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/email-best-practices

@376d1c3 official
by resendresend/resend-skills193 stars
28

Use when building email features, emails going to spam, high bounce rates, setting up SPF/DKIM/DMARC authentication, implementing email capture, ensuring compliance (CAN-SPAM, GDPR, CASL), handling webhooks, retry logic, making emails accessible (alt text, headings, contrast, screen readers), or deciding transactional vs marketing.

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Use this Skill: https://skilld.dev/gh/resend/resend-skills/email-best-practices

This session only. Nothing lands on disk.

referencestransactional-emails.md

≈623 tokens on demand. Your agent reads this file only when SKILL.md points to it.

Transactional Email Best Practices

Clear, actionable emails that users expect and need—password resets, confirmations, OTPs.

Core Principles

  1. Clarity over creativity - Users need to understand and act quickly
  2. Action-oriented - Clear purpose, obvious primary action
  3. Time-sensitive - Send immediately (within seconds)

Subject Lines

Be specific and include context:

✅ Good ❌ Bad
Reset your password for [App] Action required
Your order #12345 has shipped Update on your order
Your 2FA code for [App] Security code: 12345
Verify your email for [App] Verify your email

Include identifiers when helpful: order numbers, account names, expiration times.

Pre-Header

The text snippet after subject line. Use it to:

  • Reinforce subject ("This link expires in 1 hour")
  • Add urgency or context
  • Call-to-action preview

Keep under 90 characters.

Content Structure

Above the fold (first screen):

  • Clear purpose
  • Primary action button
  • Time-sensitive details (expiration)

Hierarchy: Header → Primary message → Details → Action button → Secondary info

Format: Short paragraphs (2-3 sentences), bullet points, bold for emphasis, white space.

Mobile-First Design

60%+ emails are opened on mobile.

  • Layout: Single column, stack vertically
  • Buttons: 44x44px minimum, full-width on mobile
  • Text: 16px minimum body, 20-24px headings
  • OTP codes: 24-32px, monospace font

Sender Configuration

Field Best Practice Example
From Name App/company name, consistent [App Name]
From Email Subdomain, real address hello@mail.example.com
Reply-To Monitored inbox support@example.com

Avoid noreply@ - users reply to transactional emails.

Code and Link Display

OTP/Verification codes:

  • Large (24-32px), monospace font
  • Centered, clear label
  • Include expiration nearby
  • Make copyable

Buttons:

  • Large, tappable (44x44px+)
  • Contrasting colors
  • Clear action text ("Reset Password", "Verify Email")
  • HTTPS links only

Error Handling

Resend functionality:

  • Allow after 60 seconds
  • Limit attempts (3 per hour)
  • Show countdown timer

Expired links:

  • Clear "expired" message
  • Offer to send new link
  • Provide support contact

"I didn't request this":

  • Include in password resets, OTPs, security alerts
  • Link to security contact
  • Log clicks for monitoring

Source: SKILL.md on GitHub

Third-party checks

No alerts16d4 checks · Risk SAFE
  • Gen Agent Trust Hub16d

    The skill is a comprehensive knowledge base for email best practices, including deliverability, accessibility, compliance, and reliability. It contains educational content and code examples for developers. No malicious patterns or security risks were detected.

  • Socket16d

    No alerts

  • Snyk16d

    Risk: LOW · No issues

  • ZeroLeaks5mo

    Score: 93/100 · 2 sections analyzed

Provenance

Signed by skilld at 376d1c3. This ties the file your Agent reads to that commit on GitHub. It does not review the instructions.

Last checked against GitHub 2 days ago.

Activeupdated 4 months ago

Capability

Other metadata
metadata
{
  "author": "Resend",
  "version": "1.0.2",
  "homepage": "https://resend.com/agent-skills",
  "source": "https://github.com/resend/email-best-practices",
  "openclaw": {
    "links": {
      "repository": "https://github.com/resend/email-best-practices",
      "documentation": "https://resend.com/docs/email-best-practices-skill"
    }
  }
}

Topics

  • email
  • transactional
  • marketing
  • deliverability
  • spf-dkim-dmarc
  • compliance
  • webhooks
  • accessibility
  • list-management
  • resend

README badge

README badge for resend/resend-skills/email-best-practices

What it does

Provides decision trees and reference guides for deliverability (SPF/DKIM/DMARC), compliance (CAN-SPAM/GDPR/CASL), transactional vs marketing email classification, webhook handling, list management, and accessibility (alt text, headings, contrast). Targets teams building email features with Resend or similar transactional email APIs.

Generated from the current SKILL.md.

Frequently asked

Does this skill cover setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC?
Yes. The Deliverability section covers authentication setup and is the first step recommended for fixing spam issues, as unauthenticated emails are commonly rejected by Gmail and Yahoo.
What compliance standards does this skill address?
It covers CAN-SPAM, GDPR, and CASL requirements, with a dedicated Compliance section for legal obligations around email capture and marketing sends.
Does this skill include guidance on making emails accessible?
Yes. The Accessibility section covers screen reader support, alt text, headings, contrast requirements, and proper HTML structure for inclusive email design.
How does this skill handle bounces and list hygiene?
The List Management section covers bounce handling, suppression list updates, and list hygiene jobs. Webhooks & Events section covers processing delivery events to track bounces and complaints.
Does this skill cover retry logic and idempotent sending?
Yes. The Sending Reliability section covers retry strategy, idempotency, and error handling for production-ready email sending.

Generated from the current SKILL.md. These answers refresh after source changes.