The best way to grow your list isn't buying contacts or gathering them by hand: it's having people sign up on their own because they want to hear from you. That's what subscription forms are for: you put them on your website and every interested visitor signs up on their own, with explicit permission. This guide explains how to build them, how the confirmation flow works step by step, and how arrobaMail protects them from bots.
It's also the most recommended capture method long-term: it builds a healthy list from the source. If you're not clear yet on how contacts get organized once they're in, revisit lists and subscribers.
Creating a form
arrobaMail's forms are built with a visual builder, no code required. The typical path is:
- Go to your list and open the Forms › Create form tab. The form gets tied to that list: whoever subscribes enters there.
- Choose the format. It can be Inline (embedded within your page's content) or Popup (an overlay, with configurable triggers: after a few seconds, on scroll, or when the visitor is about to leave).
- Configure the fields. Besides email and name, you can add any custom field from your list by dragging it in. The fewer fields you ask for, the more people complete it; only add what you're really going to use.
- Customize the style. Colors, typography, borders, and the button text, with a live preview so it matches your site.
- Turn on double opt-in (highly recommended; we cover it next).
- Copy the code and paste it into your site, before the closing
</body>tag. Done: the form is now capturing.
Tip: forms are embeddable and update themselves. If you later change the fields or the style, the changes show up on your site without you having to touch the code again.
Double opt-in, step by step
Here's the most important concept in this guide. Double opt-in ("double confirmation") means a subscriber doesn't fully enter your list until they confirm the inbox is theirs. It's an extra step that's worth its weight in gold: it guarantees every contact is real and genuinely wants to hear from you.
1 · On your site
The form gets filled out
The visitor leaves their email. They enter your list, but don't receive campaigns yet.
2 · Automatic
The confirmation email arrives
arrobaMail sends an email with a link to confirm the inbox is theirs.
3 · Confirms
They click the link
That click leaves real, verifiable permission: it confirms they want to hear from you.
4 · Done
They become “Subscribed”
Only now do they become active and start receiving your campaigns.
Step 3 is the key. Without that confirmation, the contact stays “Pending” and never receives a campaign: that's how your list fills up only with people who genuinely want to hear from you.
As you can see, the subscriber only moves to "Subscribed" status — and only then receives campaigns — after clicking the confirmation link. Before that, they stay as "Pending." It might seem like you lose some contacts along the way (the ones who never confirm), but those are exactly the ones you didn't want: fake addresses, typos, or no real interest. Double opt-in doesn't cost you list size: it gains you quality.
Important: a list built with double opt-in opens more, complains less, and protects your reputation. It's one of the best things you can do for your deliverability.
Anti-bot protection
A public form on the internet is a magnet for spam bots that try to load junk addresses. arrobaMail brings several layers of protection that work together, without getting in real people's way:
- Honeypot: a field invisible to humans. Bots fill it in and give themselves away.
- Time check: a submission that's too fast (faster than a person could type) gets rejected.
- Browser validation: confirms the submission comes from a real browser, not a script.
- IP address limit: caps how many submissions are accepted from the same origin.
- Frictionless challenge (ALTCHA): a system that stops bots without the annoying "select the traffic lights." It doesn't use cookies or frustrate your visitor.
The idea: maximum protection, minimum friction. Your list stays clean from the very first sign-up, and the real person never even notices you protected them.
Confirmation and welcome emails
Double opt-in triggers automatic emails, and all of them are yours to edit. From Tools › Form templates you can customize:
- The validation email: the one with the confirmation link. Make sure it's on-brand and clearly says "confirm your subscription."
- The welcome email: the one sent when the person confirms. It's your first impression — use it to introduce yourself or offer an initial perk.
You can edit the subject line, the body, and the dynamic variables (like the name) for both. A good welcome email starts the relationship off on the right foot.
What happens after subscription
Once someone confirms and becomes "Subscribed," they enter your list like any other contact: you can segment, tag, and manage them normally. And here's where something very powerful opens up: you can connect the form sign-up to an automation — for example, a welcome series that sends them a sequence of emails over the following days, without you lifting a finger.
In short: the form captures with permission, double opt-in guarantees quality, anti-bot protection keeps everything clean, and from there your new subscriber enters your world of lists, segments, and automations. It's the healthiest way to grow.