Hi, I’ve got a couple of beginner questions I’m hoping someone can help me with.
Is it possible to have rounded corners on elements? I can’t see any functionality to do it?
How do I have 2 or 3 text sections within one email that have different colour backgrounds?
What is the best way to have a spacer between two content blocks? Whether that be background colour or another colour?
I’m aware of the divider module and you could maybe make that work, but it is limited in its height and therefore is usage.
Is there another way I am missing?
What is the best way to have text or buttons over an image without using the background pattern option, is there any documentation for this?
Am I the only one that thinks the default social icons look really low res?
On the layout tab, what is the difference between ‘default’ and ‘boxed’? I can’t find any documentation on it.
Here’s some help with your questions:
- Is it possible to have rounded corners on elements? I can’t see any functionality to do it? - Yes, but it’s not always available via the visual editors depending on the templates and elements you are using. Sometimes you may have to dive into the code or in other instances, you may find that utilizing images are better suited for your task.
- How do I have 2 or 3 text sections within one email that have different colour backgrounds? - For each text section simply change the background color via the edit section attributes.
- What is the best way to have a spacer between two content blocks? Whether that be background colour or another colour?
I’m aware of the divider module and you could maybe make that work, but it is limited in its height and therefore is usage.
Is there another way I am missing? - You could insert your own spacer image or simply have an empty content area with top/bottom spacing to achieve a larger height. However, espeically with email, if you make it too long, users will not scroll through the email to see all of your content. Typically it’s better to have shorter emails with distinct CTAs to drive better conversions. - What is the best way to have text or buttons over an image without using the background pattern option, is there any documentation for this? If you want text or visuals over an image these are typically just images in emails. While there are many tricks with web pages, there are many limitations in HTML for emails that prevent this interactive content from displaying properly in an email client.
- Am I the only one that thinks the default social icons look really low res? - You can certainly use your own social icons and it may be better to find ones that align with your brand.
- On the layout tab, what is the difference between ‘default’ and ‘boxed’? I can’t find any documentation on it. - Boxed is typically a restricted width whereas the default layouts tend to be fluid.
Hi @Joe_J and welcome!
Ben has covered most of it, but i’ll add some extra!
- Is it possible to have rounded corners on elements? I can’t see any functionality to do it?
- Some email clients strip out fun visual elements (looking at Outlook with a keen eye here). Best practice would dictate not relying on these too heavily, or avoiding altogether.
- How do I have 2 or 3 text sections within one email that have different colour backgrounds?
- Don’t forget you can also save sections (assuming that these differently-coloured sections are ones that you repeat across different emails). Just hover over the section and hit the floppy-disk-looking button and you’ll be able to drag and drop those into your other emails.
- What is the best way to have a spacer between two content blocks? Whether that be background colour or another colour? I’m aware of the divider module and you could maybe make that work, but it is limited in its height and therefore is usage.Is there another way I am missing?
- As Ben suggests, the spacer is the best bet and don’t give your email too much blank space. Check out the Mobile preview!
- What is the best way to have text or buttons over an image without using the background pattern option, is there any documentation for this?
- You’ve probably already gone through the standard documentation for Marketing Email creation, but without digging into the CSS it’s usually quicker, easier and more reliable to simply rasterise a button onto the image and upload the whole thing as one.
- Am I the only one that thinks the default social icons look really low res?
- This may be a symptom of your screen size/resolution/zoom level. They look fine to me on most screens.
Hi @Joe_J
Good question, and it’s nice to see someone asking the “simple” things, because these are the ones that make your emails look polished.
In 2025, HubSpot’s email editor is still limited by the same constraints of email HTML: what looks easy on a website (rounded corners, layered text on images, perfect spacing) can break in Outlook or Gmail. Rounded corners are possible but they rely on CSS that isn’t supported everywhere, so they may not render consistently.
If visual consistency matters more than live styling, many teams now upload pre-designed image blocks with the corners baked in.
For sections with different background colors, you’ll want to create separate modules or drag in multiple text sections and set their background individually. It’s cleaner than trying to force one block to do everything. For spacers, instead of fighting the divider’s height, use padding on surrounding modules—it’s lighter and responds better across mobile clients.
On overlaying text or buttons on an image, 2025 hasn’t changed the reality that true overlays are still risky in email HTML. The most reliable way is still slicing the asset: design the button or text onto the image itself. Some advanced marketers now use hybrid coding (like ghost tables) to position elements, but that’s custom work. And yes, many still feel the default social icons look dated swapping in higher-resolution brand assets is standard practice now.
Finally, “default” versus “boxed” simply changes whether your email stretches edge-to-edge or stays within a fixed width container. Boxed tends to look more structured on desktop, default more fluid. The best way is always to preview in mobile view before sending. Hope this fresh 2025 perspective helps you focus on building emails that actually land well across today’s fragmented clients.