In your account, there are two main categories of signup forms: Lightbox forms and regular / classic forms. Lightbox forms are sometimes called pop-up forms and you can read more about them here. Within the regular / classic form category, there are two different types: forms made with our current form builder and forms made with our legacy form builder. The two types function similarly, but the process of editing them is a little different.
Finding your forms
To find your forms, navigate to the Audience tab and click on the Forms section on the left. Once there, you’ll see a list of your current forms. This page will automatically bring up your classic forms, but you can click the dropdown menu on the right to switch to Lightbox forms, if you’d like.
The legacy form builder has been sunset, so newer accounts will only have forms created with the current builder. Legacy forms and current forms will be listed under the Classic forms section in any accounts that have both.
Click on a form name to open it in the builder. If your screen has a Cancel button at the top left, a progress bar in the top center, and two buttons on the top right (Save and review and Next), like the screenshot below, then the form you clicked on was built in the current form builder.
If your screen has an About this signup form heading at the top left and a single Save button at the top right, like the screenshot below, then the form you clicked on was built in the legacy form builder.
Creating a new form
The legacy form builder has been sunset, so all new forms will automatically open in the current form builder. Follow the steps below to get started building a new form.
Step 1: Select the form
Click on the blue Create new form button and a pop-up window will appear with three options: Build a regular form, Build a lightbox form, or I just need the API.
To build a regular form, type in a form name and click Next. Clicking on Build a lightbox form will open the lightbox form builder. Clicking on I just need the API will redirect users to their API key tab, unless they do not have permission to generate API keys. After you’ve named your new form and clicked Next, the form builder will open. The current form builder consists of four sections: Settings, Builder, Messages, and Review.
Step 2: Settings
In the Settings section you can select which groups the new subscribers should be added to, whether you would like to receive signup notifications, and if you would like to track any of this activity through Google Analytics (signup page views are located in the Engagement reports). Make your selections and then click the Next button. Or, at any time during the process, you can click the Save and review button to do just that.
Starting April 18, 2024, signup forms only support GA4 tracking codes. If you previously had a UA tracking code attached to a signup form, we will leave it intact, but we will be unable to provide support for it and new entries will only allow GA4 tracking codes.
Step 3: Builder
The Builder screen is where you can really customize your form, so there’s a lot of options. On the right side of the page, there are two sections: Content options and Security options. These sections allow you to toggle on / off the form message, form image, email consent, tracking consent, privacy terms, and reCaptcha.
Adding a reCaptcha to your form can help prevent bot signups, so we encourage you to include one on every form.
In the center of the page is your form preview. Just above the preview section, there’s a computer icon and a phone icon that allow you to switch between desktop and mobile preview modes. At the top of the preview section, you’ll see a text block where you can change the copy, font, color, and style of your form message. If you’ve toggled off the form message, that text block will not appear.
Your contact fields are located beneath the form message. By default only Email will be included, but you can use the Add object button to add more. Clicking on the Add object button will open a dropdown menu with two options: Add field and Add subscription.
Regardless of which option you choose, a pop-up window will appear. In the Add field window, you can choose one of your existing contact fields or you can create a new field. You can also edit the field’s display name.
In the Add subscription window, you can choose to display some or all of your current subscriptions. You can also choose to display the description for each subscription. Adding subscriptions to your signup forms empowers contacts to decide what content they want to receive from you. By giving new contacts the power to choose which content is most relevant to them, you will build brand trust and reduce the number of people who choose to opt-out completely from your emails.
Checking the Display on form box will automatically check the Add subscribers box for that subscription. This does not mean that anyone who fills out the form will be added to that subscription. Only contacts who check that subscription’s box will be added to that subscription.
Once you’ve added your fields and subscriptions, you can move them around and reorder them by clicking the six dots outlined in green below and dragging the item up or down. You can make a field required by hovering your mouse over it and checking the Required box, outlined in orange below; subscriptions cannot be made required. You can remove a field / subscription by hovering your mouse over it and clicking the x, outlined in red below.
Once you’re happy with your form preview, click Next to head to the Messages section.
Step 4: Messages
The Messages tab is where you will create the success message and confirmation emails that subscribers will receive after they sign up using the form. You can use the text editor to stylize your success message and there’s also an option you can choose that will take the subscriber to a webpage if you are doing a specific promotion.
There are two types of confirmation emails: the signup confirmation and the manage preferences confirmation. Both types are always sent as plaintext, so it’s not possible to edit their font, color, or style. However, you can edit the copy in the subject line and body of each message and you can use the checkboxes to turn them on or off.
Make your selections and then click the Next button.
Step 5: Review
The final step is to preview the signup form design and review a summary of your configured options. Click the Edit button on any area to change the details. Or, if you are satisfied with your selections, click the Publish button.
Once this happens, your form will be published and you will see the various ways you can access your new signup form. You’ll have options to Share a link, Embed a link, Embed on a website, or get the Signup ID. Copy the text for your preferences and click Close and exit to finish.
If you need the link or embed code in the future, you can retrieve it without opening the builder. Simply navigate to your Forms page, locate the desired form, click the downward arrow next to the form name, and choose Add to your site from the dropdown menu. A pop-up window will appear with the link, embed code, and signup ID.
Editing an existing form
You can edit any existing form by returning to your Forms page and clicking on the form name to open the builder.
Editing a current form
When editing a current form, you can use all the tools described in the Creating a new form section above. Once you’re done, you’ll just need to click the Publish button on the form again in order to see any new edits reflected on a live webpage.
