Ability to edit HTML in email campaign

[OperationA1]

Arghh not dig'n it. How can I view a new account in the old editor? The new editor is like the new social social sharing tool... a wicked drag.

[MikeF12184]

Looking at all the recent comments, it seems like this is how a lot of customers feel, but I just wanted to add my voice to the pile. My workplace is a long-time user of Constant Contact to send out our press releases. However, since the change to the new editor/builder, we are searching for new systems to use, because the new editor is just THAT troublesome. We now spend more time REFORMATTING our press releases to try to make them look decent in the builder than we do actually putting them together in the first place. And we're unable to create the same looks within our releases - especially when it comes to inserting imagery - as we used to do easily.

I am shocked that CC would do such a wholesale change of its product without proper beta testing and without much warning to clients at all. It's really disappointing to have to look for a new company, but right now the new builder no longer suits our needs.

Biggest issues are:

-It is no longer possible to cleanly copy over a document from Word into CC. The new builder removes formatting in random places, like pulling underlining, adding spaces in strange places, changing font color to grey in some places (but not all! Just for extra fun, I guess), etc. We build our press releases in Microsoft Word and need to be able to copy a finished document into the system and go from there.

-Inserting photos is extremely difficult now. You used to be able to simply select wherever in text you wanted a photo, then, well, insert a photo at that spot! The new builder doesn't allow this and only gives extremely limited options for adding photos into text. When you have multiple photos you were hoping to inset within your email, this makes building it SO FRUSTRATING.

-The formatting doesn't lock between desktop and mobile viewing. We finally managed to get a photo within the text looking good on the desktop version, and then on mobile it was in an entirely different place and had been resized huge, rather than being set next to the text. I was told by customer support that the only way to fix this would be for me to custom code my emails - I am not a coder and don't know much beyond extremely basic HTML. I shouldn't have to be a coder to send emails that I used to put together without any issue or coding knowledge.

-You can't tab over text. WHY? What is the point in that?

-You can't insert photos with text wrapping

-You can't add captions underneath photos (yes, I know there is a box I can drag and drop that has a photo with text under it... that is NOT THE SAME as the previous functions where you could inset a photo and then add a caption, all with the main text wrapping around said photo).

In all, I am just so so so disappointed with Constant Contact for making enormous changes without considering that many - most? - of their existing clients probably liked how their campaigns were built and want/need to have the same options available.

I shouldn't have to entirely redo how my company's communications look just because CC designed a product update that doesn't allow many of the same functionalities as the previous version. 

[ScottA2535]

I agree.......companies begin to decline when they think they know more than their customers and 'water down/simplify' their products. 

For example, I want to includes tables ....but Constant Contact thinks they are bad for mobile and they did a whole video on how people have to pinch and zoom. I know my analytics, my users are on desktops and laptops. So let me use Tables, this is an option I pay you for. If you must, change the user interface so it is harder to find, but do not just take it away because YOU think you know what your customers want. You are in fact, going to lose a customer over this in the coming months. 

Also, being able to insert HTML into blocks and various parts of the email. Again, you stripped this away. Some of us like the flexibility and are able to create the look and feel that we want. But nooo, Constant Contact thinks they know best, so this option is taken away. Sure they will tell you that you can still use HTML, but you will quickly learn their way is not usable. 

Don't get me wrong, all software needs to be updated from time to time. But there is a RIGHT and a WRONG way to do things. And ultimately if you do them wrong, you lose customers. Because of these new changes, I will be transitioning away from Constant Contact and I suspect many others will as well unless better decisions are made. But when your management looks back months from now and sees that your revenue is declining and then layoffs begin(inlcuding the people who respond to these messages), it will NOT be because of the pandemic. It will be because of the way this transition has been executed. 

So in summary, listen to your users and bring back some of the functionality (tables, html, ability to use and copy legacy emails, etc). 

[JenniferH76]

I'm new to using Constant Contact, and trying to rebuild a layout I've designed for a new email campaign. We normally use another system, that seems way more advanced, while also being more user friendly.

- I can't insert tables?
- I can't insert custom HTML blocks?
- I can't adjust padding within blocks, like centering text within a block?

- There's no full text editor that lets me flip between HTML and a WYSIWYG?

And that's just after spending an hour with it. These should be REALLY simple things. 

[SMC1896]

Man, customers must be dropping like flies... I'm gone.

[FirstNameL67821]

Removing the option for me to edit the CSS and HTML is annoying, limiting, and makes look better and better. I am sure within your customer base there are thousands of sophisticated users and you are tying our hands. 

And I don't want your design services, web sites, or other crap, I want high quality emails that are easy to use and don't waste my time. Focus on what made CC a success and stop listening to whoever the dope is that is trying to "expand the monetization" and makes good customers want to run away. 

[SueA97]

Hi folks, I am really angry about your changeover to a new system. it doesn't allow HTML EDITING and many other features that Legacy had. I'm trying to still use Legacy because I designed my own template and now the changes to emails keep giving me errors. Really??? You are SO EXPENSIVE, you need to make Legacy work again. Sue Auclair

[JillS14]

I am NOT a fan of the newer editing program, not user friendly. Should have a "Save" button - not "export" - the sizing for pics is also challenging, the old one let you get the picture size matched by actual numbers - this is just a guessing game and takes me 3x longer.  

When you click the editing pencil, it should take you directly to the photo you clicked on without jumping through 2 more hoops to be able to edit it (hoop 1: Push the tab key so you can see the options. Hoop 2: open the editing option) -- this program needs to be simplified!

[rcppubs23]

Glad you brought up that thing about sizing of images. I haven't seen anyone talking about it but it sure is annoying. Along with the fact that you can't adjust the columns beyond what's apparently a certain set point. That really seems like a case of fixing something that wasn't broken.

[KathleenS098]

I agree.  I now have less ability to edit details than before.  For example, I no longer have access to the HTML code for minor fixed such as moving a photo.  I can no longer access the photo editing page where previously I could add Alt text, reside, and more, directly from within the email I'm working on.  There's more...my service rep was very helpful today but apparently these two things are not solvable.

[StephenN4]

The Legacy emails offered source coding/ HTML options which are a great feature and tool, that I require.