Recently I was asked how to add a newsletter subscription box to a WordPress theme. Because this is a question I’ve been asked more than once, I’ve decided to do a short tutorial. There are only a few things you’ll need to get started.

  • Text or HTML editor
  • Your subscription box code which can usually be copied from your newsletter service provider
  • The theme’s sidebar.php file, assuming that is where you’d like to add the subscription box
  • FTP client to upload the file to your theme folder once finished. (You can edit it from the WordPress admin panel, however, I don’t always recommend that route.)

For this example, we’ll go over adding the code to the top of the sidebar. Before we begin, make a back up copy of your sidebar.php file.

  1. Sidebar Code View Open the sidebar.php file in a text or HTML editor.
  2. Adding a new list item to the sidebar Just under the opening unordered list tag (<ul>), add a new list item (<li></li>) and between it, type the title of your subscription box.
  3. Add newsletter code to the sidebar file Below your section title, copy and paste your subscription box code. (If the code you’re provided with isn’t compliant, you may need to edit it; otherwise it may throw off your design. )
  4. Save the file and upload it to your theme folder, making sure to overwrite the previous sidebar.php file.
  5. Go to your blog, refresh, and feel good about your work.

There you have it. Your blog should now have a newsletter subscription box in place if all went well.

Note: If you’re using the widgets plugin, adding code to your sidebar is slightly different. You will need to create a new text box from your admin panel and copy the newsletter code into it.

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