Why Newsletter Plugin Beats MailChimp in 2026

Step 1: Access Plugin Menu

1. Log into your WordPress admin dashboard
2. Navigate to Plugins → Add Plugin

Step 2: Search for Newsletter Plugin

1. In the search box, type: "Newsletter Send awesome emails from WordPress by Stefano Lissa". Or visit the official Newsletter plugin page to read reviews and check compatibility with your WordPress version.
2. Look for the plugin with 300,000+ active installations by Stefano Lissa

Step 3: Install & Activate

1. Click "Install Now" button
2. Wait for installation to complete (5-10 seconds)
3. Click "Activate" button

Step 4: Initial Setup

After activation, you'll see a Newsletter menu item in your WordPress sidebar.

The plugin is now installed and ready to configure!

Step 1: Access Form Settings

1. Go to Newsletter → Forms
2. Click on Configure (⚙️ Gear Icon) next to "Standard Form"

Step 2: Configure Form Fields

Choose which fields to display:

• Email (Required - cannot be disabled)
• First Name (Recommended)
• Last Name (Optional)
• Gender (Optional)
• Privacy Checkbox (Required for GDPR)

Step 3: Customize Labels

Edit the text that appears in your form:

• Email (First Name) Placeholder text could be: Enter your email
• Button label: "Subscribe" (or "Join Our Newsletter")
• Privacy Label: "I accept the privacy policy"
• And basically any field you see in the form

Step 4: Copy Shortcode

At the top of the settings page, you'll see:

[newsletter_form]

Copy this shortcode - you'll need it in the next step.

Step 5: Save Settings

Click "Save" at the bottom of the page.

Congratulations! You've successfully created and Saved your first subscription form.

Step 1: Access Welcome Email Settings

1. Go to Newsletter → Subscription
2. Click on Welcome tab
3. Open the Email tab
4. Choose 1 of 3 options:
   • Default - uses the default email template. Yet you can still Customize it if click on "Customize" below Welcome subject. And then use Visual Editor or paste this HTML code:
     
     HTML code for Welcome email (Code tab) Copy Code

     <div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; max-width: 600px; margin: 0 auto; padding: 20px;">
       <h2>Welcome, {name}!</h2>
       <p>Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.</p>
       <p>You will receive updates directly in your inbox.</p>
       <a href="{profile_url}">Manage Subscription</a>
     </div>

   • Composer - allows you to create a custom email. Preferred version.
   • Do not send - disables the welcome email

Step 2: Write Email Subject

Write a subject line that will grab your subscribers' attention and encourage them to open the email. Example:

• Welcome to [Your Site Name]
• Thanks for Subscribing, {name}
• You are in. Here is what to expect

Step 3: Choose Email Editor

• Composer for visual drag and drop editing.
• Default → Customize → Visual / Code Tab for HTML templates
  

Step 4: Use Mail Tags

Doesn't matter which editor you choose, you can use mail tags to personalize your email. Mail tags are placeholders that will be replaced with actual values when the email is sent. Example:

• {name} subscriber name
• {email} subscriber email
• {profile_url} manage subscription link
• {unsubscription_url} unsubscribe link

More tags you can find on the Newsletter plugin documentation website.

Step 5: Save and Test

1. Click Save.
2. Go to your website page with a [newsletter_form] and Subscribe with a test email.
3. Check inbox, check your Welcome mail. Redo if needed.

Step 1: Configure Goodbye Message Page

1. Go to Newsletter → Subscription → Unsubscription
2. Click on "Goodbye" tab
3. Click "Customize" near Goodbye message
4. Click on Code tab

Step 2: Create Goodbye Page Message

Paste this HTML inside Code tab of Goodbye message:

<div style="padding-top: 40px; text-align: center;">
  <h1>Subscription canceled.</h1>
  <h2>One click to undo.</h2>
  <div style="margin: 30px 0;">
    [newsletter_resubscribe_button label="Undo unsubscribe" /]
  </div>
</div>

Click "Save". You can test it by unsubscribing from your newsletter. You will see the goodbye page with "Undo unsubscribe" button.

Step 3: Create Goodbye Email

1. Still in Newsletter → Subscription → Unsubscription → Goodbye tab
2. Choose Enable / Disable and then click "Customize" near Goodbye email
3. Write your Subject for Goodbye email
4. And then write your message using Visual editor or click on Code tab to write HTML code

Step 4: Design Goodbye Email

Email clients render HTML differently than web browsers. Following MDN's HTML email best practices, this template uses inline styles and table-based layouts for maximum compatibility across Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail.

Copy and Paste this beautiful template to Code tab of Goodbye email on your site:

<div
    style="background: #fff5f0;border: 1px solid #ffddd2;color: #4a3728;padding: 50px 20px;text-align: center;border-radius: 20px;margin: 20px auto;max-width: 600px;font-family: sans-serif">
    <span style="font-size: 40px">👋</span>
    <h1 style="color: #c2410c;margin-top: 10px">It's official.</h1>
    <h2 style="font-weight: 400;margin-bottom: 20px">Your subscription has been removed.</h2>

    <p style="font-size: 15px;line-height: 1.6;margin-bottom: 25px;color: #6b4f3a;padding: 0 20px">
      Changed your mind? You can subscribe again anytime! <br><br>
      To use our sign-up form again immediately, please <strong>use a different email address</strong>.
      If you want to reactivate <em>this</em> email, please
      <a href="mailto:{company_address}?subject=Subscribe me back please 🥹&body=I confirm I want to subscribe back"
        style="color: #c2410c;font-weight: bold;text-decoration: none;border-bottom: 1px solid #c2410c">
        click here to send us a message
      </a>
      and we will manually restore your status.
    </p>

    <div style="text-align: center;padding: 10px 0">
      <a href="{blog_url}/newsletter/"
        style="background-color: #c2410c;border-radius: 8px;color: #ffffff;font-size: 16px;font-weight: bold;text-decoration: none;padding: 15px 35px">
        Rejoin with a new email
      </a>
    </div>
  </div>

Step 5: Save

Click "Save" at the bottom.

