Use a customised unsubscribe form

Allow contacts to opt-out of your communications.

Laura Russell avatar
Written by Laura Russell
Updated over a week ago

Your account has a default unsubscribe page that contacts can use to opt-out of hearing from you. You can choose to replace this default page with your own customised unsubscribe form that your web team can place on your website, and design however you like.

It is possible to create a customised form that allows contacts to unsubscribe completely, on all channels, or create individual forms for SMS or email unsubscribe specifically.

A customised unsubscribe also includes a subscribe option for any new contacts who want to sign up.


Before you start

Things you need to know:

  • For compliance purposes, our team must review your form before we can enable it. The default unsubscribe page is shown to your contacts until the custom form is approved.
    Learn more under Send your form for review.

  • Contacts who unsubscribe through this method do not show in campaign-level unsubscribe reporting.


1. Create a form and add it to your site

  1. Expand the User menu and go to Settings > Contacts, then select Signup forms.

  2. Under Subscribe options, for Signup channels, select from:

    • Email only

    • SMS only

    • Both email and SMS

    Your selection here determines which channels are unsubscribed when the contact submits the form.

  3. If you want the form to display and of your public data fields, marketing preferences, or lists, you can select them. This can be useful if you also want to use the form to allow new contacts to sign up.

  4. Under Display settings, you can choose to include consent text. Again, this is advisable if you also want the form to allow contacts to subscribe.

  5. Set Include unsubscribe option to YES. You must do this, or your form can only allow contacts to subscribe.

  6. To choose where contacts who unsubscribe using the form are directed to, under the heading On completion, expand the If a contact unsubscribes, redirect to drop-down menu and select URL or Page and form.
    You can also choose what happens to contacts who sign up once they have completed the form. Choose to add the contact to a list, enrol them on a program, or redirect them to a landing page.

  7. When complete, select GENERATE CODE. Your developers need to add this code to your website.

2. Send for approval

Once the completed form is set up on your website, you need to provide us with the URL of the page so that we can review your form for compliance purposes.

To notify us that your form is ready for review:

  1. In Dotdigital, expand the User menu and go to Settings > General > Account settings.

  2. Under Unsubscribe and preference centre settings, expand the When a contact clicks 'unsubscribe' drop-down menu, and select Show the preference centre below.

  3. Expand the When a contact wants to change their marketing preferences drop-down menu, and select Show a custom preference centre on a URL.

  4. Enter your URL in the URL box.

  5. Select SAVE SETTINGS.

This sends a notification to our Compliance team who check the custom unsubscribe page, and confirm with you when it is approved. If modifications are needed, the team inform you of this.

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