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Hi
I need to build an opt in/opt out form for a newsletter subscription. The form itself is not a problem, I just need some pointers on what information I should gather and save as evidence that a person opted in? Or on a certain date opted out.

Client is very fussy about "doing the right thing" and heavy into overthinking (just my luck). They are worried that Person A can access the opt in page and put Person B's email address. We would end up sending the newsletter to Person B who will be angry...litigation...world will end.

Grateful for any tips/best practices.

I don't have answer per se but when I thought about it this is where you almost have to have a system where:

1. the user enters an email
2. a confirmation email is then sent to the email entered with a link they have to click to confirm their opting in
3. Then the email is added to the 'list'.

If the link in the email is not clicked to confirm opt-in then the email is deleted/removed/whatever but is not added to the 'list'. The link in the email could also be time sensitive so if not clicked in a certain amount of time then its no good. This would prevent your scenario where I put your email in so you get some viagra ads!

Also, any emails/newsletters/etc. that you do send needs to have a unsubscribe/opt-out option link at the bottom so if it is sent to someone who doesnt want it or someone doesnt want to receive it anymore, they can then opt out.

To build this from scratch I believe would take some good programming skills.

This is why many people use a service like MailChimp as they have a lot of this stuff built in already.

However, another option to consider is buying a script. Phpjabbers has one with a opt-in form built in. With a developers license you can use it on unlimited sites. See info here. Their scripts easily integrate with WB and have a complete backend that your client can access on their own.