Create a weather forecast template

Weather forecast templates are the first step to build a customized weather email for your subscribers. Craft your template, then use your design in your weather forecast campaign mailing tag.

Weather conditions and icons

Weather forecast templates include 33 specific weather conditions. Icons for the weather conditions can be anything you choose up to 500KB per image. Icons that are the same height and width provide a more polished and consistent look in your template.

One icon can be reused for any number of weather conditions so you don't need to create 33 different images! If necessary, default icons are available in the weather forecast template.

Create your weather forecast template

Start in the Templates section of Litmus Personalize and select the Weather Forecast tab. Use the New Template link in the upper right corner of the pane. Any existing templates will appear below.

Add a name in the Description field. Be sure to check both the High resolution and Anti alias checkboxes. The weather forecast template builder starts with a default white background. You can adjust the size, change the background color, make it transparent with the checkbox selector, or upload a background image using controls in the Inspector tab on the right of the template canvas.

Upload your prepared weather forecast icon images to your template using the cloud icon Weather icons tab to the right of the template canvas.

Once your forecast images are uploaded, you can begin the mapping process. Use the radio button options to assign a weather type to each icon. You can include as many options for a single icon as you'd like! Select Save mapping in the lower right corner when you're done. If you want to change your icons or mapping, use the Customize icons button that appears below your uploaded icons.

To add elements to your forecast template, use the large + icon in the upper left corner. Every element starts as a text field. You will use various controls around the text box to make each element display the content you want and use other controls in the right side panel tabs to adjust size, location, and presentation options.

Start with the blue link connect tool to the right of the text box to connect a source for the block element. Select the Content source radio button, then open each of the source tab triangles to expand the content options. The below example starts with the icon option as the source for this element. You'll find it near the bottom of all the available options - it's a long list! Select Done in the upper right corner of the pane to complete the source connection.

A default placeholder icon will appear in your canvas and will probably look squished. Use the layout tools in the Inspector pane to adjust the size and position, as well as other attributes like background or border, of your weather icon.

Repeat the process of adding and adjusting elements of your weather forecast. Next, we added the weatherPrimary (translations available) option to our new block element. Use the text controls to center the text, choose a font, and change the font size or color, and the right pane layout controls to position the element.

We added this block element to include the forecast date using the dateTimeISO content source element. To format the date, use the Text tab in the Inspector pane. Once you select Date for the type, you can use the Output dropdown to select a version that fits your template's design.

Show a multi-day forecast

Once you have your initial forecast template created, you can add more days to your forecast presentation. Select the Template properties tab in the right pane. Use the dropdown to select Repeated as the Type, choose your display direction, and then how many forecast days you want to appear up to 14 repetitions.