> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cardclan.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Dynamic Cover

> Design the front of your card like any other page and personalize it for every recipient, right inside the email.

The cover is the first thing a recipient sees. It's the image in the email, before they even open the card. A **dynamic cover** turns that cover into a page you design yourself: a background, text, logos, buttons and merge tags. Each recipient gets their own version, with their name, their company or their logo on the front.

## Static and dynamic covers

Every card has one of two cover types:

| | Static image | Dynamic |
| - | - | - |
| **What it is** | One image you pick or upload | A page you design with the editor tools |
| **In the email** | The same image for everyone | A personalized image for each recipient |
| **Merge tags** | Not on the cover | Text and image merge tags |
| **Default** | Yes, for every card | Turn it on per card |

## Turn on a dynamic cover

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the cover">
    Open your card in the editor and go to the first page, the cover.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Switch to Dynamic">
    In the left toolbar, under **Change Cover**, set **Cover** to **Dynamic**. Only the card's owner sees this switch, and it isn't available on video cards.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Design the cover">
    The editor tools are now available on the cover: **Add Message**, **Add Image**, **AI Image**, **Background** and **Call-to-Action**. Use merge tags in text, like `Thank you, {{name}}!`, or bind an image to a merge tag to show each recipient's logo or photo.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Changes save automatically, like everything else in the editor.

## Edit, move or remove the cover image

When you switch to **Dynamic**, the image your cover had becomes an ordinary image on the page. Click it to move, resize, replace or delete it.

* **Remove cover image** clears it in one click, so you can start from a blank cover.
* **Background** sets a colour or a full-page background under everything else.
* **Change Cover** replaces the cover image and keeps the position and size you gave it.

## Personalize the cover

Dynamic covers use the same [merge tags](/merge-tags) as the rest of the card.

* **Text:** type a tag into any text box, for example `Happy birthday {{name}}`. Text boxes grow to fit longer values, so a long name wraps onto the next line instead of being cut off.
* **Images:** select an image, switch on **Replace with merge tag** and pick a tag. Each recipient's value is an `https` image URL. Their image takes the spot and size of the one you placed, cropped to fit. See [Image Merge Tags](/merge-tags#image-merge-tags).
* **Fallbacks:** when a recipient has no value for a tag, the tag's fallback is used. Without a fallback, the tag is left empty.

## In CardClan emails

When you send a dynamic card from CardClan, each email shows that recipient's cover. The image is created the first time the recipient opens the email and is reused after that. Sending a large campaign is just as fast as sending a static card.

Inside the card, the cover page shows the same personalized design.

## In other email tools

You can use a dynamic cover in emails sent from other tools. **Get Email Embed Code** has formats for Mailchimp, HubSpot, Brevo and SendGrid. For any other tool that uses `{{tag}}` merge fields (for example lemlist), pick **Generic**.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the embed code">
    In the card editor's right panel, click **Get Email Embed Code**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick your email tool">
    Choose your platform. The cover image link is built with that tool's merge tag format, using your CardClan tag names: for example `name={{name}}` (Generic, SendGrid), `name=*|NAME|*` (Mailchimp) or `name={{ contact.NAME }}` (Brevo). Your email tool's fields must have the same names as your merge tags (in uppercase for Mailchimp and Brevo).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Paste it into your email">
    Copy the image or the embed HTML into your email template. Your email tool fills in each recipient's values when it sends, and each recipient sees their own cover.
  </Step>
</Steps>

The image link points at your card's cover and carries one parameter per merge tag on the cover:

```
https://<CardClan API>/cover/{cardId}.jpg?name={{name}}&company={{company}}
```

Only tags that appear on the cover are used. Any other parameters are ignored. The animated GIF option isn't available for dynamic covers, because a GIF made in advance can't be personalized.

## Good to know

* **No broken images.** If a recipient's cover can't be created, for example because the background image can't be loaded, the email shows the card's general cover instead.
* **Previews and thumbnails** in your dashboard, link previews and integrations show the cover with fallback values.
* **Editing after sending (other email tools).** Cards sent from CardClan can't be edited once delivered. If you embed a dynamic cover in another email tool and then edit the card, new image loads pick up your edits. Email apps cache images, so a recipient who already opened the email may keep seeing the earlier version for up to an hour.
* **Missing values.** If your email tool leaves a merge tag unfilled, the cover uses that tag's fallback instead of showing the raw tag.
* **Switching back to Static** asks for confirmation. It removes the text, logos and merge tags from the cover and restores the cover image.
* **Templates are static.** A template made from a card with a dynamic cover starts with a static cover.
* **Not on the cover:** GIFs, videos and music stay on the inner pages. Video cards don't have a dynamic cover.

<Tip>
  Keep the important text away from the edges and leave room for long names. Preview the card with a few sample recipients before sending a large campaign.
</Tip>


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