How to set up template version control?

Version control means your templates have a time machine. You can see what changed, when, who made the change, and why. More importantly, you can revert to the last working version if someone breaks something. Without it, you're guessing and hoping.

If you have developers on your team, use Git (or GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket). Store your template HTML files in a repository. Every time someone updates a template, they commit the change with a message explaining why. That creates a permanent record. If something breaks tomorrow, you pull up the commit history, see exactly what changed last week, and roll back if needed.

No developers? That's fine. Most email platforms have built-in version history. Mailchimp, SendGrid, HubSpot, and others automatically save template versions. You can compare old versions side-by-side and restore any previous version. It's less powerful than Git, but it works and requires no setup.

Minimum version control. If you're using a drag-and-drop builder with no history feature, do this yourself. Before you make any big template change, save a dated copy. Name it something clear like "template-promo-2024-01-15-backup.html". Keep a simple changelog in a Google Doc or spreadsheet listing each version and what changed. It sounds old-school, but it's better than losing your only working template.

How to use version control effectively. Write clear commit messages. "Fixed Outlook button rendering" is way better than "updates". Create branches for major changes. Test in the branch, then merge when it's stable. Make sure someone reviews changes before they go live. These practices take five minutes more and save you hours when something breaks.

Set up version control before you need it. Not after you've lost a template to a bad edit.

Related: pre-send testing, dark mode testing, A/B testing.