Unsubscribe Forms

Unsubscribe forms are web pages that users land on after clicking the Unsubscribe link in an email.

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Important

The unsubscribe link/footer is mandatory in every email — including transactional ones — per Google's sender requirements (February 2024). Reteno automatically re-adds it if it's removed from a template; there's no way to turn it off. This applies even to messages sent via the Send obligatory (transactional) email workflow task, which ignores the contact's subscription status but doesn't remove the footer requirement.

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Note

Clicking Unsubscribe (via the button or footer) changes the contact's system subscription status — they stop receiving emails. It does not automatically update a custom contact field, such as a consent flag you set from your own onboarding. To keep a custom field in sync, add a workflow that starts on the unsubscribe event and includes an Update contact field step.

Benefits of Using Unsubscribe Forms

• Protecting the sender’s reputation: The form allows you to end the communication neatly, leaving the user with a positive impression of the brand.
• The ability to save the contact: Instead of an instant unsubscribe, you can offer an alternative, for example, a thirty-day pause or changing subscription categories.
• Analytics of reasons for unsubscribing: Contacts can indicate the reason for unsubscribing, allowing you to improve content and communication in the future.
• Flexible brand experience: The ability to customize the form allows you to design it according to your design, style, and user language.

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Note

The unsubscribe link/block is added to every email — including transactional ones — automatically and cannot be removed. This is required by mailbox providers' sender guidelines (for example, Google's February 2024 sender requirements), so that recipients always have a way to opt out. If the block is deleted manually in the editor, it will reappear after the message is saved.

Using Your Own Unsubscribe Page

Instead of a form built in Reteno, you can send contacts to a page hosted on your own domain. To do this, your page must trigger the Reteno unsubscribe event when the user confirms — call the Add to Unsubscribed (or Delete from Unsubscribed to reverse it) API method from your page. Without this call, the contact will be removed from your own list but will still be considered subscribed in Reteno and keep receiving messages.

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Note

Unsubscribing (via the Reteno form or your own page calling the API above) only changes the contact's system subscription status — it does not automatically update custom contact fields, such as a custom "consent" field you may maintain separately. To keep a custom field in sync, add an Update contact field step to a workflow triggered by the unsubscribe event.

Form Types

1. Double Opt-Out Form: The contact first sees a page with the option to leave a comment and choose a reason for unsubscribing. The final unsubscription occurs after confirmation.

The form includes the following pages:

• Main page
• Successful unsubscribtion

The Double Opt-Out form has no re-subscribe page, so a contact who unsubscribed through it has no self-service way to subscribe again — they need to be re-subscribed manually or fill out a subscription form again.

2. Opt-Out Form: The contact is immediately unsubscribed but can leave feedback, after which they will be offered the options to subscribe again now or in 30 days.

The form includes the following pages:

• Main page
• Contact sent feedback
• Contact subscribed again
• Contact paused subscription for 30 days

Changing Basic Settings

After activation, the default forms are ready to use. In most cases, you don't need to create them from scratch — just make a few basic changes:

• Replace the default image with your logo.
• Add your own text and language versions of the form.
• Adapt the colors of the buttons and texts to your brand palette.

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Note

All basic changes can be implemented without deep technical knowledge. This is safe, and the form's functionality will not be affected.

If you make more profound changes to the code, you risk breaking the form — for example, the unsubscribe may not be recorded, but the contact will remain active in the mailing list. Therefore, deep customization should only be done with the appropriate technical knowledge or with the help of a developer.

Creating an Unsubscribe Form

1. Go to your account settings → Unsubscribe forms section → Forms → click New form.

2. Select the form type (Double Opt-Out or Opt-Out) and how you want to create it:

• Default template: Сustomize the existing code.
• From scratch: Add your HTML.

Required Code Snippets

1. The Double Opt-Out form must contain code that performs the unsubscribe after clicking the button:

2. The Opt-Out form must contain code that performs re-subscription and leaving feedback.

• Main page:

• Contact Sent Feedback page:

Multilanguage

Forms support multiple languages.

The language is determined automatically in the following order:

1. The language specified in the message.
2. The user's browser language.
3. The language from the contact's profile.
4. The default form language.

Setting CSS Styles

You can customize the CSS styles of your form in two ways:

1. Upload the CSS file and add a link to it on each form page.
2. Add the CSS code directly to the HTML code of each form page.

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Note

Adding CSS styles is not required, but is recommended, as HTML without styles may not display correctly.

Using CSS file

1. Go to the CSS tab and click New CSS file.

2. Upload the appropriate file.

2. Copy the link to the file.

3. Specify a link to the file in the HTML code of each form page.

Adding CSS code

Add CSS code directly on each form page.

Changing Favicon

A favicon is a small icon that appears in a browser tab.

To change the form and email favicon, follow the instructions at the link.

Testing and Publishing

Copy the form’s link and follow it to view the created form in the browser.

Click Publish so your contacts start going to the unsubscribe form.

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Note

• A published form applies to all email messages.
• Only one unsubscribe form can be published.
• While the form is published, it cannot be deleted.