How this site is built
onepagenewsletters.com is a static HTML site: plain files built from text and data, served from a global network, with no content management system and no database of pages. A few small functions handle the forms. Every template is weighed automatically when the site is built, and inbox placement is measured with seed tests.
People who care about email tend to care about how things are made, so here is how this site works and why it was built this way.
Plain files, no CMS
The whole site is static HTML. Templates are described in a small data file, articles are written as plain text files, and a short build script turns them into pages. There is no content management system, no plugins and no admin login.
That choice follows from what the site needs to do. It shows templates, publishes articles and runs two forms. None of that needs a database of pages or an editor in the browser. Static files load fast, cost almost nothing to host, have very little that can break, and offer almost nothing to attack.
The trade-off is that publishing means running the build rather than pressing a button in an editor. For a site written by one person, that is a good trade. For a site with a team of writers, WordPress or another CMS often makes more sense, which is the subject of does your newsletter need a website?
How the templates are measured
Every number on a template page comes from the files themselves, at build time:
- Weight. The build script measures the exact size of each template's HTML file and compares it with the 102 KB point where Gmail clips a message. Nothing is typed in by hand.
- Plain-text version. The script checks that each template ships with its plain-text file.
- Subject and preview text. Read from the template, so what you see on the page is what is in the file.
Premium templates are measured the same way. Their pages show screenshots instead of the live file.
How inbox placement is tested
Placement is measured with seed testing: each template is sent from our test domain to a panel of mailboxes at Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo and other providers, and we record whether it reached the inbox, a tab or spam. Until a template has been through that test, its page says "Not tested yet" rather than showing a guess.
Seed tests have a known limit: the test mailboxes have no history with the sender, so they show whether a template and setup are sound, not how your own list will treat it. That is explained in inbox placement test.
How the test-send form works
The "send it to your own inbox" form runs on a few small functions next to the static pages.
- You enter your address. We email you a confirmation link, and nothing else, until you click it.
- When you confirm, the test goes out from a sending subdomain used only for template tests, so tests never share a reputation with anything else.
- Each test carries a line saying it is a test and a link to stop further tests to that address.
- Daily limits per address, per connection and overall keep the feature from being misused.
The confirmation step also means the form cannot be used to send templates to someone else's inbox.
Privacy by design
The site sets no cookies of its own and uses no advertising trackers. IP addresses are never stored; the daily limits use a one-way coded version instead. The full detail is in the privacy policy.