GitHub

[maxthegeek1]

Hi z3ugma! Yah we'll add a README. To clarify the emailo package is not (currently) intended for consumption outside of Dittofeed, but it'd be great to document nonetheless!

[efficax]

I was not aware that I needed any code at all to edit emails...

[chandlercraig]

Code is great for creating HTML-based email templates with things like template variables for personalization and responsive design! Of course, templates are mainly useful if you're sending large quantities of emails and don't have the time to individually craft each one.

[Onavo]

I wish Dittofeed is cheaper, $75 is quite steep to get started with.

On an unrelated note, I suppose congratulations is in order. The laudspeaker product (your fellow YC competitor) doesn't seem to be successful at all (they are even more pricey). I think Brevo and Klaviyo are gobbling up all the oxygen in the room for most marketing departments, they are basically the next mailchimp.

[chandlercraig]

Hi Onavo, we'll have a free cloud tier for lower volume in the near future. If you'd like to self-host for free but need help with setup, we'd love to see you in our #help-and-questions Discord channel!

Thanks for the kind words as well. With regards to the state of our product category, it's definitely a crowded space. One of our main goals is to help companies save money as they scale their messaging, so it's great to hear your input on pricing.

[mcharawi]

No congratulations is necessary the Laudspeaker project (https://github.com/laudspeaker/laudspeaker) is doing perfectly fine.

$75/mo is not particularly expensive, Braze's starter plan is close to $35k/year

[chandlercraig]

I appreciate the vote of confidence on our pricing from the founder of our competitor! lol

[0x7265616374]

Humbly suggest using a superior framework to MJML such as https://jsx.email

MJML is a relic

[shortformblog]

Humbly suggest you’re wrong.

EDIT: Rather than drive-by disagreement, my case is that MJML is highly flexible and has broad enough use at this point that it’s seeing pickup in mainstream clients. (I like what Keila[1] is doing.) From a creative standpoint, it is easy to hop in an editor and build a template, and it solves the problem of email breakage while not being a significant departure from actual HTML layout.

I don’t think JSX makes sense for the email format unless literally all your tooling is built around it. And the fact is, so much tooling in both email and content management is still built around stuff like PHP.

[1]: https://www.keila.io

[Vinnl]

Well, that's a confusing name - we're using JSX (as in, regular JSX) to write MJML templates in.

Main pain point at the moment is dark mode, but it doesn't seem like JSX email has much to offer there either, unfortunately.

[o1o1o1]

Why do you think it is and what makes JSX Email better in your opinion?

[throwaway77385]

Using jsx for email is an interesting approach. If these work in ancient versions of Outlook and on proprietary, obscure mobile email programs, the way MJML does, I could be swayed.

[KRAKRISMOTT]

Do you mind removing the Segment requirement for usage? I think many users would be fine with just a standard http endpoint.

[chandlercraig]

Hey KRAKRISMOTT, we have SDKs and a REST API which can be found at https://docs.dittofeed.com/integrations/sources

Open to expanding our SDK selection though.

[KRAKRISMOTT]

Ah okay, it's mostly that your getting started guide specifically requires a Segment account for some reason.

[chandlercraig]

Noted! I'll make sure to edit that. Thank you for the feedback.

[remolacha]

Congrats guys, this looks great. Definitely would've used Dittofeed for some previous projects.

[chandlercraig]

Thanks so much! Hope to be included in future projects :)

[geocar]

I pressed "/" (shift-7) on my Macbook (Portuguese) and nothing happens.

[maxthegeek1]

I'll take a look!