PrestaShop newsletter with double opt-in: build a GDPR-proof list

A newsletter is one of the cheapest ways to bring customers back to your shop. But a list full of fake addresses, typos and people who never gave permission costs you more than it brings in: poor deliverability, spam complaints and, in the worst case, GDPR trouble.

What is double opt-in?

With double opt-in a visitor signs up and then receives an email with a confirmation link. Only after clicking that link is the address really on your list.

It looks like an extra hurdle, but it actually gives you a better list:

1. no typos or fake addresses;
2. no sign-ups on behalf of someone else;
3. subscribers who really want to read, so more opens and clicks;
4. fewer spam complaints, which is good for your deliverability.

What does the GDPR require?

To send a newsletter to people who are not yet customers, you generally need their consent. That consent must be freely given and clear, and you must be able to prove it. A pre-ticked box does not count.

In practice this means:

1. a separate, unticked consent checkbox with a link to your privacy policy;
2. recording for each subscriber when and how they signed up and when they confirmed;
3. a clear unsubscribe link in every newsletter.

This is not legal advice. If you are unsure about your situation, check with a specialist.

What do Gmail and Yahoo require?

Since 2024 Gmail and Yahoo have stricter requirements for senders who send a lot of email. The most important ones: send from your own domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC set up properly, keep spam complaints low and offer one-click unsubscribe through the List-Unsubscribe header. If you do not meet these, your emails end up in the spam folder more quickly.

Building your list in PrestaShop

PrestaShop's standard newsletter module only collects email addresses. To actually send mailings, many shops therefore use an external service such as Mailchimp or Brevo. That works, but you often pay per month or per subscriber, and you keep moving addresses back and forth.

You can also do it in your own shop. With Clover No Hassle Newsletter everything stays inside PrestaShop:

1. sign-up with double opt-in and a consent checkbox with your own text per language;
2. proof of consent: sign-up date, IP address and confirmation date for every subscriber;
3. sending from your shop's own address, with an unsubscribe link and one-click unsubscribe;
4. sending in batches via a cron job, even if your hosting only allows a limited number of emails per hour;
5. open and click statistics per campaign and per link;
6. importing your existing subscribers from CSV, Excel or PrestaShop's standard module.

Your subscriber list stays in your own database and you do not pay per email sent.

In short

1. Double opt-in gives you a clean list of real readers.
2. Record consent so you can always prove it.
3. Send from your own domain and make unsubscribing easy.