What is the universal header and footer?

The universal header and footer is one header and one footer that every email in your account uses. When you edit them once and save, the change applies to every flow email and campaign that uses them.

Why you need it

  • Without it, each email has its own copy of the header and footer, so a change to your logo, links or banner has to be made in every email.
  • Emails that use different header blocks drift apart over time, and an edit to one does not carry across to the others.
  • A Smart Rule on a header block (for example, a sale banner) has to be added to each email separately.

How to set it up

Before you start

  • Your universal footer must include an unsubscribe link. Instant’s Footer block includes one by default. If you use a custom HTML footer, see How to Add Custom HTML to Your Instant AI Emails.
  • The first time you save, Instant adds the universal header and footer to every flow email. Read What happens the first time you save below before you start.

Pick a starting point

  1. Go to Email Templates in your Instant AI dashboard
  2. Click Universal header & footer at the top of the list of flows
  3. Click Set up universal header & footer
  4. In the Pick a starting point window, select one header and one footer from the ones your emails use today. Instant shows how many different headers and footers it found across your emails.
  5. Click Continue to editor

To build a new header and footer instead, click Start from scratch.

Note: Nothing goes live until you save from the universal editor. Your other headers and footers stay saved in the Block Library.

  1. In the universal editor, click Add block in the header or footer to add a block. You can add more than one block, for example a header, a banner and an HTML block.
  2. Click a block to change its content or style
  3. To show different content to different shoppers, select a block and click Add Smart Rule in the block settings panel
  4. Click Save changes
  5. Check the number of emails and flows that will change, then click Update all emails

The middle of the editor shows how many emails and flows use your header and footer. You edit the content of each email inside its own flow.

How it works

What happens the first time you save

When you save for the first time, Instant adds the universal header and footer to every flow email.

  • If the top block of an email is a header block, the universal header replaces it.
  • If the bottom block of an email is a footer block, the universal footer replaces it.
  • If the top or bottom block is a different block (for example a hero or an HTML block), Instant adds the universal header or footer and keeps that block.
  • Emails with no content yet keep their current look.
  • Campaigns do not change. To use the universal header and footer in a campaign, add it from the Block Library.

What happens when you save again

Each save updates every email that uses the universal header and footer. Emails that are already sent do not change.

How it shows in an email

In the email editor, the universal header and footer show as locked blocks, labelled Universal header and Universal footer. Click one to open its settings. From there you can:

  • Click Edit universal header & footer to open the universal editor. Save or discard your changes to the email first.
  • Click Detach from universal, then Create local copy. This keeps a copy in this email that you can edit. The email stops getting updates to the universal header or footer.
  • Click Delete from this email to remove it from this email only

To add the universal header or footer back to an email, open the Block Library and go to Headers or Footers.

Which blocks you can use

The Block Library in the universal editor only shows the blocks that you can add. You can use blocks such as Header, Footer, Hero, Image, Button, HTML, Rich text, Layout, spacers and dividers. You cannot use blocks that show product, cart or order details, or a Rule block.

A Smart Rule on a block in the universal header or footer applies in every email that uses it. Because the header and footer are in every email, their rules can only use shopper filters and scheduled dates. A rule cannot use cart, product or order details.

Note: You cannot delete a saved rule that the universal header or footer uses. If you edit that rule to add cart, product or order details, Instant does not save the change.

Personalisation fields

  • Fields that come from a flow or an order (for example, an order number) show empty in emails that do not have that data.
  • Loyalty fields show empty when your loyalty app is not connected.

The universal editor shows a warning when a block uses one of these fields.

FAQ

Can I have a different header in one email? Yes. Open the email, click the universal header and click Detach from universal. That email keeps its own copy and stops getting updates.

Do my campaigns use the universal header and footer? Not automatically. Add it to a campaign from Headers or Footers in the Block Library.

If I delete the universal header from one email, does it go from my other emails? No. Delete from this email removes it from that email only.

Can I make other blocks universal? No. Only the header and footer can be universal.

Why can I not save my universal footer? It must include an unsubscribe link. Add Instant’s Footer block, or add {{ unsubscribe_link }} to your custom HTML footer.

Can I undo the first save? Contact your customer success manager.

For more on blocks, see How to use the Block Library in Instant AI. For more on rules, see How to use Smart Rules in your emails.