Email support in Centra

Last updated July 28th at 3:14pm

Introduction

As an e-commerce platform, sending emails is one of the bare-bones features of Centra. We support email templates for most commonly used types of emails, we let you customise and translate those templates, but if you require - you can skip using Centra's solution alltogether and choose instead to implement one of our supported ESPs (Email Service Providers).

Email template types

To support most common use cases, Centra offers built-in templates for the following email types:

• Order receipt - sent upon successful order placement in Centra. Usually skipped if the store setting Autoconfirm orders is enabled.
• Order confirmation - sent when the order is confirmed, either in AMS, via API or automatically.
• Order shipment - sent when each order shipment is shipped.
• Order cancelation - sent when the order is canceled.
• Order refund - sent when the return connected to an order is refunded.
• Password reset - sent when the shopper requests password reset via the API.
• Customer registered - sent when the shopper registers an account through the API.

In addition, some ESPs (mainly Rule and Klaviyo) support back in stock emails. However, since this functions is implemented by the mail provider, Centra doesn't support back-in-stock emails internally.

Activating email templates

Built-in email types can be enabled in each Store separately via AMS -> Stores Management -> Stores:

Using internal Centra emails

Once enabled, Centra will activate our internal mailing service based on Amazon SES. The configuration is two-fold:

• First, configure the email_settings Store Static in order to configure the From name and From email address which should be used by Centra when sending emails.
• Second, configure all the email statics that are of interest to you.

Statics are configuration sets configured for each Store separately. They are configured in AMS -> DTC/Wholesale -> (More) -> Statics.

Let's discuss each static in more detail.

Email settings: "From" name and email

Controlled by the email_settings static. It must always have exactly two lines of text:

From name
From email

For example, the default configuration is as follows:

Our domain centra.com is verified in Amazon SES, through adding some DNS magic. Let us know if you'd like to use your own domain for sending Centra emails. Your order emails will be sent from Store and come from email address customerorder@centra.com. Here's an example order receipt email with headers:

Order receipt

This email template is used if autoconfirming orders is disabled, and new orders land into Centra with status Pending. This email can be disabled if instead order confirmation emails are to be used, for example when using store setting Autoconfirm orders.

• Static name: Order Receipt
• Static internal ID: order_receipt_email
• Available binds:
  • %link: Link to the order
  • %company: Company name
  • %document: Link to delivery note
  • %id: Order number
  • %name: Order customer name and Order customer surname
  • %date: Date when order was created in format taken from system custom settings, typically is set to “%Y-%M-%D %H:%I:%S” - as datetime
  • %po: Order PO number
  • %selectionId: Basket (selection) ID

Order confirmation

This email is triggered when a new order in Centra is confirmed. This can be done manually in AMS backend, by using Integration API, or automatically using store settings.

• Static name: Order Confirmation
• Static internal ID: order_conf_email
• Available binds:
  • %link: Link to the order
  • %company: Company name
  • %document: Link to delivery note
  • %id: Order number
  • %name: Order customer name and Order customer surname
  • %date: Date when order was created in format taken from system custom settings, typically is set to datetime: “%Y-%M-%D %H:%I:%S”
  • %po: Order PO number
  • %selectionId: Basket (selection) ID

Order shipment

Shipping confirmation email is triggered upon completion of each order shipment.

• Static name: Shipping Confirmation
• Static internal ID: shipping_email
• Available binds:
  • %link: Link to the order
  • %company_name: Company name
  • %company: Shipping Company
  • %document: Link to delivery note with appendix
  • %orderdocument: Link to delivery note
  • %id: Order number
  • %name: Shipping name or Customer name, otherwise Shipping Attn
  • %list: Complex information about order items
  • %firstname: Shipping name
  • %surname: Shipping surname
  • %date: Date of mail creation in format taken from system custom settings, typically is set to datetime: “%d %B, %Y - %H:%M”
  • %carrier [*]: Carrier information
  • %service [*]: Service information
  • %tracking_no: Tracking number in Shipment info
  • %message [*]: Additional message in Shipment info
  • %po: Order PO number

[*] Binds can be defined as conditionals with additional Labels - if those bind value is set, then value with preceding data is shown in message, i.e. {carrier:CARRIER: %carrier}, if carrier value is 123, then the email will show CARRIER: 123.

