---
title: "Signup forms: create and edit"
description: Build a signup form inside Hive Mail, choose what it asks, how permission is collected and who joins, and manage your forms from one list.
url: "https://hiveplugins.com/docs/hive-mail-signup-forms/"
updated: "2026-10-28"
category: Hive Mail
---

# Signup forms: create and edit

A signup form is a small form (an email box and a button) that adds people to your lists. You build it in Hive Mail and place it on any page.

Before you start, create at least one [list](/docs/hive-mail-lists/). If people will confirm by email, your site must be able to send: see [Is my site ready to send email?](/docs/hive-mail-is-my-site-ready-to-send/). To reuse a form from another plugin instead, [connect it](/docs/hive-mail-connect-a-form-you-already-use/).

## Create a form

1. Go to **Audience** > **Forms**, open **Signup forms** and press **New form**.
2. Choose **Build a signup form**.
3. Give it a **Name** (only you see it), then set **What it asks**, **Permission**, **Who joins** and **After they send** (table below).
4. Press **Create form**. Then [put it on a page](/docs/hive-mail-put-a-signup-form-on-a-page/).

The editor has settings on the left and a live **Preview** on the right (**Wide** or **Phone**). Saved forms also show **Sent** (real people, accepted; robots not counted) and **Confirmed** (people now subscribed through this form).

![The signup form editor, with the settings cards on the left and the live preview on the right.](https://hiveplugins.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hivemail-forms-editor-overview-01.webp)

| Setting | What it does | Default |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Name** | The form's name in your list. Required, up to 120 characters. | Newsletter signup |
| **The form is on** | Off: pages that carry it show nothing to visitors. Needs a list to be on. | On |
| **First name**, **Last name** | "Do not ask", "Ask, but it can stay empty", or "Ask, and it is needed". | First: ask, optional. Last: do not ask |
| **Button text** | Up to 40 characters. | Subscribe |
| **Example in the email field** | Grey placeholder text, up to 60 characters. | Empty |
| **Show a box to tick** | Adds a tick box with your wording. | Off |
| **What the box says** | Required when the box is on, plain text, up to 300 characters. | "I agree to receive emails from this site. I can unsubscribe at any time." |
| **The box must be ticked to send the form** | If off, someone who leaves it empty gets a confirmation email instead of being subscribed at once. | On (when the box is on) |
| **Ask people to confirm by email?** | See below. | Do what my site setting says |
| **Lists** | The lists people join (up to 50). The first is named in the confirmation email. | None, or the only list |
| **Tags** | Tags people get (up to 50). New tags can be created here. | None |
| **Ask visitors to pass a CAPTCHA** | Asks only when a service and both keys are set. See [Spam protection and CAPTCHA](/docs/hive-mail-spam-protection-and-captcha/). | On |
| **Then** | "Show a message where the form was" or "Take them to another page". | Show a message |
| **Thank-you message** | Plain text, up to 300 characters. | Standard words |
| **Web address of the page** | Required for "Take them to another page"; must start with http:// or https://. | Empty |

![The Permission card with the tick box switched on and the three confirmation choices.](https://hiveplugins.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hivemail-forms-editor-permission-02.webp)

## Permission and double opt-in

**Ask people to confirm by email?** has three answers:

- **Do what my site setting says**: follows **Ask new subscribers to confirm by email** in **Settings > Compliance** (on by default).
- **Ask people to confirm by email**: they join the list only after pressing the button in the email. The safest choice.
- **Subscribe people straight away**: no email. Use it only when people clearly ask to join, for example with a ticked box.

Your box wording, the time and the form are saved on each person's timeline as proof of what they agreed to. Someone already on your list sees the same thank-you and nothing changes, so nobody can use the form to find out who is subscribed. Someone who unsubscribed always gets a confirmation email first; a form never resubscribes them by itself. See [Double opt-in](/docs/hive-mail-double-opt-in/).

## Manage your forms

The list shows each form's name, its shortcode in **Paste this on a page** with **Copy**, **People join**, **Sent**, **Confirmed**, an on/off switch and a **⋯** menu.

![The signup forms list with three forms, one switched off and one that needs a list.](https://hiveplugins.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hivemail-forms-list-03.webp)

- **Edit**: click the row. **Make a copy** creates "Copy of ", switched off, counters at zero.
- **Delete**: choose **Delete**, then **Delete form**. People who signed up stay in your audience; pages with its shortcode show nothing and its counts are lost.
- A form with no list shows **Needs a list** and cannot be switched on. This also happens if you delete a list the form uses.
- If the form was saved elsewhere while you edited, press **Load the latest** and make your changes again.

> **Tip:** For a newsletter, leave the tick box off and keep double opt-in on. If you ask "I agree to receive emails", switch the box on and write the exact wording.

This is information, not legal advice.

Next: [How to put a signup form on a page](/docs/hive-mail-put-a-signup-form-on-a-page/), [Spam protection and CAPTCHA](/docs/hive-mail-spam-protection-and-captcha/), [Settings: Forms](/docs/hive-mail-settings-forms/).