Email Studio Classic Web Tools Retirement | FAQ

Marketing Cloud retired Email Studio Classic Content Microsites and Landing Pages. Salesforce wants to ensure customer success by consolidating our Marketing Cloud web offerings into a more modern, easy-to-use UI with improved performance and reliability: CloudPages.

Timeline

Email Studio Classic Web Tools was retired over several phases.

• August 2021 - The ability to create new Microsites and Landing Pages will be retired.
• June 2022 - Microsites and Landing Pages applications will be retired.  All existing Microsites and Landing Pages will be unpublished and no longer accessible.

Table of Contents

• Email Studio Classic Tools Retirement FAQs
  • General Questions
  • Moving Pages
  • Creating Content
• Recreate Content in CloudPages
• CloudPages FAQs
  • General Questions
  • Creating Content
  • Creating Advanced Content
  • Publishing Content
  • Tracking & Analytics
• Common Use Cases in Email Studio Classic Web Tools

Email Studio Classic Web Tools FAQs

General Questions

Why is Salesforce retiring Email Studio Classic Web Tools?

At Salesforce Trust is our #1 value when serving our customers.  Based on this, and the desire to provide secure, performant, and reliable applications to our customers, we have determined that Email Studio Classic Web Tools can no longer fulfill our need to deliver on this value.

Another core value at Salesforce is Customer Success.  It may not be a good customer experience to offer several apps that serve the same basic functions but have different feature sets, as this can lead to confusion for our customers.  It is difficult for customers to understand what tool they should be using for which task. They often have to engage Salesforce for support in navigating the products that we offer.

What actions do I need to take?

It is recommended that customers currently using Email Studio Classic Web Tools do the following prior to retirement:

• Determine if you need one or more private domains created for CloudPages. 
• Discuss with your account executive whether you need SSL certificates for your private domains.  It is important to note that SSL certificates are not included with CloudPages, but are highly recommended to ensure a seamless and secure experience for your customers.  Many web browsers, including Google Chrome, are now enforcing strict security standards with regard to mixed content.  For example, a secure image on an unsecure page will trigger an intrusive warning to a web user attempting to access a page.  In order to ensure a seamless experience for your customers accessing your pages, we recommend you have an SSL certificate for your private web, image, and click domains.
• Audit all published microsites and landing pages to determine which need to continue to be used.
• Prioritize all microsites and landing pages in order of criticality. Pages in use for regulatory compliance should be prioritized first (for example, unsubscribe pages).
• A bulk migration tool will be available in early 2022 to assist in moving existing Landing Pages and Microsites, but if you’d like to get started you can recreate and publish Landing Pages and Microsites in CloudPages in order of prioritized criticality. It is not recommended to unpublish Microsites and Landing Pages until the following steps have been completed.
  • Update hard-coded references to the new page URL used in CloudPages.  This includes both references from Marketing Cloud objects (such as an email message), as well as external references (such as from a page on your corporate website).
  • Update email AMPscript references that currently point to a MicrositeURL() function to the CloudPagesURL() function .  Make sure to note that the Page ID value used in the CloudPagesURL() function will need to point to the Page ID of the new CloudPage, and not the Page ID of the previous microsite page.
  • Export all relevant historical data (from 1 year prior +) from Discover for your reporting records to account for all long-term reporting use cases.
• Unpublish Microsites and Landing Pages from Email Studio.
• Email Studio Classic Web Tools will no longer be accessible within the Marketing Cloud UI after the retirement date of June 2022, and all published pages will be unpublished.

How can an administrator identify impacted users?

Determine what users within your Marketing Cloud account have access to Microsites and Landing Pages based on their permissions within the system.

How do I perform my existing use case in CloudPages?

Review Common Use Cases to understand how to solve your use cases with CloudPages.

Is CloudPages available in all Marketing Cloud Editions?

CloudPages is included with Professional, Corporate, and Enterprise editions of Salesforce Marketing Cloud.  Please contact your account executive for additional information.
 

Moving Pages

I already have a live page created with Paste HTML. Can I migrate it to CloudPages?

Yes.  When creating a page in CloudPages, select a blank layout and use the Code View, HTML Block, or Code Snippet block to paste your HTML. To host resource files like CSS and JavaScript in CloudPages, use Code Resources. Set up the page with a domain provisioned for your CloudPages account, then update any external links to that page.

I already have a live page created with a layout and Content Areas. Can I migrate it to CloudPages?

Yes. Use the Content Builder Import tool to import Content Areas from Classic Content as Content Blocks in Content Builder.  These can then be used to construct new pages in CloudPages.  Set up the page with a domain provisioned for your CloudPages account, then update any external links to that page.

