Introduction
# Email Best Practices
Guidance for building deliverable, compliant, user-friendly emails.
## Architecture Overview
``` [User] → [Email Form] → [Validation] → [Double Opt-In] ↓ [Consent Recorded] ↓ [Suppression Check] ←──────────────[Ready to Send] ↓ [Idempotent Send + Retry] ──────→ [Email API] ↓ [Webhook Events] ↓ ┌────────┬────────┬─────────────┐ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ Delivered Bounced Complained Opened/Clicked ↓ ↓ [Suppression List Updated] ↓ [List Hygiene Jobs] ```
## Quick Reference
| Need to... | See | |------------|-----| | Set up SPF/DKIM/DMARC, fix spam issues | [Deliverability](./resources/deliverability.md) | | Build password reset, OTP, confirmations | [Transactional Emails](./resources/transactional-emails.md) | | Plan which emails your app needs | [Transactional Email Catalog](./resources/transactional-email-catalog.md) | | Build newsletter signup, validate emails | [Email Capture](./resources/email-capture.md) | | Send newsletters, promotions | [Marketing Emails](./resources/marketing-emails.md) | | Ensure CAN-SPAM/GDPR/CASL compliance | [Compliance](./resources/compliance.md) | | Decide transactional vs marketing | [Email Types](./resources/email-types.md) | | Handle retries, idempotency, errors | [Sending Reliability](./resources/sending-reliability.md) | | Process delivery events, set up webhooks | [Webhooks & Events](./resources/webhooks-events.md) | | Manage bounces, complaints, suppression | [List Management](./resources/list-management.md) |
## Start Here
**New app?** Start with the [Catalog](./resources/transactional-email-catalog.md) to plan which emails your app needs (password reset, verification, etc.), then set up [Deliverability](./resources/deliverability.md) (DNS authentication) before sending your first email.
**Spam issues?** Check [Deliverability](./resources/deliverability.md) first—authentication problems are the most common cause. Gmail/Yahoo reject unauthenticated emails.
**Marketing emails?** Follow this path: [Email Capture](./resources/email-capture.md) (collect consent) → [Compliance](./resources/compliance.md) (legal requirements) → [Marketing Emails](./resources/marketing-emails.md) (best practices).
**Production-ready sending?** Add reliability: [Sending Reliability](./resources/sending-reliability.md) (retry + idempotency) → [Webhooks & Events](./resources/webhooks-events.md) (track delivery) → [List Management](./resources/list-management.md) (handle bounces).