This article shows how to create a preference center, letting subscribers securely update their email preferences. Customize the center, manage lists, and ensure compliance with ease.
A preference center is a vital tool that allows subscribers to update their consent and email communication preferences in a secure and user-friendly environment. By setting up a preference center, you empower your audience to manage their subscription choices, enhancing their experience and ensuring compliance with email regulations.
The CRM provides an intuitive way to create and customize your preference center using its Forms feature. In this article, we'll guide you through the process of setting up your preference center.
Key Considerations Before You Start
Before diving into the setup process, keep in mind a few important points:
- Prefilled Fields: List subscription fields in the preference center will automatically populate based on your subscriber's previous preferences.
- Compliance: The "Unsubscribe from all" option is mandatory for all preference centers and cannot be removed. This ensures that subscribers can opt out of all communications if they choose.
- Campaign Updates: After creating your preference center, don't forget to update your direct and automated campaigns to include a link to it.
Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Preference Center
1. Access the Forms Section
- Navigate to the left menu and click on Website > Forms.
2. Create a New Form
- Click on "Create a new form."
- A modal window will appear. Enter a name for your preference center in the field provided.
- Select the "Preference Center" option and then click "Create form."
3. Customize Your Preference Center
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The form builder will load a default template that includes the essential elements:
- Header: The title or branding of your preference center.
- Email Identifier: A field that identifies the subscriber by their email.
- HTML Block: A section with default text that can be customized to fit your messaging.
- Subscription Field: Displays all your available lists, allowing subscribers to manage their preferences.
- "Unsubscribe from all" Option: When selected, this will unsubscribe the contact from all current and future lists, except for transactional emails like invoices or password resets.
- "Save Preferences" Button: Allows subscribers to save their updated preferences.
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Optional Customizations: You can drag additional contact fields from the right pane into your form if needed.
4. Manage Subscription Lists 
- To add or remove lists:
- Click on the Lists subscription block within the form builder.
- Use the "Selected Lists" dropdown on the right pane to choose which lists to include or exclude.
5. Rename Lists for Subscriber Clarity
- To change how lists are named in the preference center:
- Select the list from the right pane under "Customize lists."
- Click the "Edit" (pencil) icon and update the list name and description in the modal window that appears.
- Click "Save changes" to confirm.
6. Update Field Text
- The default text in the field header can be modified to encourage subscribers to update their preferences. Enter your custom text in the right pane.
7. Manage List Descriptions
- By default, list descriptions are enabled and visible to subscribers. These provide an overview of the content and frequency of emails they will receive.
- To disable list descriptions, toggle the "List Descriptions" option to "Off."
Design and Customize Your Preference Center
Make your preference center visually appealing and consistent with your brand. Under the "Option" tab, you can adjust colors, fonts, and add images to match your brand's aesthetic. For detailed customization tips, refer to the ActiveCampaign help article on designing and customizing forms.
Edit the Confirmation Message
After a subscriber submits their preferences, they will see a confirmation message. You can customize this message under the "Options" tab in the form builder. Enter your preferred text and click "Save and exit" when you're done. 
Next Steps
Once your preference center is ready, integrate it into your direct and automated campaigns by adding a link.
How to add the preference center link to direct and automated campaigns-
- Drag a New Structure into Your Campaign
- From the right side panel, drag a new structure to the bottom of your campaign.
- Under "Blocks," drag a text box into this new structure.
- Include both the preference center link and the unsubscribe link in the footer by typing "manage preferences" and "unsubscribe."
- Highlight "manage preferences" and use the link icon in the top text customization bar to link to the preference center.
- In the right side panel under the "Link" section, select the appropriate preference center from the dropdown menu.
- Update the "unsubscribe" link with the correct URL and remove the default campaign footer.
- Copy and paste the sender info personalization tag into this new footer as it's required for all campaigns.
- Saving Your Footer Structure for Future Use
- After creating the footer, hover over the structure, click the ellipse menu, and select the Save icon.
- Name the saved structure (e.g., "Preference Center Footer") in the right side panel and press Save.
- In future campaigns, drag this saved preference center footer into your design, and the default footer will disappear.
- For HTML or text emails, use the preference center personalization tag found in the footer you created. Copy and paste this tag into the HTML or text email.
- After creating the footer, hover over the structure, click the ellipse menu, and select the Save icon.
- From the right side panel, drag a new structure to the bottom of your campaign.
- Drag a New Structure into Your Campaign
This ensures that all subscribers have easy access to update their preferences at any time.
By following these steps, you can create a robust and user-friendly preference center that enhances the subscriber experience while maintaining compliance with email communication standards.