I use Application Pages or System Authenticated Redirect for custom tools accessible within Marketing Cloud.  What should I do?

CloudPages is intended to be used to create publicly-accessible landing pages and microsites for marketing campaigns, with an easy-to-use UI with improved performance and reliability. Installed Packages can be used to provide authenticated access to custom applications within Marketing Cloud. If you require a hosting platform, applications can be hosted using Heroku. Please consult your account representative for additional information on purchasing Heroku.
 

Creating Content

How can I use CloudPages to update data on existing customers stored in a Data Extension?

If you intend to capture information from subscribers who were sent an email message, an Interactive Email Form can be used to gather or update data from an email subscriber without leaving the email inbox.  If you link to a landing page from an external site, Smart Capture Forms can be created using a Smart Capture Form Block on a Microsite Page or Landing Page.  You can also use Programmatic Marketing Content (such as AMPscript or Server-Side JavaScript).

How can I use CloudPages to capture leads for Sales or Service Cloud?

Smart Capture Forms can be created using a Smart Capture Form Block on a Microsite Page or Landing Page.  A Smart Capture Form can be used as an entry source in Journey Builder. Review Journey Builder and Sales and Service Cloud Activities to learn about what you can do with Sales and Service Cloud through Journey Builder.

How can I create dynamic content in CloudPages?

A Dynamic Content Block can be created using IF/THEN AMPscript Language Elements to decide between the output of two or more ContentBlockById() or ContentBlockByKey() functions on a CloudPage.  

How can I include an unsubscribe link for a landing page used as a preference or subscription center?

An API call can be generated from your page using custom code that will unsubscribe the specified subscriber from all email sends in Marketing Cloud. Review Unsubscribe and Log an UnsubEvent with a LogUnsubEvent Execute Call to learn about how this API call works.
 

Recreate Content in the New CloudPages Experience

Recreate Shared Domain Page

1. Navigate to Email Studio and select Content from the top menu.
2. Select My Microsites from the left menu.
3. Select a microsite.
4. Select a page inside the microsite.
5. Highlight and copy the classic content to your clipboard.
6. In the app switcher, navigate to Web Studio and select CloudPages.
7. Select an existing collection or click Create Collection.
8. In your collection, select Add Content, then click Landing Page.
9. Complete the Name field.
10. Click Next. 
11. Select Blank Layout and click Save. 
12. Select the Code View tab on the editor.
13. Highlight and delete all code in the editor.
14. Paste the classic content from your clipboard.
15. Click Save.

Recreate Private Domain Page

1. Navigate to Email Studio and select Content from the top menu.
2. Select My Microsites from the left menu.
3. Select a microsite.
4. Select a page inside the microsite.
5. Select Properties.
6. Under the Personalized URL, highlight and copy the site key to a document.
7. Select Edit.
8. Highlight and copy the content to a document.
9. In the app switcher, navigate to Web Studio and select CloudPages.
10. Select an existing collection or click Create Collection.
11. In your collection, select Add Content, then Landing Page.
12. Complete the Name field.
13. Select a private domain from the dropdown.
14. Paste the site key from step 6.
15. Click the Next.
16. Select the Code View tab on the editor.
17. Highlight and delete all code in the editor.
18. Paste the classic content from your clipboard.
19. Click Save.

Publish and Unpublish

1. In the app switcher, navigate to Web Studio and select CloudPages.
2. Select a collection.
3. Select a page.
4. Click Schedule/Publish.
5. Select Publish Immediately to make the updated page immediately available or select Schedule Publish for Later to publish your content at a later time and date.
   1. If you choose Schedule Publish for Later, select the date, time, and timezone to publish.
6. In the app switcher, navigate to Email Studio.
7. Select Interactions and click Microsites from the dropdown.
8. Select the checkbox next to the microsites you want to unpublish.
9. Click Unpublish Pages.
10. Click Unpublish All to unpublish all pages on the microsite.

Edit Private Domain and Site Key

1. In the app switcher, navigate to Web Studio and select CloudPages.
2. Select a collection.
3. Click the gear icon on a page.
4. Click Unpublish.
5. Click the edit icon on the Page Details sidebar.
6. Select a domain from the Edit modal dropdown.
7. Enter a new site key.
8. Click Save to close the Edit modal.
9. Click Save and Publish on the page.

CloudPages FAQs

General Questions

Where can I find more information about CloudPages?

User documentation for CloudPages can be found on the Marketing Cloud Content Creation help site.

Is CloudPages available in all Marketing Cloud Editions?

