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Bowen Tu
Bowen Tu

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Building a Visual HTML Editor with AI: A Marketer's Journey to Solving the "Email Template" Nightmare

Stop Fighting Raw HTML: Visual Editing for Marketers and Non‑Coders

If you’ve ever opened an HTML file and thought, “I just want to move this block down a bit… why is this so hard?”, you’re not alone.

Maybe you:

  • copy templates from your email service provider and need to tweak them,
  • get landing pages from AI tools but still have to “fix the last 20%”,
  • receive HTML from design or dev teams that doesn’t quite match the latest copy.

For most marketers, growth people, and busy operators, editing HTML directly feels like punishment. You don’t want to learn CSS selectors just to move a button.

That’s why I built HtmlDrag — a visual HTML editor designed for non‑developers.

What is HtmlDrag?

HtmlDrag lets you load any existing HTML page and edit it visually, on a canvas, with drag‑and‑drop.

You still get clean HTML at the end, but you don’t have to work in HTML.

You can:

  • import HTML from a URL,
  • upload a local HTML file,
  • or just paste raw HTML into the editor.

HtmlDrag then renders that page in an editor where you can:

  • move sections up and down,
  • edit text inline,
  • tweak spacing and layout,
  • hide or delete blocks,
  • and visually fine‑tune the “last mile” that’s usually so painful.

All of this happens in your browser — no heavy software, no coding required.

Who is it for?

HtmlDrag is deliberately not built for front‑end engineers who enjoy editing code in VS Code.

It’s built for:

  • Email marketers who need to fix HTML newsletters, EDM campaigns, or transactional emails.
  • Growth / ops people who receive HTML from tools or teammates and just need to “make it look right”.
  • Busy professionals who occasionally have to touch HTML (invoices, reports, simple landing pages) but don’t want to become developers.

If you’ve ever:

  • broken a layout by touching the wrong <div>,
  • spent 30 minutes trying to align one button,
  • or given up and asked a developer friend to “just fix it for me”,

HtmlDrag is meant to remove that frustration.

How HtmlDrag works (in practice)

Here’s a typical workflow:

  1. Bring in your HTML

    • Paste a page URL (for example, your landing page or a hosted email preview).
    • Or upload an .html file exported from your ESP / email builder.
    • Or paste raw HTML from another tool.

  2. Edit visually on the canvas

    • Click any block to edit the text directly.
    • Drag sections to reorder layout without touching code.
    • Hide, duplicate, or remove sections that you don’t need.
    • Adjust spacing and layout visually, with true WYSIWYG feedback.

  3. Review and polish

    • Check how your page looks after small tweaks.
    • Make sure headlines, CTAs, and disclaimers match your latest messaging.
    • Clean up things you usually ignore because “it’s in the HTML”.

  4. Export or download

    • Free: download your design as images (for reviews, documentation, or sharing with teammates).
    • Paid: export the final, cleaned HTML when you’re ready to ship.

This way, you can stay in a visual flow most of the time and only think about “HTML” when you actually need the code.

What’s free and what’s paid?

To avoid any confusion, here’s the pricing model in plain language:

  • You can start using HtmlDrag for free.

    • Load pages (via URL, file upload, or paste).
    • Edit them visually on the canvas.
    • Download your designs as images for free (for internal reviews, documentation, or sharing).

  • HTML export is a paid feature.

    • When you’re ready to take your edited design into production, you can upgrade to a paid plan.
    • Paid users can export the final, cleaned HTML code for use in email platforms, landing pages, or other tools.

So the workflow is:

  1. Explore and edit visually for free.
  2. Use free image downloads for feedback, approvals, and internal sharing.
  3. Upgrade to unlock HTML export when you actually need the production code.

No promise of “free HTML export”, no hidden catch — just a clear split between free usage and paid export.

Common use cases

Here are some concrete scenarios where HtmlDrag can save you time.

1. Fixing an email template that almost works

You have an HTML newsletter from:

  • your email service provider,
  • an agency,
  • or an older campaign.

It mostly looks right, but:

  • the hero section spacing feels off,
  • a disclaimer got longer and broke the layout,
  • you want to test a different CTA block.

With HtmlDrag, you:

  1. Import the HTML.
  2. Tweak layout, text, and blocks visually.
  3. Download images for internal review (for free).
  4. Once approved, export the final HTML (paid) and paste it back into your ESP.

You never have to touch <table> tags or nested <div>s.

2. Cleaning up an AI‑generated landing page

Maybe you use an AI page builder or a no‑code tool that exports HTML.

The first draft is okay, but the final 10–20% still needs human judgment:

  • tighten up copy,
  • reorder sections,
  • remove obviously AI‑ish filler.

With HtmlDrag, you:

  1. Paste the exported HTML (or use the public URL).
  2. Edit copy and layout visually, like dragging slides in a deck.
  3. Once it feels human and on‑brand, export the HTML (paid) for your actual hosting or landing page tool.

3. Updating HTML documents you don’t want to rewrite

Some HTML files live in places that are annoying to edit, like:

  • system‑generated invoices or reports,
  • internal documentation exported as HTML,
  • simple HTML microsites created years ago.

Instead of rewriting them from scratch, you can:

  1. Upload the existing HTML.
  2. Make small but important changes visually — new logo, updated wording, changed contact details.
  3. Share image previews for sign‑off (free).
  4. Export updated HTML (paid) only when needed.

Why build another editor?

There are great tools for creating emails or pages from scratch.

HtmlDrag is more focused on:

  • taking existing HTML (from any source),
  • letting non‑developers make changes safely,
  • and then giving you clean, exportable HTML when you’re ready.

It sits between “no‑code builders” and “raw code editors”:

  • less rigid than templates locked inside a specific platform,
  • much friendlier than hand‑editing HTML when you’re not a developer.

Try HtmlDrag

If you often find yourself saying:

“I just need this HTML to look right, I don’t want to learn CSS.”

then HtmlDrag is for you.

You can open it here:https://htmldrag.com

  • Start by loading any page or HTML file you already have.
  • Play with the visual editor and see how it feels.
  • Use free image downloads to share drafts or get feedback.
  • And whenever you need the actual HTML code, you can upgrade to unlock HTML export.

I’d love feedback from marketers, growth people, and anyone who has to “touch HTML” but doesn’t want to become a front‑end engineer.

If this sounds like you, give HtmlDrag a try and tell me what part of your workflow it makes easier.

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