What is the difference between a Subscribe form, Unsubscribe form, and a Preference Center form?

This article discusses the types of forms that are available and the differences between them.

Subscribe Form

A subscribe form is typically used on your website to collect information from visitors. These types of forms typically ask for minimal information. Upon form submission, the subscriber will be added to your Delivra account as a new record, or potentially can update an existing record if the email used to subscribe already exists.

Basic features & functionality:

• Subscriber demographic fields
• Include imagery, cell groups, buttons, and other design elements
• Subscriber category selections / preferences
• Display a thank you message, or redirect subscriber to another URL after form submission
• Pass hidden field data, time stamps, and categories to subscriber records
• Send default hello and confirmation emails after form submission
• Form can be hosted externally on a website or linked to from Delivra account 
• Form templates available
• Pop-up and other form styles available
• Display triggers (for externally hosted forms)
• Can include SMS subscription

Preference Center

A preference center is typically used in the footer of outgoing emails but can be used as a link elsewhere in an message. A current subscriber can update their name, demographic info, and categories they are subscribed to as well as unsubscribe if they so choose by using this form.

Basic features and functionality:

• Subscriber demographic fields
• Include imagery, cell groups, buttons, and other design elements
• Subscriber category selections / preferences
• Display a thank you message, or redirect subscriber to another URL after form submission
• Pass hidden fields, categories to subscriber information
• Send default hello and confirmation emails after form submission
• Form can only be hosted in your Delivra account; form code cannot be hosted externally to update contact information 
• Form templates available
• Can include SMS subscription
• Multiple Preference Centers can be enabled for different footers

Unsubscribe Form

An unsubscribe form is typically used to replace the 1-click unsubscribe action that is the default for footers. These types of forms can also be hosted on your website to give subscribers the ability to unsubscribe from a source other than the footer of your email. 

Basic features & functionality:

• Only emails address and reason demographic fields may be included in form
• Include imagery, cell groups, buttons, and other design elements
• Redirect (un)subscriber to another URL after form submission
• Form can be hosted externally on a website, through use of full HTML, or can be hosted in footer 
• Submission will unsubscribe a contact record if they already exist or add a new contact record in the unsubscribed status.

Resources

Visit our e-Learning hub for online modules to learn more about Forms & other Delivra features.