How do I create a sign-up form to go on my website so contacts can join my address books automatically?

How do I create a sign-up form to go on my website so contacts can join my address books automatically?

You can create advanced web signup and unsubscribe forms with just a few clicks of a mouse, generating HTML code that you can copy and add to a page of your website.

This will enable new contacts to sign up, enter their data, opt into public preferences and/or address books, and will allow you to collect consent information.

You can also enable an unsubscribe option on the form, allowing existing contacts to unsubscribe from your communications.

Our signup forms run over HTTPS and thus are secure.

Steps to configure a signup form

To create a signup form:

  1. Go to Contacts > Signup forms

    Subscribe options

    C_signup_form_subscribe_options.png
  2. Click on Select data fields to choose any public contact data fields you want to show and collect information for. By default, the system collects the email address. Any data entered by the contact into these fields will get stored against them.

    Tick 'Require all fields to be filled in?' to enforce mandatory completion of all contact data fields you include on the form. It won't be possible for the contact to submit the form if they're not all filled in.

  3. Public preferences are enabled by default. If you don't want preferences to be shown, click No. Contacts will be able to select the marketing preferences they'd like to opt into (opt out of if they're existing contacts).

  4. Click on Select address books to choose any public address books you want to show. Contacts will be able to choose which ones to subscribe to (or unsubscribe from if they're existing contacts).

    Display settings

    C_signup_form_display_settings_consent.png
  5. Consent text is enabled by default. If you don't want to include consent text on your form, click No.

  6. Add the consent text you'd like to use. Including consent text allows you to describe the content you'll be sending to the contacts that sign up and the frequency with which you'll be sending it. When doing this, also try to include a brief summary of how you'll use their data. 

    The length of the consent text may be limited to 255 characters if you've previously created an Insight data collection, otherwise it's 1000 characters.  

    When consent is given by a contact, this information will then be stored alongside them as ConsentInsight and is useful for demonstrating consent under the EU's GDPR. It's also useful if you wish to be CASL compliant.

    The following consent data will be stored:

    • consent text
    • the date and time of consent (in UTC)
    • the form's URL
    • the IP address of the signup
    • the full user agent
    • the date and time the record was created (in UTC)
    • any marketing preferences they've opted into

    Tick 'Only allow signups when consent is given' to enforce mandatory consent. If consent isn't given, it won't be possible for the contact to submit the form.

  7. Include an unsubscribe option for existing contacts by clicking Yes

    On completion

    C_signup_form_on_completion.png
  8. Click on Select address books to choose one or more address books to sign a contact up to once they've completed the form

  9. Click on Select programs to choose one or more programs to enrol a contact into once they've completed the form

  10. Click on the 'Redirect to' dropdown to choose to redirect the contact, upon completion, to either a URL of your own choice or one of your landing pages. These can be previewed.

When happy with everything, click Generate code. A panel will slide in from the right with the your signup form's HTML. This HTML will inherit your site's styles, and you can modify it if you need to. Click Copy to clipboard and paste it to your site.

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