FAQ

All documentation can be found in our Knowledge Base.

Do I need a Mailchimp account to use this plugin?

Yes, you must have a Mailchimp account and at least 1 list set up in order to use the plugin. You can register for one for free at their website.

How does the plugin connect my Mailchimp account to my site?

Our plugin uses an API Key to allow your site to communicate with your account. After you enter your API key into the plugin settings your site is connected to your account and ready to make forms.

How do I create a Mailchimp API key?

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Click your profile name to expand the Account Panel, and choose Account.
2. Click the Extras drop-down menu and choose Mailchimp API keys.
3. Copy an existing API key or click the Create A Key button.
4. Name your key descriptively, so you know what application uses that key.

Copy your API key so you can paste it into the plugin General Settings.

How do I make my forms GDPR compliant?

For assistance with GDPR compliance, use our free add-on EU Opt-In Compliance for Mailchimp.

How do I change the submit button text?

The submit button text can be customized to use any text you like. This is done via the shortcode. Please visit our How-to article How do I change the submit button text for step-by-step instructions.

How do I add new fields to my form?

The fields that are assigned to a list are managed on the Mailchimp site. To add or remove fields you need to log in to your account and manage them there.

Please read the article Manage List and Sign Up Form Fields to learn how to add and edit the fields for your lists.

After you’ve added fields, they may not show up immediately in our plugin’s Form Builder. Our plugin pulls the information from your lists and stores it for a period of time before pulling it again. To get the new information immediately you will need to clear the Mailchimp API cache. Please read our article API Cache Settings for instructions on how to clear the Mailchimp API cache.

How do I change the field labels?

The text next to or above each field of a form is called a “label” and you may want to change them. For instance by default Mailchimp uses “First” instead of “First Name” and you may want to change it to make more sense. In the form builder, you will find a little pencil icon next to each form label. Click that icon to edit the label and hit the check icon to save it. After you are done editing field labels you will need to hit the “Update Form” button to save all of your changes.

I’m not seeing all my lists on the drop-down menu when I go to make a new form, why?

Our plugin fetches your list information from your account and stores it on your site in a cache. If you make changes to your lists, our plugin will update your site with those changes within an hour. If you want it updated immediately (for instance if you add a new list), you can delete the cache. Please read our Knowledge Base Article for more info.

Is there a way to display the number of subscribers for a given list?

Yes! You can use the shortcode, [yikes-mailchimp-subscriber-count] in the form description field to display the number of subscribers to that list.

To display the count for a specific list, you can use the form="#" or list="#" parameters. If using form="#" you should pass in a specific form ID, which will display the total number of subscribers associated with that form. If using list="#" you should pass in a list ID.

I want to use my own styles. Can I remove the styles bundled with this plugin?

Yes, we’ve included a constant you can use to prevent our styles from loading, YIKES_MAILCHIMP_EXCLUDE_STYLES. For usage, please see our Knowledge Base Article.

Some of the characters in my form are being stored as ??? instead of in the correct format.

You’ll want to make sure that your database collation is set properly. The best collation setting for all web languages is UTF8. If you need help switching collation settings in your database, please see the following article from Media Temple: Default MySQL character set and collation.

I’m having trouble upgrading to version 6, what do I do?

We want our users to have as smooth a transition as possible so we created Guides to Updating. Please check them out if you are experiencing problems.

Can I define my API key using a PHP constant, inside of wp-config.php?

Yes! Since version 6.1.2 we have enabled the ability to define a PHP constant inside of wp-config.php to be used throughout the plugin. The constant name you’ll want to use is YIKES_MC_API_KEY. Once you’ve defined your constant, you’ll want to head into the options page and save your settings for the changes to take hold.

Example:
define( ‘YIKES_MC_API_KEY’, ‘12345679-us2’ );