Have you ever talked to a prospect of yours, heard them ask “Can I migrate my existing templates to your platform?”, and then had to tell them they have to recreate them from scratch? That friction is a real adoption killer, and it's one the Beefree SDK HTML Importer API was built to eliminate.
The HTML Importer API makes it incredibly easy for you to add HTML import functionality to your application so your users can bring their designs into your application in seconds. Our counterparts, the Beefree App, implemented the HTML Importer to solve this problem (and it might inspire you to build your own).
Quick refresher: What is the HTML Importer API?
The HTML Importer API is a Beefree SDK service that accepts raw HTML email content and converts it into a fully structured, Beefree-compatible JSON template that can be loaded into the editor, where your users can keep editing it.
You POST an HTML payload to the importer endpoint, and the service parses the markup, identifies structural elements (columns, rows, text blocks, images, buttons, etc.), and maps them into Beefree's JSON schema. The API then returns JSON that you can open in the builder so your users can immediately start editing.
See it in action: The Beefree App implementation
A great way to understand how the Importer API can make a difference to your users' experience is to see how Beefree's own consumer-facing product, the Beefree App, uses it to power their self-service import feature:
Understanding the HTML import user flow
Beefree app users have an “Import HTML” option available.
Once they select an HTML file to import, that HTML is then passed to the HTML Importer API. The API returns the JSON file, the design JSON is opened up into the editor, and is ready to be viewed and edited in the Beefree Builder.
Upgrade pathways built-in
Did you spot the “Only X imports left” callout in the screenshot above?
The Beefree App team decided to restrict HTML imports and use this limitation to nudge people to upgrade:
- Free plan users actually don’t have any free imports. Instead, when they discover the feature, they see the option to start a paid trial.
- Professional and Business users can only import a limited number of designs per month, and if they want to upload more, they’ll have to upgrade to a higher plan.
Of course, paywalling the import feature is just one approach—you're free to offer HTML importing however it fits into your product strategy. But, it's a great example of how built-in Beefree SDK functionality can do double duty: improving the user experience and supporting plan differentiation. Rather than treating HTML import purely as a cost item, the Beefree App team turned it into an active conversion driver, nudging free users toward paid trials and giving power users another reason to upgrade.
Measurable results: How is the HTML Importer performing?
What results did they see from introducing HTML import functionality to the Beefree App? Here are some insights into how the feature is performing:
Beefree App users save thousands of hours of manual work
Since December, Beefree App users have imported over 6,000 templates. Our research shows that users spend an average of 1 hour rebuilding a template from scratch — meaning those 6,000 imports saved the equivalent of 750 workdays (or 150 workweeks) of manual recreation. There are more effective (and more fun!) ways to spend that time.
11% of new users import an HTML file on their first day
While many new users still start their design journey from scratch, HTML import has quickly become a core part of the onboarding experience for a significant share of new customers.
A new pathway for paid trials
As mentioned above, free users who discover the import feature see a nudge to start a paid trial rather than access it directly (as do users which run out of the imports included in their plan tier) — and that CTA is working. In the last 3 months, over 1,300 users started a trial through this pathway. The HTML Importer has turned out to be a net-new driver of paid conversions, and a pretty solid one at that.
An alternative approach: Use the HTML Importer API to support professional services
Adding a self-service HTML import feature to your product is a great way to help your users bring existing HTML into your product, but it’s not the only path. If you have a professional services team that helps new customers migrate their content from their old marketing platform, you can also use the HTML Importer API to speed up your team’s workflow.
Here’s what the team at Tenon had to say about this approach:
“By using Beefree SDK's HTML Importer, we saved 90% of the time it would have taken to transfer our new customers’ emails from their previous provider.”
Ben Ivers
Chief Product Officer, Tenon
Ready to put the HTML Importer API to work for your platform?
To get started with the HTML Importer API, just activate your API keys in your Developer Console. Our docs have all the resources you need to get started with the API.
And if you have any questions about the API or how to put it to work to support your use case, just reach out! We’re always here to help!
Additional Resources:
- HTML Importer API documentation
- Understand the pricing for the HTML Importer API
- Watch the latest Spotlight Session, where our team walks you through how to use the HTML Importer API
- Check out this Sample Code for a simple HTML import implementation
