Member Avatar for beeman81

Hello!

I was thinking about starting to collect peoples adresses for my newsletter.
To do this I thought about making a pop-under window asking them to subscribe by entering their name and e-mail adress.

How do I do this?

I know how to make a pop-under window, but I'm not sure about the form part (name, adress, submit-button)

Thanks,
Daniel

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Short, practical summary tailored to the original discussion (thread starter: )

Pop-unders are risky. They’re often blocked or flagged by browsers and ad networks and can damage mobile search visibility because they hide the content users expect to see. was right that a backend is needed to accept and confirm addresses, but the capture method should be chosen with care: an unobtrusive inline form, a timed slide-in, or a dismissible modal is usually better than a pop-under. (blog.google)

Minimal, modern flow (high level)

  • Capture: keep the form short (email required, name optional) and clearly labeled.
  • Confirm: use a confirmation step (double opt-in) so addresses are verified before adding them to the list.
  • Store/send: either use a reputable ESP (hosted signup + delivery) or implement a simple server-side flow: accept data over HTTPS, validate on the server, save a pending record with a secure token, send a confirmation email containing that token, and activate the subscription only when the token is used.
    Example token pattern (illustrative only):
$token = bin2hex(random_bytes(16));
save_pending($email,$name,$token);
send_confirmation($email,"/confirm?token=$token");

Validate inputs server-side and treat stored emails as personal data. (mailchimp.com)

Legal, deliverability and best-practice notes

  • U.S. commercial mail must include a working opt-out and accurate header info (CAN-SPAM). Keep unsubscribe handling simple and honored promptly. (ftc.gov)
  • If EU residents are involved, rely on explicit, freely given consent; avoid pre-checked boxes or “cookie-wall” style coercion. Keep clear records of consent where required. (edpb.europa.eu)
  • Double opt-in reduces mistyped addresses, bots, and spam complaints — which improves deliverability. (mailchimp.com)

UX and accessibility
Make labels and error messages explicit, ensure keyboard access, and don’t block content on mobile. Timing, incentive (what the subscriber gets), and A/B testing drive signup success more than the window type itself. These UX and accessibility checks align with WAI/WCAG guidance. (w3c.github.io)

Notes on prior replies: ’s backend advice remains correct; ’s RSS-to-email idea maps well to modern ESPs’ RSS/email features; ’s question about effectiveness is addressed above (testing and value proposition matter); and ’s moderation point about reviving old threads is understood — the mechanics and rules have evolved since 2003, so these updated cautions and steps reflect current technical, legal, and UX realities.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for Dani

To do this, you need a backend script which will send the mail via sendmail (linux) or smtp (windows). The script can be written in php, perl, etc etc.

There are a bunch of free scripts on the Internet you could download provided they're available for your server platform. There are also remotely hosted ones. Just do a google search.

Once you find one, it's just a matter of inserting the proper HTML code into your site

<form action="script.php" method="post">
     <input type="text" name="username">
     <input type="text" name="email">
     <input type="submit" value="Join!">
</form>
Member Avatar for nacho45

Have you had success with getting email addresses this way?

I'm still trying to find out the best way to get new newsletter enrollees. It's harder than I thought it'd be!

Member Avatar for Dani

This forum is meant for discussing technical aspects of web development. Nacho, please direct inquiries of this kind to our Website Promotion forum. There, you can chat about the best ways to draw leads, encourage signups, etc. Thanks.

Member Avatar for chalimac

Daniel,

If you create a feed you can send it to multiple emails with feedblitz. Make your newsletter in blog format.

XZ
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Member Avatar for tgreer

Please don't resurrect 1.5 year old threads!

Member Avatar for chalimac

Sorry, the post showed up in a search and didn't notice the date.
Anyway the solution offered is a good counsel for setting up newsletters and feedblitz is quite recent. Apologies for that.

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