Resend + React Email: Beautiful Transactional Emails Without the Pain

Key Takeaways

1. Don't write raw HTML emails. Table-based layouts and inline CSS are how things worked in 2003. That approach doesn't scale and doesn't produce consistent results across clients.

2. React Email turns emails into components. Tailwind support, a live preview server, automatic conversion to email-compatible HTML on render. It's the modern toolchain email development should have had a decade ago.

3. Resend makes sending trivial. render() + resend.emails.send() and you're done. The free tier covers early-stage projects. The API documentation is genuinely good.

4. SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are not optional. Configure all three before you send to real users, or your emails land in spam. Resend's dashboard guides you through it.

5. Don't forget the <Preview> component. That one line of inbox preview text affects open rates more than you'd expect. It takes thirty seconds to add. Add it.

I spent two days fighting raw HTML email. After switching to React Email and Resend, a polished confirmation email was working by the next morning. Should have looked for the right tools first.