One of the most important features of WordPress newsletter plugins is the flexibility and functionality they provide in their opt-in subscription forms.
You’ll wanna know about the types of forms that the plugin support, like does it support sidebar widget, in-content form, PHP template tag?
Some plugins allow you to use 3rd party opt-in form plugins, which are usually much more powerful than the built-in opt-in forms. Those 3rd party plugins can serve opt-in popups, comment and registration checkboxes, and more. So, it’s important that the newsletter plugin supports this.
You can click on the name of the product below to view its full review.
Tribulant Newsletter
Tribulant Newsletter supports many types of opt-in forms: hardcoded form, offsite form, post/page embedded form, registration checkbox, and of course sidebar widget form.
The behavior and number of fields in each subscription form is determined by the mailing list to which the form belongs.
One interesting and unique feature of Tribulant Newsletter opt-in forms is that they can be embedded on external websites.
Tribulant Newsletter can also make use of great 3rd party plugins to create opt-in forms, such as popups, subscribers from comments, and more!
WP Autoresponder
WP Autoresponder handles opt-in form very well. You can create a separate opt-in form for each mailing list. Then to display the opt-in form, you can either use the sidebar widget or take the provided HTML code and paste it where ever you wish.
Because WP Autoresponder uses standard and clean HTML for its subscription forms, you can use enhanced 3rd party opt-in form plugins to add subscribers to WP Autoresponder.
Satollo's Newsletter
Satollo's Newsletter plugin provides only one type of form: the sidebar widget. However, it allows the user to create a custom form that the user can insert any where. There is also good documentation for creating custom forms.
Unfortunately, it is not easy to use 3rd party form plugins with Satollo's Newsletter.
EasyMail Newsletter
The only way to insert an opt-in form with EasyMail is by using the provided sidebar widget. The widget itself is pretty nice and has some neat Ajax features, but I still would have liked to see more flexibility and options with opt-in forms. For example, there is no way to insert an opt-in form through template tags or within post content
And it is difficult to utilize 3rd party opt-in form plugins with EasyMail because of the unconventional way EasyMail handles form submissions.
MailPress
MailPress provides several convenient options for inserting opt-in forms.
You can use the sidebar widget, a shortcode within your post, or a PHP template code--each one of these is documented and described on the plugin's website.
Customizing the fields that are displayed on these forms is not possible. Neither is it possible to utilize 3rd party plugins for capturing subscribers with MailPress.
[GWA] Autoresponder Professional
There are two ways to display a subscription form with [GWA] Autoresponder. The first is through the use of a sidebar widget. The second is through the use of a shortcode, [gwa-autoresponderlistid="#"]. You can put the shortcode any where within your content and it'll be replaced with a subscription form.
While the subscription forms of [GWA] Autoresponder don't offer any built-in templates, enhanced 3rd party opt-in form plugins can easily be used to add subscribers to the plugin.
WPMU DEV e-Newsletter
e-Newsletter doesn't provide many options when it comes to subscription form creation. There's only one type of form that you can use: sidebar widget. And it feels very unpolished. For example, when a new subscriber submits their email a message appears that says "The new member was added"!!
Unsurprisingly, there are no opt-in form templates or anything like that. And you cannot use 3rd party opt-in form plugins either.
MeeNews
The only way to display an opt-in form with MeeNews is through the use of sidebar widget. There are no opt-in form templates and it is not readily possible to use 3rd party opt-in form plugins with MeeNews.
Wysija Newsletters
Wysija supports 3 types of opt-in forms:
- sidebar widget form
- post/page shortcode
- hardcoded form
They are simple to configure and have the ability to also include inputs for first and last names.
