Importing HTML Emails into Postcards

Import HTML lets you bring a ready-made HTML email from another builder, an ESP, or hand-written code into Postcards and turn it into a native, editable project. Instead of just wrapping your code, Postcards rebuilds the email out of its own modules, so once it's imported you can edit everything exactly like a project you built from scratch.

Who Can Use Import HTML

Import HTML is available on the Lite, Plus, and Pro plans. On the free plan you'll see an upgrade prompt, and the Viewer role can't run imports.

How to Import an HTML Email

1. Start an import

You can open Import HTML from two places:

Inside the editor — click the arrow next to your project name to open the Project Menu, then choose Create New Project → Import HTML.

From the dashboard — click the + Create button (top-right) and choose Import HTML. (Your dashboard is at designmodo.com/postcards/app/.)

2. Add your HTML

There are two ways to bring in your email:

Upload a file — a single .html / .htm file, or a ZIP archive containing the HTML plus its images and assets. Maximum one file, up to 2 MB. In a ZIP, Postcards automatically detects the main file (it prefers an index.html ).

Paste from your clipboard — copy your HTML code and paste it in with Cmd/Ctrl + V.

On upload, Postcards automatically names the project after the email's <title> and strips out ESP merge tags (like *|MC:SUBJECT|* or {{ subject }}) during conversion.

3. Choose a model

Postcards shows two conversion models — Basic and Ultra — with a live preview of your source email alongside them. Each model card shows an estimated credit cost (✦N) that updates in real time based on your template's size and complexity.

Basic — Fast conversion, good for most templates. Start here.
Ultra — Best fidelity, strict rule-following. Recommended for complex or pixel-perfect templates.

Note: If your file is larger than 102 KB, you'll see a warning that the email may be clipped in Gmail. See Tips to reduce email size.

4. Review the conversion

Once you choose Basic or Ultra, Postcards starts converting your email, wait a few moments for the generation to finish. It shows a side-by-side comparison: your original on the left, and the converted result on the right, filling in as it generates.

Note: The estimated cost is charged when the conversion starts, and cancelling doesn't refund it — but you keep whatever preview was generated, and you can still accept it and open it in the editor. Credits are only returned automatically if the conversion fails on our end.

While it's still generating, you can stop it at any point by clicking Cancel Import in the top-right corner.

Once the conversion finishes, you can:

Toggle between desktop and mobile views
Retry the conversion
Try Ultra (or Try Basic) — re-run the same source through the other model, without re-uploading
Accept & Open Editor when you're happy with the result

5. Import assets and open

If your converted template references external images or fonts, Postcards shows a Remote Assets Found dialog listing them. You have two choices:

Add to Image Library — import the assets into your Postcards library so they're hosted by Postcards.
Keep Remote URLs — leave the assets pointing to their original external locations.

Tip: Add to Image Library is the safer choice, if the original URLs ever go down or move, your images won't break. It's also consistent with hosting your images online for reliable rendering across email clients.

Once you accept, the project opens in the editor, fully editable.

After opening, you can give a quick 👍 / 👎 with an optional comment to help improve the feature.

Basic vs. Ultra: Which to Use

Both models follow the same steps — the difference is accuracy and cost.

Start with Basic. It's fast, cheaper, and handles most templates well.
Switch to Ultra if the result isn't accurate enough, or if your template is complex or needs to be pixel-perfect. Ultra follows the conversion rules more strictly and reproduces intricate layouts more faithfully.

You don't need to re-upload to compare, the Try Ultra / Try Basic button on the comparison screen re-runs the same source through the other model.

Tip: Ultra costs more than Basic, and the gap grows with template size, large emails are noticeably more expensive in Ultra. For big templates, try Basic first and only reach for Ultra if you need the extra fidelity.

Credits and Pricing

Import HTML runs on AI credits, and the cost is dynamic — it depends on your HTML's size and complexity, and the estimate is shown up front on the model card before you convert.

Basic includes a set number of free imports each month, depending on your plan:

Lite — 15 imports/month
Plus — 20 imports/month
Pro — 50 imports/month

Your free imports reset on your billing date. Once you've used them up, Basic imports are charged in credits based on the estimate.

Ultra is always charged in credits — the free quota doesn't apply.

The full estimated cost is charged up front when conversion starts. A genuine failure refunds automatically; cancelling does not (you keep the generated preview and can still accept it).

For how AI credits and plans work, see Understanding AI Credits.

What Happens to Your Code

To make conversion faster and cheaper, Postcards cleans up your HTML before sending it to the AI:

HTML comments, legacy Microsoft Office/Outlook tags, and 1×1 tracking pixels are removed.

For fonts:

Google Fonts are added automatically — no action needed.
Other external fonts (@font-face from non-Google sources) are detected and offered for import into your font library.

Limits

File size: up to 2 MB, one file at a time.
Plan project limits apply. An import counts as a project, so your plan's project cap applies (for example, Free — 10, Lite — 100).

Resuming an Import

If you leave in the middle of an import, it isn't lost — reopen the project and Postcards restores the conversion screen so you can pick up where you left off.

Understanding AI Credits — how credits, plans, and packs work
Creating and Managing Workspaces in Postcards — plans and billing
Postcards Projects — managing your imported projects