Mailchimp (MC4WP)

Our sites use the MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress plugin to connect newsletter sign-up forms on the site to Mailchimp audiences/lists, without needing to touch any code or the Mailchimp dashboard directly for day-to-day use.

Adding a sign-up form to a page

1. Click + and search for “Mailchimp” (the block added by MC4WP).
2. Select which Mailchimp form/list you want to connect, if more than one is configured – our sites may have more than one list (e.g. general parish news vs a specific event).
3. Place the block wherever you want the sign-up form to appear – common spots are a page footer, sidebar, or the bottom of a News post.

Managing forms and lists

Form fields, confirmation messages, and which Mailchimp list a form submits to are configured centrally under the MC4WP settings in the WordPress admin menu, rather than per-page. This means:

• If a form needs new fields (e.g. adding a “parish” dropdown) or different confirmation wording, that’s a settings-level change, not something to edit block-by-block on each page.
• Multiple pages using the same MC4WP form block will all reflect changes made centrally – useful for consistency, but also means a change affects every page using that form at once.

Double opt-in

Mailchimp lists are commonly configured with double opt-in (the subscriber gets a confirmation email before being added), which is standard practice and helps list quality – worth being aware of so you don’t assume someone submitting the form means they’re immediately subscribed.

Careful: Mailchimp sign-ups are subject to data protection rules (GDPR) – don’t add custom fields asking for anything beyond what’s needed for the newsletter itself, and check with whoever manages compliance before making changes to what a form collects or how consent wording is presented.