How to Preview and Test Email Templates
1 Preview Mode
Before sending, preview your email to see how it renders across different views.
Desktop Preview
The default editor canvas shows a desktop-width preview (600px content area). This is what recipients see in desktop email clients like Outlook, Apple Mail, and Gmail on web.
Mobile Preview
Toggle to mobile preview to see how the responsive version renders. Multi-column layouts stack vertically, and responsive CSS adjustments are applied. This simulates how the email appears on iPhone and Android devices.
Code Preview
Switch to the HTML code view to see the generated source. This shows the actual HTML that will be exported — including table-based layouts, VML conditional comments for Outlook, and inline styles.
2 Sending a Test Email
The test email modal lets you send the current template to any email address for real-world testing.
How to Send
- Click the "Test" button in the editor toolbar.
- Enter one or more recipient email addresses.
- Optionally set a subject line (defaults to your template's subject).
- Click "Send Test".
MiN8T sends the email using your configured SMTP or ESP credentials. The email includes:
- HTML version — the standard email body
- Plain text version — auto-generated text fallback
- AMP HTML version (if your template uses AMP blocks) — included as the AMP MIME part for testing in Gmail
Send test emails to yourself in Gmail to verify AMP content renders correctly. Gmail shows the AMP version when available and falls back to HTML otherwise.
3 Pre-Send Validation Checks
The test modal includes a suite of automated checks that catch common issues before you send. Each check runs independently and reports a pass/fail status.
| Check | What It Validates |
|---|---|
| Accessibility | Alt text on images, color contrast ratios, heading hierarchy, ARIA attributes, semantic structure |
| Links | Broken URLs, missing href attributes, invalid link targets, protocol checks (HTTPS) |
| Images | Missing images, oversized files, missing alt text, broken image URLs, optimization opportunities |
| Spam Score | Spam trigger words, text-to-image ratio, suspicious patterns, subject line analysis |
| Size | Total HTML weight, image payload, recommended limits (102KB for Gmail clipping), font and asset loading |
| Email Clients | Rendering compatibility across major clients (Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, Yahoo, etc.) |
Running Checks
Each check has a "Run" button. Click to execute the validation. Results appear with:
- Pass (green) — no issues found
- Warning (yellow) — potential issues that may not cause problems
- Fail (red) — issues that should be fixed before sending
- A detailed list of specific findings with locations and suggestions
Gmail clips emails larger than ~102KB. The size check warns you if your email is approaching this limit. Reduce image sizes, remove unused styles, or split into multiple sends.
4 Testing AMP Content
If your template contains AMP blocks (carousel, accordion, form, amp-list), the test email includes the AMP HTML as a separate MIME part. To test:
- Send a test email to a Gmail address.
- Open the email in Gmail (web or mobile app).
- Gmail renders the AMP version if present and valid.
- Interact with dynamic content (submit forms, browse carousels, expand accordions).
If AMP rendering doesn't appear, check:
- Your sender address is whitelisted for AMP (see AMP Whitelisting Guide)
- The AMP HTML passes validation (no forbidden elements, correct boilerplate)
- Gmail's dynamic email setting is enabled in the recipient's settings
For testing during development (before whitelisting), use Gmail's AMP testing tools — the Gmail Developer Playground lets you preview AMP HTML without whitelisting.
5 Next Steps
- How to Test and Export AMP Emails — detailed AMP testing workflow
- AMP Email Whitelisting Guide — get approved for AMP sending
Last updated: April 2026. All details verified against MiN8T's actual codebase implementation.