How to Add an Email Newsletter Signup to WordPress

Want to grow your audience? Adding a newsletter form lets you stay in touch with readers through email updates. Here’s how to do it with Mailchimp, Flodesk, ConvertKit, or MailerLite.

Table of Contents

Before You Start

  • Always test the form after adding it to make sure it works.
  • Our Signup Form widget only supports email and first/last name fields.
    Adding extra fields like checkboxes might break the form – if you need more control, use the full HTML embed code from your email platform instead.

Mailchimp

Create the form:

  1. Go to Form > Other Forms > choose Embedded form
  2. Type a name and hit the Continue to builder button
  3. Choose your fields, click Continue
  4. Copy the link after <form action=" from the embed code

Add to WordPress:

  1. Go to Appearance > Widgets
  2. Click “+” in your desired widget area > search for Signup Form
  3. Choose Mailchimp and paste the link in Form Link
  4. Press Update to save

Flodesk

Create and style the form:

  1. In Flodesk, click Form on left side and scroll down to chose Ribbon Banner
  2. Click Customize It, choose a segment, and remove extra text
  3. Set Canvas and Background colors to transparent
  4. Click the Embed button

Add to WordPress:

  1. Copy both the Header Code and Inline Code
  2. Add the Header Code into your site’s <head> (see tutorial)
  3. In Widgets, use a Custom HTML block and paste the Inline Code

💡 Tip: For stacked fields, choose the “Inline without image” form template.

Kit (ConvertKit)

Create the form:

  1. Go to Grow > Landing Pages & Forms > + Create New > Form > Inline
  2. Pick the Clare template
  3. To add a First name field, click on the “+” sign below the form.
  4. Select ‘First name’ from the Custom field drop-down on the right.
  5. Click Embed > select the HTML tab and copy the link after <form action="

Add to WordPress:

  1. Go to Appearance > Widgets
  2. Click “+” on the area where you want to show the form & search for the Signup Form block.
  3. Choose ConvertKit in the platform dropdown and add the link you’ve copied in the Form Link field.
  4. To add the First Name field, also check the Show First Name field? option.
  5. Press Update on the upper right corner of the screen to save the changes.

MailerLite

Create the form:

  1. Go to Forms > Embedded Forms > Create Form
  2. Name your form > create or choose a subscriber group
  3. Add First/Last Name fields if needed
  4. Click Done Editing
  5. Scroll down to Embed form into your website > select HTML code.
  6. Press CTRL + F and search for action=” and copy the form action URL

Add to WordPress:

  1. Go to your WordPress dashboard > Appearance > Widgets.
  2. Click “+” on the desired location and search for the Signup Form block.
  3. Select the MailerLite platform and add the link you’ve copied in the the Form Link field.
  4. Don’t forget to add the form ID (you’ll find it in the HTML code section in Mailerlite starting width “mlb2-” (copy only the numbers)).
  5. Click Update

Choose Your Form Layout

The Signup Form widget lets you choose how the input fields are arranged. By enabling the ‘Show Stacked Form’ option, the fields will be displayed vertically – perfect for sidebars. If you prefer a horizontal layout, such as in a footer, simply leave the option unchecked.