Order cancelation

Whenever you cancel an order in Centra, either via AMS backend or through Integration API, you have a choice to send a cancelation email to your shopper. If you don't specify it, default behavior will be decided by the Store Settings.

• Static name: Cancelation email
• Static internal ID: cancel_email
• Available binds:
  • %company_name: Company name
  • %id: Order number
  • %ordername: Order name
  • %name: Order Shipping name+surname for Customer or Shipping Attn for Account (B2B)
  • %date: Date when order was created in format taken from system custom settings, typically is set to datetime: “%Y-%M-%D %H:%I:%S”
  • %message [*]: Additional message

[*] Bind can be defined as conditional with additional label - if this bind value is set, then value with preceding data is shown in message, i.e. {message:MESSAGE: %message}, if message value is 123, then the email will show MESSAGE: 123. Alternatively, you can put just %message and no additional label will be produced.

Order refund

This email template is used when your previously shipped order has been returned, and you refund the money to the shopper.

• Static name: Refund Confirmation
• Static internal ID: refund_email
• Available binds:
  • %id: Order number
  • %date: Order date
  • %name: Order shipping attn (B2B) or order shipping company or customer first/last name (DTC)
  • %firstname: Order shipping company (B2B) or customer first name (DTC)
  • %surname: Order shipping company (B2B) or customer last name (DTC)
  • %value: Refunded value
  • %refundDate: Date of the refund

Password reset

When a registered user requests a password reset through your webshop, they will receive the email with a link allowing them to set the new password.

• Static name: Password Reminder
• Static internal ID: forgot_email
• Available binds:
  • %company_name: Company name
  • %name: Customer name and surname
  • %email: Customer email
  • %link: Link to reset password
  • %store_name: Client name or store name
  • %date: Date of mail creation in format taken from system custom settings, typically is set to datetime: “%d %B, %Y - %H:%M”

Customer registered

When a shopper registers an account in your website, Centra will sent this email so that we're sure the owner of this email address is aware they've been registered.

• Static name: Customer registration
• Static internal ID: customer_registered_email
• Available binds:
  • %name: Customer name and surname
  • %firstname: Customer first name
  • %surname: Customer last name
  • %address1: Customer address1
  • %address2: Customer address2
  • %zipcode: Customer zipcode
  • %city: Customer city
  • %country: Customer country name
  • %telephone: Customer phone number
  • %email: Customer email

Using external Email Service Provider

If you prefer to send emails using your own ESP, you only need to activate the right plugin and choose which email template should be handled by that mailer. Click here to find out more about enabling external ESPs in your B2B stores.

Some ESPs, like Rule and Mailchimp, support plugin-level settings that can enable or disable specific email template. Others, like Voyado and Klaviyo take over all email types, and you must configure the right templates for those emails on the ESP side of configuration. When those are activated, internal Centra emails using SES will be deactivated.

Potential issues with email spam filters

While the main factor in recognising spam vs not spam email is who sends it, nowadays it's becoming more and more common to decide the legitness of an email based on how it looks, as well. Amazon SES is a well-known email service, but emails can still be classified as spam based on additional conditions. Centra recognizes that there are some some restrictions connected with popular Email Service Providers like Gmail. There are couple factors can have influence on how e-mails are treated by ESP:

• Spammy language: using words like “Password”, “Financial freedom”, “Credit card” and so on can score e-mail as potential spam. Some of our e-mail templates have to contain such a words, so we cannot do much about this. But it is good to know that sometimes it can have influence, so you don't overuse these phrases otherwise.
• Wrong settings with SPF/DKIM/DMARC: While Centra handles DKIM for you, it's worth adding include:amazonses.com in your domain's SPF record.
• Broken links: all markup links as well logo link has validation to avoid i.e. providing link to localhost (or 127.0.0.1, etc.) which are useless in public scope. Make sure there's no broken URLs in your emails!
• Links to external resources might be seen as potential spam. Even a link to a “JPG” file might be flagged as potentially harmful by Gmail, and hidden by default.