Benchmark Product Update July 2026

This month removes two of the biggest hurdles on the way to your first send – bring your Benchmark Classic email designs over without rebuilding them, and set up your sending domain with a clearer, more helpful flow.

Import your email designs from Benchmark Classic

What’s new

A new Benchmark Classic Email option in the My Emails tab – browse, search, and preview your entire Classic email library without leaving Benchmark Email
Import a design and keep editing where you left off – each block is converted into a fully editable block in the drag-and-drop builder
Your original layout and styling are preserved, so the imported email looks the same as it did in Benchmark Classic
Images used in the design are copied into your image library automatically
Connect once with your Benchmark Classic API key – the same key used for contact imports
Works with emails built in the Classic drag-and-drop editor; merge fields import as plain text, so send yourself a quick test before scheduling

Why it matters

Last month we made it easy to bring your contacts over from Benchmark Classic. Now your email designs can make the trip too – so the templates you’ve spent years refining keep working for you, no rebuilding required.

A clearer domain setup flow

What’s new

The subdomain step now explains why sending from a subdomain helps – domain protection, a fresh sender reputation, and industry-standard practice
Tailored setup guidance for 8 more DNS providers – including Alibaba Cloud, ConoHa, GMO Cloud, IONOS, Lolipop, Microsoft 365, and Value Domain – bringing the total to 27
The flow now shows which DNS provider we detected for your domain and walks you through that provider’s exact steps
DNS records are organized by record type (TXT, CNAME, MX), matching how your DNS provider asks for them
Download your DNS records as a PDF to hand off to whoever manages your domain – no more copying records one at a time
Clearer verification status for your domain overall and for each individual record
Setup steps now link to provider-specific help articles written by our support team

Why it matters

Domain setup is the most technical step in getting started – and the one most likely to involve a colleague who manages your DNS. This redesign meets you (and your IT person) with the exact steps for your provider, records organized the way they expect, and a shareable PDF to hand off.

Build and manage Zaps without leaving Benchmark Email

What’s new

The Integrations > Apps > Zapier page now includes Zapier’s own workflow tools, embedded right inside Benchmark Email
Sign in to Zapier and create, edit, and manage your Zaps without switching tabs
See your existing Benchmark Email Zaps at the top of the page, with quick access to each Zap’s history
Ready-made Zap templates for popular tools – HubSpot, Google Forms, Google Sheets, Zoho CRM, WooCommerce, Facebook Lead Ads, and more – to help you get started in a few clicks

Why it matters

Last month Zapier got a dedicated home inside Benchmark Email; this month it became a full workspace. Connecting your contacts to the rest of your stack no longer requires bouncing between two products.

Find your merge tags for HTML emails

What’s new

A new Merge Tag column on the Contact Fields page shows the exact tag for every field in your account
Copy any field’s merge tag for use in HTML blocks or emails built outside the editor – with a designer or an AI tool, for example

Why it matters

Merge tags are unique to your account, so guessing doesn’t work. Now the tag for any field is one click away, making personalization in custom HTML painless.

A cleaner Contact Activity report

What’s new

Bulk actions – like importing 100 contacts – now appear as a single event showing the total count, instead of 100 individual entries
Applies to bulk contact creation, updates, unsubscribes, and email sends, on both the Contact Activity report and the Dashboard
Individual contact pages still show the full event detail for that contact
Removed a few event types that displayed with raw labels and no icon, cleaning up the activity feed

Why it matters

The activity report is for spotting what matters. Collapsing bulk events into single entries clears the clutter so real signals – an unsubscribe, a bounce, a new signup – stand out.

Other improvements and fixes

More room to fix import mistakes on Free plans. Free accounts can now add up to 1,025 new contacts per month, roughly double the previous limit – so if an import goes wrong, you can delete, fix, and re-import your full list without hitting the cap.
Better AI-generated images. AI image generation is now powered by Google Gemini, which produces noticeably better images.
Three new Google Fonts in the email and form builders: Inter, Zen Kaku Gothic New, and Shippori Mincho.
Cleaner pasting in the email builder. Pasted content now always comes in as clean text, preventing display issues caused by hidden formatting.
Scheduled emails show their send time. On the Dashboard’s Recent Emails list, scheduled emails now display a “Scheduled For” timestamp instead of “Last edited.”
Fixed image sizing on iOS Mail. Resolved an issue that intermittently caused email images to render smaller on iOS.
Fixed special characters in email previews. Subject lines with special characters now display the actual character instead of raw HTML code.
Fixed field name translations. Predefined field names now translate correctly when you switch the app’s language.
Fixed sign-up form error messages that fired repeatedly when a form was missing fields.
Fixed garbled characters in exported CSV files. All downloadable CSV files – including skipped-record reports – now open correctly in Excel in Japanese.
Fixed a stuck “Canceled” status for customers who cancelled their account and later re-upgraded to a paid plan.
Streamlined the email checklist. Removed the “Sending with a Shared Domain” notice that interrupted the send flow – you can still add your own domain anytime from the “From email” drop-down.
Traditional Chinese fixes for Taiwan throughout the app.