Send a newsletter

Build a Subscription widget

What's inside this article:


Basic information

Services can use a Subscription widget to promote a newsletter topic on the public site. Each Subscription widget is connected to one newsletter topic. From the Subscription widget, visitors can subscribe by entering an email address. The entered email address is then added to the mailing list for the newsletter topic.

IMPORTANT: The Subscription widget is connected to the inbuilt newsletter distribution tool in Pangea CMS. If your service uses a third-party tool for newsletter distribution (such as Mailchimp), you cannot use the Subscription widget to promote newsletter topics.



Create a newsletter topic

Before you can create a Subscription widget, the newsletter topic that you want to promote on the widget needs to be created in Pangea CMS.

Via Newsletter > Newsletter topics, it is possible to review the list of existing newsletter topics for your service.

If you need a new newsletter topic, contact the Pangea Design team. We can assist with creating a new newsletter template, including design and code. To contact us, follow the link below:



Create a new widget

You might add a Subscription widget to the following pages / segments:

  • Section pages (including your homepage)
  • Infopages
  • Landings
  • Regions
  • You Might Also Like (YMAL)

To create a new Subscription widget:

  1. Go to Build in the primary navigation.
  2. Choose the type of page / segment where you want to add the widget.
  3. Select the specific page / segment where you want to add the widget.
  4. Ensure Editor is selected in the left panel.
  5. Select the empty area where you want to add the widget.
  6. Select New widget > Subscription to create a new Subscription widget.

The widget edit screen opens in the same tab.

NOTE: You can also create a new Subscription widget from the Widget library.

The sections below describe each stage of the creation process:



Add content

Via Content, define the main widget content.

The following options are available:


Newsletter topic

Under Newsletter topic, select the existing newsletter topic that will be promoted via this widget.

If you need to create a new topic, go to Create a newsletter topic.


Show "Terms and conditions" link

Tick Show "Terms and conditions" link to include a link to your Privacy Policy page. It is required by law to include this link on the widget.

Set the exact text and URL for the link via the Site localization tool in Pangea CMS. For details, go to the following section:

If your site does not have a Privacy Policy page, we suggest creating one. Privacy Policy pages are normally created as Infopages. To learn how to build a new Infopage from Pangea CMS, see the following article:

You can find an example of a Privacy Page on the Pangea Showcase site:


Show "See all topics" link

Tick Show "See all topics" link to include a link to your service's subscription page, which lists all the newsletter topics offered by your service. This is helpful if your service offers multiple newsletter topics.

Set the exact text and URL for the link via the Site localization tool in Pangea CMS. For details, go to the following section:



Add a title

By default a Subscription widget displays the name of the newsletter topic.

You can also add a title that is displayed above the widget.

To add a title to the widget:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Under Header options, select Display title.
  3. Under Title, enter your chosen title.



Add a custom widget name

Via Settings > Widget name, optionally customize the default widget name.

The widget name is visible only in Pangea CMS (not on the public site). We suggest providing a descriptive name if your site uses the Widget list tool in CMS to manage widgets.



Preview the widget

In the Preview section, check how the Subscription widget will look when it is displayed on the public site. Select Desktop, Tablet, or Mobile to preview the widget on devices with different screen sizes.



Set the status and save the widget

Before saving the Subscription widget, select your preferred status using the drop-down menu in the top-right corner:

  • Enabled: After you save the widget, it will be displayed on the public site (if it is included on a published page).
  • Disabled: After you save the widget, it will not be displayed on the public site. However, it will be available for further editing in CMS.

Select Save or Save & close to save the widget.



Localize text

Generic text on the Subscription widget can be localized to the local language for your website. The same text will appear on every Subscription widget published on your website. The following text can be localized:

  • (A): "See all topics" link and link text
  • (B): "Your Email Address" text
  • (C): "Terms and conditions" link and link text
  • (D): "Subscribe" text

Localize the text using the Site localization tool in Pangea CMS. For instructions, see the following article:

Find an overview of the relevant config keys below:

Global default valueKey
(A)<a href="/subscribe.html">see all topics</a>Widgets.Subscription.AllTopics
(B)Your Email AddressWidgets.Subscription.YourEmailAddress
(C)By subscribing to this newsletter you agree to our: <a href="https://
pressroom.rferl.org/p/6116.html" target="_blank">Terms and conditions</a>		Widgets.Subscription.TermsAndConditions
(D)SubscribeWidgets.Subscription.ButtonSend



Embed the widget on a content page

You can embed a Subscription widget into the body of a text content page. This is a great way to motivate your engaged userbase. A Subscription widget can be embedded on the following content page types:

  • Article
  • Blog
  • FactCheck (embed in the Verdict content)
  • Feature
  • Feature story
  • Live blog (embed in a post)
  • News
  • Transcript

First, you need to retrieve the embed code for the Subscription widget from the widget edit screen in Pangea CMS. This option is only available after the widget has been saved. For instructions, see the following article:

Then, open the edit screen for the content page where you want to embed the widget. Follow these steps:

  1. Via Editor, click inside the main box to reveal the CKEditor bar. Position the cursor where you want to insert the widget.
  2. Hit the Insert Embedded Content button.
  3. Select External media.
  4. Under External media URL or embed code, paste the embed code.
  5. Under Personal note, optionally enter a note. Personal notes are displayed only in Pangea CMS (not on the public site). The purpose is to let other CMS users verify what has been embedded.
  6. Hit Attach.

You see a placeholder representing the embedded widget in CKEditor.