Send Email with Laravel 7/6 using Markdown Mailable Class

In Laravel 6 and 7, you can use Markdown Mailables to send beautifully designed emails using Markdown syntax. Markdown Mailables provide a clean and efficient way to compose and style your emails. Here’s how you can create and send an email using a Markdown Mailable class:

1. Create a Markdown Mailable Class: Generate a Markdown Mailable class using the php artisan command-line tool:

   php artisan make:mail WelcomeEmail

This will create a WelcomeEmail.php file in the app/Mail directory.

2. Edit the Markdown Mailable Class: Open the WelcomeEmail.php file in the app/Mail directory and update the build method to define your email’s subject and view:

   namespace App\Mail;

   use Illuminate\Bus\Queueable;
   use Illuminate\Mail\Mailable;
   use Illuminate\Queue\SerializesModels;
   use Illuminate\Contracts\Queue\ShouldQueue;

   class WelcomeEmail extends Mailable
   {
       use Queueable, SerializesModels;

       /**
        * Create a new message instance.
        *
        * @return void
        */
       public function __construct()
       {
           //
       }

       /**
        * Build the message.
        *
        * @return $this
        */
       public function build()
       {
           return $this->markdown('emails.welcome'); // resources/views/emails/welcome.blade.php
       }
   }

3. Create the Markdown View: Create the corresponding Markdown view at resources/views/emails/welcome.blade.php. You can use Markdown syntax to structure and style your email content.

   @component('mail::message')
   # Welcome to our Application

   Thanks for joining us! We're excited to have you on board.

   @component('mail::button', ['url' => 'https://example.com'])
   Visit Our Website
   @endcomponent

   Thanks,<br>
   Your Application Team
   @endcomponent

4. Sending the Email: You can now send the email using your Markdown Mailable class. For example, from a controller method:

   use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Mail;
   use App\Mail\WelcomeEmail;

   public function sendWelcomeEmail()
   {
       Mail::to('[email protected]')->send(new WelcomeEmail());
       return 'Welcome email sent!';
   }

5. Queueing the Email (Optional): If you want to queue the email for sending asynchronously, you can use the queue method:

   Mail::to('[email protected]')->queue(new WelcomeEmail());

Remember to customize the email’s content, subject, and other details according to your application’s needs. Markdown Mailables provide a great way to create visually appealing and responsive email templates.

Keep in mind that the steps provided here are based on Laravel 6 and 7 as of my last update in September 2021. If you’re using a newer version of Laravel, there might be some differences, so always refer to the official documentation for the most accurate and up-to-date information.