REFERENCE
The contact form and newsletter
Two things to connect before you launch.
Both work out of the box in the sense that they show and submit, but neither is pointed at you yet. The contact form sends to your site’s admin email address until you choose another, and the newsletter sign-up is waiting for your own mailing-list account. Check both before you share the site.
THE FORM
Where the messages go
Open the Contact page in the Visual Builder and click into the form module. Under Content › Email there is a field for the address that receives messages. The demo leaves it empty, so messages go to the admin email address under Settings › General. Add the address you actually read, then send yourself a test.
THE FORM
The fields, and adding one
The form asks for a first name, a last name, an email address and a message; the email address and message are required. Each field is its own small module inside the form, so adding one is a matter of duplicating a field and changing its label and type. The thank-you line readers see after sending is under the form’s Content › Success Message.
THE FORM
Spam
Spam protection is switched off on the demo, so switch it on before you launch: either Divi’s basic sum question in the form’s Spam Protection settings, or reCAPTCHA, which Divi supports under Divi › Theme Options › Integrations.
THE NEWSLETTER
Connecting the sign-up
The sign-up band is an Email Optin module, and it needs your mailing-list account before it collects anything. Open the default footer layout under Divi › Theme Builder, click into the module, and under Content › Email Account choose your provider and add your account. Divi supports Mailchimp, MailerLite, Kit (formerly ConvertKit) and a long list of others. The demo shows a placeholder Mailchimp account until you do.
THE NEWSLETTER
The promise underneath
The band reads “A little inspiration, straight to your inbox” and promises new posts, personal notes and a few favourite finds each week. Both lines are plain text in the footer layout, so change them to whatever you will actually send. If you offer a freebie, set up the welcome email that delivers it in your mailing-list provider - Divi only adds the reader to your list.
BEFORE YOU LAUNCH
Your own details
Nothing in the demo points at a real inbox or profile, so nothing can go astray while you set up. Before you launch, put in your own: the address the contact form sends to, the social links in the header and footer, the @romy handle above the Follow along strip, and the description in the footer.
IF FORM MAIL NEVER ARRIVES
WordPress sends mail through your web server by default, and many hosts either block it or land it in spam. If test messages vanish, install an SMTP plugin and send through a proper mail service. This is a WordPress and hosting matter rather than a Romy one, and it affects every form on the site.
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