Home
>
Web Development
>
Newsletter Management Using PHP w/o mySQL for Beginners

Newsletter Management Using PHP w/o mySQL for Beginners

Let's begin by setting some limits. If you're like me, you like to keep it simple. All we're doing is collecting email addresses together for our mailing list, so biochemical engineering is out the window. If you're using Thunderbird (or that MS product), you can send nicely formatted newsletters out and retain all of the other awesome features of your email program so there's really no need for databases, logins, or pretty much anything else. We're going to stay far away from anything non-essential.

To keep it simple, I'll assume you have Dreamweaver or a comparable WYSIWYG composer; however, if you are editing source code you can click here to see an expanded version of this article with source code. Also, I've assumed that you have an extremely basic familiarity with PHP. If not, please begin by reading this click here to see an expanded version of this article with source code (for absolute beginners).

There are only 3 steps we're going to need:

Put HTML on the page to collect the user's name and email address.

Add in a little PHP and (possibly) change a filename.

Receive and process the emails.

Marching on, we need to put some HTML on our page to let the visitor enter in their name and email address. To do this using Dreamweaver, you'll need to create a form with the POST method, a text input named visitor_name, a text input named visitor_email, and a submit button.

We now have our excellent mailing list form up and you should check to make sure that it ended up where you planned. At this point, you may need to make another slight change. If the file's extension is not php, php3, php4, or phtml you should change the file's extension to php. Now, you will need to be careful here as file extensions are extremely important, so you may lose functionality when you change the file's extension. If this is the case, click here to see an expanded version of this article with source code and find a tutorial for the language.

Take a breather and get ready for step 2. Since this is a PHP tutorial, we're going to take a closer look at the PHP code used to send us the email. Being a language, we'll need to learn enough of the PHP vernacular to 1) use the information the user submitted, 2) create the body of the email, and 3) send the email.

The form we created sends 2 pieces of information: visitor_name and visitor_email. When PHP receives them it realizes that someone POSTed some information and to make it easy for you to get ahold of it creates a couple of special "things" you can use to refer to what the user entered: $_POST['visitor_name'] and $_POST['visitor_email']. Why does it call them by funny names? Well the $_POST part assures you that it was information that was submitted by your visitor and not some other PHP somewhere on your page. The part in quotes allows you to pick which piece of information was submitted by your visitor (don't stress on the brackets - they just separate the two pieces of information).

Great! We now have our visitor's information, so let's send it to ourselves. Sending email in PHP almost seems too easy. We just need to modify this line mail(TO, SUBJECT, MESSAGE); by replacing each of the bold capitalized words and adding this inside of PHP tags to our page. Replace TO with your email address in quotes. Replace SUBJECT with the subject you want to appear on the email inside of quotes. In an effort to keep it simple, replace MESSAGE with "{$_POST['visitor_name']} at {$_POST['visitor_email']} would like to subscribe to your mailing list." By now, the MESSAGE replacement is probably self-explanatory except for the curly braces. The curly braces just reassure PHP that the information inside of them really does refer to something it should already know (in this case what our visitor submitted).

Now we just need to include our modified line in the HTML page. Here's the whole modified line (don't forget the PHP tags!):

mail("MY EMAIL ADDRESS","Newsletter Subscription","{$_POST['visitor_name']} at {$_POST['visitor_email']} would like to subscribe to your mailing list.");

If you're a really observant reader, you're already wondering how PHP knows to wait until someone's submitted a subscription request. Well, in the example above, it doesn't. It's also missing some kind of message to inform your subscriber that their request was successful. Since this is introductory material and already lengthy, I'll save that explanation for another article. Just follow everything you've learned above and use this line of code instead (I've bolded my special addition), substituting the success message for one of your own:

if (isset($_POST['visitor_email'])) { mail("MY EMAIL ADDRESS","Newsletter Subscription","{$_POST['visitor_name']} at {$_POST['visitor_email']} would like to subscribe to your mailing list."); echo "Subscription Complete. Thank you!"; }

Er, that's all folks! You'll start receiving emails which you can then add to a mail list in Thunderbird. To manage unsubscription requests, just have a little note at the end of your mailing list saying to reply to the email to be removed and then edit your mailing list.

Jeremy Miller - Webmaster of click here to see an expanded version of this article with source code - The *NEW* PHP Reference & Tutorial Site For Non-Programmers

Lincolnshire shuttle from Midway .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare

In The News:

Most cameras allow you to instantly transfer images from a camera to a smartphone via Bluetooth, and you can print photos directly from your phone.

Security researchers have found a fake app pretending to be a version of the messaging app Telegram, and hackers are using the app to spread malware.

Meta recently announced it will cease working with third-party fact-checking organizations to flag misleading posts on Instagram, Facebook and Threads.

Scientists have developed a floating solar still device that is capable of harnessing the sun's energy to purify seawater and withstanding harsh maritime conditions.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says business email compromise scams are a serious threat, as shown by Teresa W.'s near loss of thousands of dollars.

Big tech coming in 2025 includes solar umbrellas, AI TVs, smart earbuds and crazy robots. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson gives his take on the wonders revealed at CES 2025.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson provides two methods to restore your contacts for iPhone and Android devices.

FBI warns that criminals are using generative AI to exploit individuals with deceptive tactics. Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson explains their tactics and how to protect yourself from them.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says hackers are embedding dangerous code in Chrome extensions to steal your data.

Google Maps Location Sharing is now built into Android settings; no need for Maps settings. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson discusses the welcome improvement for Android users.

Not all apps out there offer legit virtual private networks, according to Kurt the CyberGuy. He explains how to keep your information safe.

Apple's Image Playground transforms text prompts into images or animations in seconds, brining a world of creativity to the palm of your hand.

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter, which flew on Mars in April 2021, became the first aircraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on a planet other than Earth.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Thieves who have iPhones can usually detect a hidden AirTag in vehicles they are attempting to steal, and an RFID wallet may not help you.

Genmoji, the latest addition to Apple's Apple Intelligence suite, uses artificial intelligence to generate customized emoji based on text descriptions.

It's easy to find yourself swamped in unread emails. Here are a few simple steps to archiving them and clearing out some of your digital clutter.

Keep your retirement plan safe from data brokers selling your personal information. Kurt the CyberGuy explains how to protect yourself and your retirement.

Turo faces scrutiny after tragic incidents involving rented vehicles, raising questions about security measures and regulatory frameworks.

A Chinese company has developed a spherical, 276-pound law enforcement robot that has been chasing down criminals at impressive speeds.

Here are some powerful online sleuthing tricks you can use to check the credibility of a website, see old pictures of places you've lived and even learn more about your neighbors.

Beware scam calls: Avoid unknown numbers and protect your personal information. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about the increasingly common scam.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson helps you crush your New Year's goals with these 12 apps to help you stay on track and succeed.

There are many untapped safeguards and tips you can learn to take your Wi-Fi knowledge to the next level, technology expert Kim Komando shares her tricks.

Newsletter Management Using PHP w/o mySQL for Beginners

Web Development