How to set up double opt-in for quiz leads

A double opt-in quiz works like this: a visitor enters their email in your quiz, then gets a confirmation email and has to click a link before they count as confirmed. You trade a smaller list for a cleaner one. Quizably supports it: it sends the confirmation email, marks the lead Pending, and only counts it in analytics and fires the lead webhook once the person clicks through. The visitor is never blocked and still sees their result.

This guide covers what you gain and lose, how to turn it on, what to write in the confirmation email, and how to test the whole thing before you publish.

What is a double opt-in quiz?

Single opt-in: someone types an email, and they are on your list straight away.

Double opt-in: someone types an email, and they are asked to confirm it. A message arrives in their inbox saying “Click here to confirm.” Only after they click are they fully signed up.

Think of it as the difference between writing your name on a clipboard and answering a phone call to confirm that it was really you. The second takes more effort, but nobody can put your name on the list without you knowing.

The trade-off: a cleaner list or a bigger list

I would not pretend there is a free win here. Double opt-in costs you something.

What you gain

• Fewer typos and fake addresses. A person who mistypes their email never receives the confirmation, so the bad address never becomes a lead.
• Proof that the owner of the address said yes. Nobody can sign up someone else.
• A more engaged list. People who click a confirmation link are showing a bit more intent.
• Better deliverability over time. Sending to addresses that do not exist, or to people who never asked, is one of the quickest ways to hurt how inboxes treat your email. A confirmed list avoids much of that.

What you lose

• Some real people never confirm. The email lands in spam, or they forget, or they get distracted. You will have fewer confirmed leads than people who filled in the form.
• A delay. The person does not get on your list instantly, and anything that should only reach confirmed people, like the lead webhook, waits until they click.
• One more step for the visitor, at the moment they are most eager.

So should you use it?

Use it if you send regular email, plan to sell or promote, or care about list quality more than raw numbers. Skip it, or think carefully, if your list is tiny and every signup matters, or if your quiz result is delivered on screen and the email is a bonus.

My own lean: for a list you will email for years, use double opt-in. A smaller list of real readers beats a larger list of dead addresses. If you’re still comparing plugins, check whether double opt-in is built in. It’s one of the lead capture checks in the guide to choosing a WordPress quiz plugin.

How Quizably handles double opt-in

Here is what the plugin does, using only what it does:

1. The visitor fills in the lead form, before the quiz or at the end.
2. Quizably saves the lead as Pending and sends a confirmation email to that address. The visitor carries on to their result.
3. The visitor clicks the link in the email and sees a plain “Subscription confirmed” page.
4. Only then is the lead confirmed and counted in analytics.

You turn it on in the quiz builder: set the Form tab to show the form, then open Advanced and switch on Double opt-in. The Leads dashboard lets you search, filter and export leads as CSV, and the export has a double_optin_status column (pending or verified).

Pending leads do show up in the Leads list, and the lead detail panel says Pending or Verified. They are left out of the analytics lead counts.

The “new lead” email to you and the lead_captured webhook wait for the click. The submission_completed webhook and the “new submission” email do not wait, and the completed webhook carries the lead with double_optin_verified set to false until they confirm. If your automation should only act on confirmed people, check that field. See the webhook docs and the double opt-in docs.

Step by step: set it up

1. Open your quiz in the Quiz Builder and go to the Form tab.
2. Turn on lead capture and choose where it appears. Right before the result is the usual choice.
3. Enable double opt-in.
4. Know what the confirmation email says (see below).
5. Check the result screen shows the “Check your inbox” notice.
6. Test it yourself with real addresses.
7. Publish and watch the first few submissions.

What the confirmation email looks like

The confirmation email has one job: get a click. Quizably sends it for you, with the subject “Confirm your subscription” and a short plain-text body: “Please click the link below to confirm your subscription:” followed by the link. There is no screen to edit it. A developer can change the subject and body with the quizably_doi_email filter, and the link never expires.

Because it is plain text and comes from the WordPress default sender, it can look bare. That makes the on-screen notice and your own follow-up message more important.

What the visitor sees on the result screen

The visitor submits the form and goes straight on to the result. Quizably shows a notice in the result and thank-you screens: “Check your inbox.” followed by “We sent a confirmation link to (their email). Click it to finish subscribing.” So they are told there is one more step without you writing anything.

A few extra tips:

• Mention in your own copy that it can land in spam or a promotions tab. One short line helps.
• The result is not held back. Visitors see it whether or not they confirm, so nothing is gated. If you want a stronger gate, you would need to deliver the extras only after confirmation, for example from your email tool.
• Name the sender in your own page copy, so people recognize the site when the email arrives.

Deliverability basics, without the jargon

A confirmation email is useless if it does not arrive. You do not need to become an expert, but a few things are worth knowing at a general level.

• WordPress sends email in a basic way by default, and messages sent that way are often treated with suspicion by inboxes. Many site owners use an email-sending service or a mail plugin so messages are sent properly. Check what your host recommends.
• Use a from address on your own domain, one that looks like it belongs to you. Quizably sends the confirmation email with the WordPress default sender, so set this in your mail plugin or sending service.
• Your domain can have records that tell inboxes the message is really from you. Your host or email service will usually explain how to set these up. Doing so helps your messages reach the inbox instead of spam.
• Keep the message simple. Short text, one link, no big images, no heavy formatting.
• Test with more than one inbox, such as a few different providers.

If confirmation emails regularly land in spam, fix that before you promote the quiz. A double opt-in that nobody receives is worse than no double opt-in.

Keep the legal side in proportion

This section is general information, not legal advice. Rules about email consent depend on where you are and where your subscribers live, and they change. Some places expect you to show that someone clearly agreed to hear from you, and double opt-in is one way to have a record of that.

In practical terms:

• Tell people what they are signing up for, near the form.
• Link to your privacy policy.
• Include a way to unsubscribe in every email you send.
• Only send what you said you would send.

If you are unsure, ask a qualified professional who knows the rules for your situation.

Test it yourself before you publish

Testing takes ten minutes and saves you from launching something broken.

1. Open the quiz in a private browser window so you see what a visitor sees.
2. Take the quiz and enter an email address you can check.
3. Check the result screen. Does it show the “Check your inbox” notice?
4. Check your inbox and your spam folder. How long did the email take? Does it look right?
5. Before clicking, open the lead in the Leads dashboard. It should show Pending.
6. Click the confirmation link. You should see “Subscription confirmed”. Then check the lead again. It should now show Verified.
7. Repeat with a different email provider, for example a work address and a free webmail address.
8. Try a typo on purpose, such as a missing letter in the domain. No confirmation can arrive, so that lead stays Pending and never becomes confirmed.

If any step behaves differently from what you expect, fix it before you send traffic. If your leads go on to an email tool through the webhook, run the test end to end as well. What is a webhook explains how that part works.

What to do after confirmation

A confirmed lead is your warmest lead, so do not waste the moment. Send the welcome email with their result right after they confirm, and then follow with a short sequence. For the full set of ways to build your list with quizzes, see how to grow your email list with a quiz.

Your next step

If you are still planning the quiz itself, this quiz marketing guide covers goals, types and follow-up before you get to the form. Otherwise, open a quiz you already have, or build a small one, turn on double opt-in in the Form tab and run the test above with two different email addresses. Ten minutes of testing now will tell you whether your confirmation emails arrive, and that is the thing that decides whether double opt-in helps you or quietly loses leads.