How to create a subscription form

How to create a subscription form?

This article explains:

Types of subscription forms SendPulse users can setup
How to connect a mailing list to the form
Elements of subscription forms
Subscription form design parameters
How to set up a subscription notification, a confirmation email and a confirmation page
How to add the code of the form to the website
Use of reCAPTCHA to validate subscribers

If you want to create a form, go to "Subscription forms → Create subscription form.”

You can add new subscribers placing a subscription form on your website or on your blog.

Start with the «Form builder» to create customized web forms.

You can select a form template and edit it – or select the "Form Builder" and create your own form using corporate colors, various fonts and images.

Four types of forms are available:

Embedded — to place it in the most appropriate location on the webpage.

Popup — allows to set up a box that will pop-up after a specific time interval.

Floating — the form will stay on the same spot of the screen even if the site visitor scrolls up or down.

Fixed — pin the form in the header or in the footer of the website.

Connect a mailing list to the subscription form

After selecting a layout of the form, select a mailing list that will be updated with new subscribers. You can choose an existing list or create a new one. You can also select several lists at the same time.

After selecting the mailing list, move to the Form Builder

On the left, you see the elements that you can add to the form. In the center, you will find a blank template for your future form. On the right part of the screen – there are settings for all elements of the form, as well as for the form itself.

What elements can you add to the form?

Input box

The input box must be named. You can enter a hint for subscribers (so that they fully understand what data to enter in the form) or make its filling mandatory (and the form will not be submitted before the box is filled). Also, you need to bind a variable to the input, the data which will be transferred from your mailing list.

Checkbox. You need to select a variable for the information in the checkbox. Data from the checkbox is sent to SendPulse if it is checked, and it is not sent if the box was not checked.

This element might be handy for a form that suggests picking several options from a list. For instance, when your client subscribes to your newsletter, they would be able to select categories of the updates: news, discounts, contests, event invitations, etcetera.
Data will be added to the corresponding variable column in the bound mailing list (given that you add the variable to the list beforehand).

You can use checkboxes to get a formal proof of subscribers' agreement with terms and conditions of your subscription.

GDPR compliance
It is mandatory to be compliant with GDPR policies if there is a chance you have subscribers from the European Union.
According to the protocol, clients have to provide a formal agreement to receive emails and to allow the sender to use and store their personal data.

Open Form Options menu

Then in Data and type of the form tab activate compliance with the GDPR

This action adds two GDPR related checkboxes to your subscription form.
Edit text in the checkboxes in the Element tab.
*It is recommended to set up GDPR checkboxes as required conditions — so that clients won't be able to sign up before they agree to terms and conditions.

After subscriber ticks these GDPR related checkboxes, the Mailing list will be updated with new variables displaying the fact of agreement with Terms and Policies, IP addres it was given from and the date:

These variables can be used for a more accurate segmentation of your mailing lists.

Radio buttons. You need to select a variable. You also need to specify the name of the options for the radio buttons and the value that will be sent to the variable.

Use radio buttons to suggest picking one of several options. Provide values that will be sent to variables in the mailing list. Create variables in the mailing lists beforehand.

Drop-down list. You can set the name of the drop-down items here, as well as the values for each, which will be passed to the variable. Also, you can make this element a required field.

Name the drop-down items in the Options list and specify their values that will be transferred to the variables.

Text. Paste any text you like.

In «Element» tab you can make it bold, insert a link, align or center the text, change color, size and so on

Image. Insert any picture.

The maximum size is 600 x 600 pixels, and the weight should not exceed 1 Mb.

Spacer Use it to add some space between elements of the subscription form

Adjust the height of the spacer block using the runner in the Element tab in the right-hand panel

Subscription form design parameters

All the above items are edited the save style:

Width
Background
Border
Round corners
Shift

Let's move on to the next chapter

Subscription notification, confirmation email, confirmation page

After you have created the form design, set up the form parameters. You can get to settings by clicking "Form Options" in the upper right corner.

You can see four tabs here:

Data and type of the form
Notification about subscription
Text of the confirmation email
Confirmation page

Data and type of the form

In this tab, you can name your form, select the mailing list, specify the language for notifications and errors, and determine the type of form. Each type will have its own settings.

You can set the display condition for popups:

On page load
On button click
When scrolling to a part of the page
When cursor leaves the page

«Popup» and «Floating» forms have additional settings:

Display condition

Sets when exactly the form will be displayed on the website: «On page load», «On button click», «When scrolling to a part of the page», «When cursor leaves the page». The form will come up not right away as the client opens the website, but in a given time interval you will be able to specify.

Hide on Mobile

Use this option to hide the form from visitors who used a cell phone to open the website.

Repeat the display

Repetitive signup invitations may irritate site visitors. This parameter is used to set up a delay time to show the form to the visitor again in several days.

Show on pages

You can show the subscription form on all web pages or hide it. Do do that, select «On Condition» and then «Hide» or «Show», and add a link to the page you would like to apply the condition to.

Notification about subscription

This message appears after a user fills out the form and clicks the "Subscribe" button.

In the notification text, indicate that the subscriber needs to confirm the subscription; otherwise, he will not receive emails.

Text of the confirmation email

After subscribing, a user is sent an email with a request to confirm the subscription. In this tab, you can change the from address, the subject line, and also the text. Remember that you need to specify the {{LINK}} tag in the message text, where a link will be substituted for the subscription confirmation.

Confirmation page

The page to which a new subscriber is redirected after clicking the confirmation link. You can choose if it will be a system (standard) page or a page from your site (you need to specify the URL of this page).

Adding the subscription form code to your website

After you've set up everything, click "Apply changes." And then "save and get the code."
Insert the form code into the website source code between "body" tags.
If your website is on WordPress platform, use this plugin
Another way to edit tags is via Google Tag Manager.

Use reCAPTCHA to validate your subscribers

Captcha will protect your mailing list from catching fake subscribers, who would get your messages to spam.

The reCAPTCHA will come up after you hit 100 subscribers a day.

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