Step 1: Access Resubscribe Settings

1. Go to Newsletter → Subscription → Unsubscription
2. Click "Resubscribe" tab
3. Click "Customize" near Reactivated message
4. And then write your "Welcome back!" message using Visual editor or click on Code tab to write HTML code

Step 2: Create Reactivation Message

Paste this welcome-back message:

<div style="padding-top: 40px; text-align: center;">
  <h2>Your subscription has been reactivated.</h2>
  <h3>Welcome Back! 🎉</h3>
  <p>We're happy to have you back with us!</p>
</div>

Step 3: Save

Click "Save"

Step 1: Create New Newsletter

1. Go to Newsletter → Newsletters
2. Click "Add new" button

Step 2: Choose Template

You have two options:

• Use a Template - Pre-designed layouts (10 of them)
• Start from Blank - Empty canvas

Step 3: Write Your Newsletter

Subject Line:

Write a compelling subject (best practices):

• Keep it under 50 characters
• Use personalization: "Hi {name}, here's your update"
• Create curiosity: "You won't believe what happened..."
• Be clear: "Weekly Newsletter - January 2025"

Message Body:

• Add header with your logo
• Write your content in text blocks
• Add images (optimized, under 200KB each)
• Include call-to-action buttons
• Add social media links in footer

Step 4: Click Next

Step 5: Select Recipients

Choose Your Lists:

• Match all of them (sends to everyone)
• Or select specific lists

Step 6: Schedule or Send

Option A: Send Now

• Click "Send Now" button
• Start real delivery? - Click "OK"

Option B: Schedule for Later

• Click "Schedule"
• Choose date and time
• Click "Schedule" again and then confirm with "OK"

Step 7: Verify

1. Check your own email inbox
2. Verify the newsletter arrived
3. Check formatting on desktop and mobile
4. Click links to ensure they work

Congratulations! You've sent your first newsletter using the WordPress newsletter plugin.

Step 1: Access Your Theme's Custom CSS

Method A: Through Customizer

1. Go to Appearance → Customize
2. Click "Additional CSS"

Method B: Through Theme Settings

1. Some themes have a "Custom CSS" section
2. Check your theme documentation

Step 2: Style the Submit Button

Paste this CSS to customize the newsletter button:

/* Newsletter Plugin Submit Button */
.tnp-submit {
  border: none !important;
  background: #FFD586 !important;
  color: #1C1C1C !important;
  padding: 12px 30px !important;
  border-radius: 5px !important;
  font-size: 16px !important;
  font-weight: 600 !important;
  cursor: pointer !important;
  transition: all 0.3s ease !important;
}

.tnp-submit:hover {
  background: #FFC556 !important;
  transform: translateY(-2px) !important;
  box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.15) !important;
}

Step 3: Style the Input Fields

/* Newsletter Input Fields */
.tnp-field {
  padding: 12px 15px !important;
  border: 2px solid #ddd !important;
  border-radius: 5px !important;
  font-size: 15px !important;
  width: 100% !important;
  margin-bottom: 15px !important;
}

.tnp-field:focus {
  border-color: #FFD586 !important;
  outline: none !important;
  box-shadow: 0 0 0 3px rgba(255,213,134,0.2) !important;
}

Step 4: Style the Form Container

/* Newsletter Form Container */
.tnp-subscription {
  max-width: 500px !important;
  margin: 0 auto !important;
  padding: 30px !important;
  background: #f9f9f9 !important;
  border-radius: 10px !important;
  box-shadow: 0 2px 10px rgba(0,0,0,0.1) !important;
}

Step 5: Save and Test

1. Click "Publish"
2. Visit your subscription form page
3. Verify the new styling appears
4. Test on mobile devices

Pro Tip: Use your brand colors in the CSS by replacing:

• #FFD586 with your primary color
• #1C1C1C with your text color

Step 1: Configure Redirect

1. Go to Pages → Newsletter → Edit
2. Click ✚ Add icon to add new element to your page.
3. Search for HTML element and click it.
4. Copy and Paste this code inside HTML element:
   
   Auto-Redirect HTML code Copy Code

   <div class="thank-you-message">
     <h2>Thank you for subscribing!</h2>
     <p>Redirecting in <span id="timer">5</span> seconds...</p>
   </div>
   
   <script>
     // Only run redirect if we're on the confirmation page
     const urlParams = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search);
     const isConfirmed = urlParams.get('nm') === 'confirmed';
   
     if (isConfirmed) {
       let seconds = 5;
       const timer = document.getElementById('timer');
       const countdown = setInterval(() => {
         seconds--;
         timer.textContent = seconds;
         if (seconds <= 0) {
           clearInterval(countdown);
           location.href = '/';
         }
       }, 1000);
     } else {
       // Hide the thank you message if we're not on the confirmation page
       document.querySelector('.thank-you-message').style.display = 'none';
     }
   </script>

5. Click Save.

Step 2: Test

1. Visit your subscription form.
2. Subscribe with a test email.
3. Verify redirect to home page works.