SaaS Welcome Images: Personalize Onboarding

Bannerbear's founder wrote a popular blog post about sending every new user a personalized welcome image with their name. It's become one of the most referenced pieces in the image API space. Smart move: it doubles as a product demo and a content marketing win.

But here's the thing. You don't need Bannerbear's $49/month plan to do the same thing. The technique works with any image generation API, and Imejis.io does it for $14.99.

Let me show you how to set this up. (New to image APIs? Our beginner guide to generating images with an API covers the basics.)

Why personalized welcome images workWhy Personalized Welcome Images Work

Most SaaS welcome emails look identical for every user. Same banner, same generic "Welcome to [Product]" header. The user's name appears in the text body, maybe, but the visual is the same stock image everyone else sees.

A personalized image changes that. When Sarah from Acme Corp opens her welcome email and sees a banner that says "Welcome, Sarah!" with her company's colors or avatar, it feels different. It signals that this isn't a mass email. Even though it is.

The data backs this up:

The welcome email is the highest-open-rate email your product will ever send. Making it feel personal increases the chance a new user actually activates.

What a personalized welcome image looks likeWhat a Personalized Welcome Image Looks Like

A typical welcome image template includes:

• User's first name: "Welcome, Sarah!" in large text
• Company or product branding: Your logo, brand colors, consistent design
• Optional user avatar: Pulled from Gravatar or uploaded during signup
• Role or plan indicator: "You're on the Pro plan" or "Welcome, Designer!"
• A warm visual: Background image, illustration, or gradient that matches your brand

The layout is the same for every user. The name, avatar, and dynamic text change. One template, thousands of unique images.

The technical setupThe Technical Setup

Here's the workflow from signup to email delivery.

Step 1 design your welcome templateStep 1: Design Your Welcome Template

Create a template in Imejis.io with dynamic fields:

• Name text layer: Where the user's name goes
• Avatar image layer: Circle-cropped area for profile photo (optional)
• Plan/role text: Dynamic text showing their plan or selected use case
• Background and branding: Fixed layers that stay consistent

Keep it clean. The image needs to look good at 600px wide (standard email width) and render in email clients that are notoriously bad at displaying images.

Step 2 set up your signup webhookStep 2: Set Up Your Signup Webhook

When a user signs up, fire a webhook with their data. Most auth providers support this natively:

• Auth0: Post-registration action
• Clerk: Webhook on user.created
• Supabase: Database trigger on new row in users table
• Firebase: Cloud Function on onCreate
• Custom backend: POST to your API endpoint after creating the user record

The webhook payload should include: name, email, avatar_url (if available), plan, and any other data you want in the image.

Step 3 generate the imageStep 3: Generate the Image

In your webhook handler, call the Imejis.io API:

async function handleNewSignup(user) {
  const imageResponse = await fetch(
    `https://render.imejis.io/v1/${WELCOME_TEMPLATE_ID}`,
    {
      method: "POST",
      headers: {
        "dma-api-key": process.env.IMEJIS_API_KEY,
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
      },
      body: JSON.stringify({
        user_name: { text: `Welcome, ${user.firstName}!` },
        user_avatar: user.avatarUrl ? { image: user.avatarUrl } : {},
        plan_text: { text: `You're on the ${user.plan} plan` },
      }),
    }
  )
 
  // Save or host the image, get a URL
  const imageBuffer = await imageResponse.arrayBuffer()
  const imageUrl = await uploadToStorage(imageBuffer)
 
  return imageUrl
}

The API returns the image directly in under 2 seconds. Save it to your storage (S3, R2, or any CDN) and you have a permanent URL.

Step 4 send the welcome emailStep 4: Send the Welcome Email

Embed the generated image URL in your email template:

await sendEmail({
  to: user.email,
  subject: `Welcome to ${PRODUCT_NAME}, ${user.firstName}!`,
  html: `
    <img src="${imageUrl}" alt="Welcome, ${user.firstName}!"
         width="600" style="display: block; max-width: 100%;" />
    <h2>You're all set!</h2>
    <p>Here's how to get started...</p>
  `,
})

Works with any email provider: SendGrid, Resend, Postmark, Amazon SES, Mailchimp's transactional API.

No code alternativeNo-Code Alternative

Don't want to write code? Here's the Zapier/Make path:

1. Trigger: New user in your app (via webhook, or new row in Airtable/Google Sheets)
2. Step 1: Call Imejis.io API with the user's name and data
3. Step 2: Send email via SendGrid, Gmail, or Mailchimp with the generated image

Both Make.com and n8n have HTTP request modules that work with any REST API. You can also use Zapier to connect your signup flow to image generation without any code.

Beyond welcome emailsBeyond Welcome Emails

Once you have the template and webhook set up, the same pattern works for other touchpoints:

In-app welcome modal: Show the personalized image when the user first logs in.

Slack notifications: Post a card to your team's Slack channel for every new signup: "Sarah from Acme Corp just signed up!" with a branded image.

LinkedIn outreach: Sales teams generate personalized images with the prospect's name and company for cold outreach. Tools like Expandi and HeyReach already support this workflow.

Milestone celebrations: "You've completed 100 tasks!" or "1 year anniversary!" images using the same template pattern. You can also A/B test different welcome image designs to optimize activation rates. Financial apps use this same approach for account statement and portfolio summary images.

Community welcome: Discord or Slack community bots that generate a welcome card with the new member's avatar.

Cost at different scalesCost at Different Scales

Compare that to Bannerbear at $49/month for 1,000 images. At the Pro level, Imejis.io gives you 10x the volume for half the price.

For most early-stage SaaS products with under 100 signups per month, the free tier covers it completely.

Getting startedGetting Started

1. Sign up for Imejis.io with 100 free images per month
2. Design a welcome template (600px wide, clean layout, dynamic name field)
3. Test with your own name to validate it looks good
4. Set up the webhook on your signup event
5. Connect to your email provider and embed the image URL
6. Ship it and watch the engagement metrics

The whole setup takes about 2 hours. The impact lasts as long as your product exists.

For API pricing comparisons, see our Image Generation API Pricing Comparison. For other personalization use cases, check our Email marketing image personalization, Testimonial Images, and Dynamic Product Images guides. For passing structured user data to the API, see generating images from JSON. And if you're choosing between providers, our Image API Checklist covers everything to evaluate.

FaqFAQ

What are personalized onboarding imagesWhat are personalized onboarding images?

Welcome graphics in signup emails that include the user's name, avatar, or company logo. Generated automatically from a template on each signup. Each user gets a unique image that feels crafted.

Do personalized welcome emails increase activationDo personalized welcome emails increase activation?

Yes. Personalized emails achieve 29% open rates and 41% CTR. Onboarding sequences with rich visuals can hit 83% open rates. The personal touch drives activation.

How do i generate a welcome image on signupHow do I generate a welcome image on signup?

Set up a webhook on your signup event. The webhook calls Imejis.io with the user's name and data. The API returns the image in under 2 seconds. Embed the URL in your welcome email.

Is this what bannerbear doesIs this what Bannerbear does?

Yes. Bannerbear's founder wrote about sending every signup a personalized image. You can do the same with Imejis.io at 70% lower cost.

How much does this cost at scaleHow much does this cost at scale?

500 signups/month? Free tier covers 100, Basic ($14.99) covers 1,000. Even at 10,000 signups/month, the Pro plan is $24.99. Compare to Bannerbear's $49 for 1,000.

Make every signup feel personalMake Every Signup Feel Personal

Your welcome email is the most-opened email you'll ever send. Make it count. Try Imejis.io free and personalize your first onboarding image today.