CloudPages is included with Professional, Corporate, and Enterprise editions of Salesforce Marketing Cloud. For all others, please contact your account executive for additional information.

Am I limited in the number of CloudPages I can create and publish?

There is no limit to the number of pages in an account.
 

Creating Content

Can I create optimized content for desktop, tablet, and mobile experiences?

Yes. You can easily design and preview content that is optimized for desktop, tablet, and mobile devices with CloudPages. Start by configuring an image, form, and text in one mode and then switch to the next. Everything you’ve configured is still there and re-usable; simply rearrange or resize. You have complete control. Swap out an image for a smaller one or build a different form with fewer fields—whatever works best in that experience.

What are Content Blocks?

Content blocks are reusable, modular blocks you use to build CloudPages content when using the Content Builder editor. Content blocks are available in any Marketing Cloud app that uses the Content Builder editor, like Journey Builder and Automation Studio.

How can I personalize my pages for a better customer experience?

You can use AMPscript and SSJS for creating dynamic pages that can personalize the content for your customers based on attributes you determine.

How can I capture customer information (name, email, survey)?

When using the Smart Capture Block, your customers can input their data that you can capture inside a Marketing Cloud Data Extension. You can also build your own custom forms that write to Data Extensions using Programmatic Marketing Content (such as AMPscript or Server-Side JavaScript).

Where does Smart Capture data get saved? Can I save directly to Sales or Service Cloud?

Data collected with Smart Capture is saved directly into the Marketing Cloud. A default CloudPages Data Extension is available for all users with common attributes created, or you can select any other Data Extension of your choosing. If Salesforce is your system of record, the Use in Journey Builder option allows you to make a Smart Capture Form available as an Entry Source in Journey Builder. In Journey Builder, you can configure a journey that creates leads in Sales or Service Cloud for those Marketing Cloud contacts who have entered the journey.

Can I delete a sitemap?

You cannot delete sitemaps. You can overwrite and reuse sitemaps by adding or deleting pages.
 

Creating Advanced Content

I don't see a content block for what I want to do. Can I create custom content blocks for what I'm trying to do?

You can create custom content blocks with the Content Block SDK. See Extend Content Builder.

Can I use javascript libraries like jQuery on a CloudPage?

Yes, but ensure that you explicitly reference the library version on the page. Libraries used on our platform aren't for customer use and can be updated or removed without notice. 

What kind of security options are available for my CloudPages?

• Custom header support - We offer a flexible option for customers interested in providing other security-related headers in page responses. Using AMPscript and SSJS, you can add custom headers responses.
• Force-redirect to HTTPS - For customers with private domains and SSL certificates, you can designate pages as HTTPS only. This option prevents unsecured access to pages over HTTP.
• Also, users can implement third-party tools such as reCAPTCHA on their pages for more security.

Publishing Content

Can we publish pages to our own domain?

Yes. After the initial provisioning process, you can publish content to your private domain and modify the key used per page so links are branded and client-friendly. You can use up to 15 private domains in the Professional, Corporate, and Enterprise editions. Contact your account representative to enable more.

I don't have a custom domain. Can I still publish pages through the Marketing Cloud?

Yes. We offer non-branded domains that you can use to get started and publish pages quickly. If you want, you can always add a private domain later.

How do I expire or take published content offline?

Once the content is live, you have two options to remove it. At any time, you can simply unpublish a page or create a different version of content using a Page State, and schedule it to replace the published piece at a specific time.  For example, if your contest submission deadline is Friday at 5 pm, create a “Thank You” page and schedule it to replace the submission page then. This way your audience continues to engage with you instead of going to an error page.
 

Tracking & Analytics

What analytics are being tracked with CloudPages?

Views by page can be found on the Analytics tab for that specific page. The CloudPages Impressions by Page Report shows page impressions for up to 90 days. Third-party analytics solutions can also be easily integrated into any page.

Does CloudPages track clicks?

CloudPages does not track clicks. Third-party analytics solutions can also be easily integrated into any page.

Which cookies do CloudPages use?

CloudPages does not use any cookies. When using the Smart Capture block, one cookie is used to remember user preferences:

• xt_0d95e

How are impressions charged for CloudPages?

An impression is associated with a Super Message. All page types, except for Code Resource pages, charge Super Messages for impressions. For more information on Super Messages specific to your account, please contact your account representative.
 

Common Use Cases in Web Studio Classic Tools

If you have more questions, open a case with support via Salesforce Help or contact your Salesforce account team. To view all current and past retirements, see Salesforce Product & Feature Retirements.

For more information about Salesforce’s approach to retiring products and features, read our Product & Feature Retirement Philosophy.