Progress Bars in Email Campaigns
The Progress Bar feature in Delivra brings a visually engaging way to display contact-specific progress toward a goal, directly within your email campaigns—no coding needed. Whether you're showcasing loyalty tier status, reward points, or program completion rates, progress bars help make your messages more interactive and meaningful.
What Is the Progress Bar Feature?
Progress Bars allow you to represent dynamic contact data visually in the form of a linear bar, ring, or arch. These bars update for each contact based on data stored in a custom field, helping you create personalized email experiences that motivate action.
This feature is especially useful in loyalty programs, onboarding sequences, event registrations, or any use case where contacts are moving through a measurable process.
Practical Use Cases
Loyalty Programs: Show customers how close they are to reaching the next reward tier.
Onboarding Flows: Let new subscribers see how far they've come and what’s left to explore.
Donation Drives: Display real-time fundraising progress personalized to each contact.
Event Series: Track registration steps or completion status for multi-session events.
How It Works
To add a progress bar to your email:
Navigate to the Design stage of your campaign.
In the left-hand content panel, under Interactive, drag the Bar element into your email.
Click on the inserted progress bar to open its settings on the right side of the screen.
The configuration panel is split into two sections: Progress Bar Options and Progress Bar Style.
Progress Bar Options
Here’s what you can set:
Progress Field: Choose the data field that represents each contact's progress.
Edit Field: Clicking this opens a quick-edit modal where you can modify field settings like picklist values—no need to leave the email editor.
Display As:
Percentage Value: Enter minimum and maximum numeric values. Contacts' data will be converted into a percentage between these values.
Picklist Value: Uses ordered picklist values to show progress, ideal for stages like “Bronze > Silver > Gold.”
Note: The order of values in your picklist will determine their order for the progress bar. Contacts with no data in the selected field will default to 0% progress.
Alt Text: Add a description of the progress bar for screen readers to improve accessibility.
Progress Bar Style
Customize how the bar appears in your message:
Style Options: Choose from Linear, Ring, or Arch formats.
Visual Controls: Adjust size, height, colors (fill and background), label visibility, label font, and more to align with your brand design.
These styling options give you the flexibility to match the look and feel of your campaign while clearly communicating progress visually.
Best Practices and Tips
Keep goals relatable: Use progress bars for milestones that feel achievable and meaningful to recipients.
Use Alt Text thoughtfully: Ensure all recipients, including those using screen readers, understand what the bar represents.
Consistent picklist order: When using picklist-based progress bars, verify that the order of values in the picklist logically reflects progression.
Test across devices: Use the Preview tab to confirm visibility and functionality across mobile and desktop formats.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a contact has no data in the selected field?
If a contact’s record does not contain a value for the chosen progress field, their progress bar will default to 0%.
How does the “Picklist Value” display option determine progress?
When using the “Picklist Value” option, the bar’s progress is calculated based on the order of values in the picklist. The first value in the list represents 0%, and the last value represents 100%. Progress is distributed evenly across all values in between. Be sure to organize your picklist in a logical, sequential order that reflects actual progression.
Can I use numeric fields that contain values above 100?
Yes. If you're displaying progress as a percentage, the “Min Value” and “Max Value” inputs let you define a custom range. For example, if your program caps at 1,000 points, you can set your Min to 0 and Max to 1,000. A contact with 750 points would then see 75% progress.
Can I show progress with non-numeric values?
Yes. The "Picklist Value" option is perfect for non-numeric fields like membership tiers (e.g., Bronze, Silver, Gold). Just ensure that the picklist values are correctly ordered to reflect progression.
Is the progress bar responsive on mobile devices?
Yes. Progress bars are designed to scale appropriately across devices. However, it's still a good idea to preview your email in both desktop and mobile views to confirm layout and legibility.
Can I customize the labels or tooltips that appear on the bar?
You can control label visibility and styling (such as font and size), but tooltips are not currently available. If you need additional context for recipients, consider pairing your progress bar with nearby text that explains its purpose.
Is there a limit to how many progress bars I can include in one email?
There’s no hard limit, but we recommend using progress bars sparingly to keep your message clean and focused. Too many visual elements can overwhelm the reader and impact accessibility.
This feature opens the door to more engaging, informative campaigns—without writing a single line of code.
If you have questions about using progress bars or need help setting one up, our Support team is here to help! Reach out anytime at support@delivra.com.
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