You can view a preview of the form anytime while you’re editing it by clicking on Preview in the upper right corner of the section, just be sure to also click Save next to it, so you don’t lose your changes.
Editing a legacy form
Step 1: Form name, notifications, and reCaptcha
In the About this signup form section at the top of the page, you’ll see the options to change the Signup form name, adjust the Notification settings, and Enable reCaptcha.
The notification settings allow you to receive an email notification when someone joins your list using the signup form and gives you the option of adding up to three additional notification recipients. Adding reCaptcha protects your signup form from bot signups, so we recommend adding it to every form. Make the changes you prefer to those fields and then click Save.
Step 2: Form image, copy, and fields
In the Signup stages section, there are five tabs: Signup form, Thank you message, Confirmation email, Tracking, and Manage preferences email.
The first tab, Signup form, is where you’ll edit the form itself. At the top you can add an image and edit the contents of the text box. Use the toolbar on the right to make formatting changes. Make the changes you prefer and then click Save.
Below the text box is a list of your contact fields. Any custom fields that you’ve created will be listed below four default fields: Preferred format, Email, First name, and Last name. Preferred format allows contacts to choose whether they want to receive plaintext or HTML mailings.
Here are the meanings of the customization options listed across the top of the contact fields:
- Order: These numbers represent the order in which the fields are featured on your form. Simply change the display order for your fields by editing the numbers assigned to each field. Changing the field order here will overwrite any changes previously made on the Contact fields section of the Audience tab.
- Display name: This pulls in the names of the contact fields in your account. You can edit contact fields to change the field name, but you also have the option to edit the display name only. For example, you might have a contact field named D.O.B, but for the signup form, you’d prefer to display as “Date of birth” so you would write that into the field in place of D.O.B.
- Field: Shows how this field will look on the form, based on the contact field type selected.
- Require: Select the checkbox for fields you’re including on the form that you want to make mandatory.
- Hide: Select the checkbox for fields you do not want to be included on the form.
Step 3: Groups
To the right of the contact field customization options is a section titled Add subscribers to. Click Add or remove groups to choose which group, or groups, your new signups will be added to. After you make the changes you prefer, click Save.
If you don’t select any groups, new signups will be added to your audience, but they’ll be “in limbo”. This means they could miss out on being sent your emails, so it’s important to choose at least one group here. You can also display groups on your signup form and allow your contacts to choose which mailings they want to receive. Legacy forms cannot display subscriptions, as they pre-date the Subscription Center; more information is available here.
Step 4: Thank you message
The next tab in the Signup stages section is labeled Thank you message. This section is where you can customize the ‘thank you’ page that subscribers see after submitting the form. You can add an image to this message and edit the text by clicking inside the text area. If you already added an image when customizing the signup form, it will be featured here as well. * However, uploading a new image will overwrite the first one you uploaded.
Alternatively, you can redirect subscribers to your own custom web page by checking the box next to “or redirect signups to another URL” and enter in a URL for that custom page. After you make the changes you prefer, click Save.
Step 5: Confirmation email
The next tab in the Signup stages section is labeled Confirmation email. This section is where you can customize the plaintext confirmation email that new contacts receive after filling out the form. The default text includes tags that are replaced with text or a link when the email is sent. Here’s what each of those tags does:
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| [rsvp_name] | Displays the sender name set up for your account. |
| [optin_confirm_url] | This is the verification link that confirms the contact’s email address and their intent to subscribe. |
| [rsvp_email] | This displays the sender email set up for your account. |
| [manage_prefs] | Converts to a link for the manage preferences form. |
| [opt_out] | Converts to an opt-out link so the recipient can unsubscribe immediately. |
After you make the changes you prefer, click Save.
Step 6: Tracking
The next tab in the Signup stages section is labeled Tracking. If you use Google Analytics, you can set up tracking for new signups by adding your Google Analytics ID to the field here.
Step 7: Manage preferences email
The next tab in the Signup stages section is labeled Manage preferences email. This section is where you can customize the plaintext email that existing contacts receive after filling out the form to manage their preferences or update their information. Like the confirmation email, the default copy includes tags that are replaced with text or a link when the email is sent. Edit the message as you’d like or uncheck the “Send manage preferences confirmation” checkbox to turn off the email. Then click Save.
Once you’ve confirmed all your changes, click Publish this signup form on the right to see your options for sharing the form. A pop-up window will display your publishing options and all you need to do is follow the prompts as you desire.
Additional signup form tips
- For all accounts with an active Subscription Center, the Manage Preferences link in your campaign footer leads to your Subscription Center.
- For accounts that pre-date the Subscription Center and have not activated it, the Manage Preferences link in your campaign footer will link to your legacy “Your Default Signup Form”. When a recipient clicks the Manage Preferences link, the form copy will automatically be changed to “Update your contact information and email preferences using the options below.”
- You can create as many signup forms as you like. For each mailing you send, there’s an option to select which signup form to link to from the footer of the email.
- If reCaptcha is enabled for your form, the option to “Use a Javascript object” will not be available. To use Javascript, you will need to turn off reCaptcha.
- For iframes, setting the width attribute of your iframe tag to 100% can help with mobile optimization and the centering of the form on desktop.
- Javascript and iframes cannot be used within a mailing. Instead, you can link to the form from your mailing.
- Changes made to your signup form are pushed to it automatically after you click Publish. The link and embed code will remain the same, so no need to worry about updating your links or website code.