Forms guide — Mailkoo Skip to content
Log in Live demo Get started
Audience

Forms

Design pop-up sign-up forms, show them on your website and turn visitors into subscribers automatically.

Find it in: Audience → Forms 15 steps

A form is a pop-up that appears on your website and invites visitors to join one of your mailing lists. You design it in a visual builder, choose when it pops up (straight away, after a delay, when someone is about to leave…), then connect it to your website.

Every person who fills it in is added to the form's list automatically, so they can receive your campaigns and automations right away.

What you can do with Forms

Pop-up templates

Start from a ready-made layout with the banner on the left, right, top or bottom.

Drag-and-drop builder

Add your list fields, text, headings and a Terms of Service checkbox, and preview on desktop, tablet and mobile.

Smart display timing

Show the pop-up immediately, on the first visit only, after a delay, on a click or on exit intent.

One snippet per website

Install one tracking code on your site and every form you connect to it goes live.

Straight into your list

Sign-ups land in the form's mailing list, with double opt-in if the list uses it.

Embedded form too

Prefer a form inside your page? Each list also has a copy-and-paste HTML form.

Find your forms

  1. Open the forms list

    Click Forms under Audience in the left sidebar. Each form shows its status (Published or Draft), the list it feeds and the website it is connected to (Not connected if none).

    Filter by status or website, switch between list and grid view, or click Create form to make a new one.

  2. Use the row menu

    Click Build to open a form in the builder. The ⋯ menu has Preview, Publish or Unpublish, and Delete.

Create a form

  1. Name it, pick a list and a template

    Click Create form. In the dialog:

    1. Type a Form name, such as Homepage signup.
    2. Under Connect to list, choose the list sign-ups should join.
    3. Under Form template, click a layout (for example Popup Form Right Banner).

    Click Create form. The builder opens with your template.

Design the form

  1. Get to know the builder

    The builder has three parts:

    1. The canvas: your pop-up, shown inside a browser frame. Click any text to edit it.
    2. The side panel: the widgets you can drag in, plus Element settings and Merge tags tabs at the top.
    3. The icon rail: switch between Layouts, Design and Settings.

    The top bar has the desktop, tablet and mobile views, undo and redo, Preview, Save and Close.

  2. Add the fields

    The quickest way to fill the Form area is Load list defaults: it drops in every field of your list plus a Submit button. You can also drag single widgets from Form fields (Email, First name, Last name, Submit button), Compliance (Terms of Service) and Basic (Paragraph, Heading and more).

    Click Save when you are happy.

  3. Try another layout

    Click Layouts in the icon rail (or in the top bar) and click a layout to change the look of your pop-up.

Choose when the pop-up appears

  1. Open Settings

    Click Settings in the icon rail. Here you can rename the form, change its Mail list and set the Overlay opacity (how dark the page behind the pop-up gets).

  2. Pick a display trigger

    Choose a Display trigger:

    • Immediately: as soon as the page loads.
    • First visit only: once per visitor.
    • After delay: after the Wait time (seconds) you set.
    • On element click: when a visitor clicks a button or link you name in Element ID or selector.
    • On exit intent: when the visitor moves to leave the page.

    Click Save settings.

Publish and connect it to your website

A pop-up shows on your site when three things are true: the form is published, it is connected to a website, and that website has the tracking code installed.

  1. Save and publish

    1. Click Save to keep your design.
    2. Click Publish. The badge next to the form name changes from DRAFT to PUBLISHED (the button then reads Unpublish).
    3. Use Preview at any time to see the pop-up as a visitor would.

  2. Connect a website

    Click Integrate to your website in the browser frame above the canvas. In Connect your site, choose your Website and click Connect. The frame then shows your site's address, with Edit and Open in site links.

  3. Add your website

    Websites live under Integration → Websites in the sidebar. Click Add website, enter the full address (including https://) and save it.

  4. Install the tracking code

    Open the website to see its Tracking code. Click the copy icon, then paste the snippet just before the closing </body> tag on every page of your site (most website builders have a custom code or footer scripts setting for this).

    Once the code is in place the status shows Connected, and any published form connected to this site will appear there.

Decide what happens after a sign-up

People who fill in the form join the form's mailing list. What happens next is set on the list itself, under Lists → (your list) → Settings.

  1. Turn on double opt-in or a welcome email

    • Double opt-in: new sign-ups get a confirmation email and only become subscribed after they click the link. This keeps fake and mistyped addresses out.
    • Send welcome email: send the list's welcome email as soon as someone subscribes.

    Click Save settings. For a richer welcome, build a Welcome new subscribers automation for the same list.

  2. See your new sign-ups

    Open the list and click Subscribers. With Sort by set to Date added, the newest sign-ups are at the top. Contacts waiting to confirm a double opt-in email show the status Unconfirmed; they become Subscribed once they click the link.

  3. Prefer a form inside your page?

    If you want a sign-up form placed in your page rather than a pop-up, open your list and choose Forms / Pages → Embedded form. Set a Form title, an optional Redirect URL (after submit) for your own thank-you page, and which fields to show, then click Update & regenerate and copy the HTML from Embed code into your site.

Common questions

My pop-up does not show on my website. What should I check?

Make sure the form is Published, that it is connected to the right website (the forms list shows the site, not Not connected), and that the website's Tracking code is on the page. Also check the Display trigger: with First visit only you will not see it again after the first time, and On element click needs a matching element on the page.

Where do I see who signed up through the form?

New contacts go straight into the form's mailing list. Open Subscribers (or the list) and sort by date to see the newest sign-ups. Each contact's timeline notes that they joined through a pop-up form.

Can I show different pop-ups on different websites?

Yes. Add each site under Websites, install its own tracking code, and connect each form to the site it belongs to.

Can I change the list a form feeds?

Yes. Open the form, click Settings, choose another Mail list and click Save settings. Contacts collected earlier stay in the old list.

Why can't I save my form?

The builder checks the form before saving. It needs one Email field, a Submit button, every field your list marks as required, and at most one Terms of Service widget placed inside the form area. The message that appears lists exactly what to fix.