Subscribe block queries

  • Unknown's avatar
    heldbyhishands · Member ·

    Hi all,

    I have 2 queries releating to the subscribe block if anyone can help please.

    1 – Can I send an email to my subscribers without making a post?

    2 – Can I make a post that only my subscribers can view?

    I am right now trying to decide whether to sign up properly here (domain hosting) or whether Substack is more of what I need.

    Many thanks,

    The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

  • Unknown's avatar
    elcristofue · Member ·

    Hello, @heldbyhishands! I’ll be happy to assist you with this. 🙂

    Regarding your first question, you can send newsletter emails to your subscribers, but you’ll need to create a post first. If you’d like, you can limit who sees that post so only your subscribers can view it by following this guide:

    https://wordpress.com/support/newsletter/send-newsletter-emails/#manage-access-to-posts

    If you’d prefer to send an email without creating a post, you might consider using MailPoet, MailChimp, or another newsletter service. Keep in mind, adding MailPoet requires the Business plan or higher to install the plugin. Alternatively, if you’d rather not install plugins, you can use MailChimp with the MailChimp block following this guide:

    https://wordpress.com/support/wordpress-editor/blocks/mailchimp-block/

    Regarding your second question, you can create a post that’s visible only to your subscribers by adding a subscriber login block to that post. This will prompt readers to sign in before viewing your content. You can set this up easily by following this guide:

    https://wordpress.com/support/wordpress-editor/blocks/subscriber-login-block/

    Please let us know if you have any questions or if you’d like to explore our different plans, and we’ll be happy to help you further.

  • Unknown's avatar
    heldbyhishands · Member ·

    Sorry, I used my other account to reply, can you please delete that one?

    Many thanks again, though. Appreciate it.

  • Unknown's avatar
    elcristofue · Member ·

    All set. I’ve removed it for you 🙂

    If you have any questions or if there are any other features you’re curious about, feel free to reach out. We’re always happy to help!

  • Unknown's avatar
    heldbyhishands · Member ·

    Thank you.

    One more query – What’s the difference between the subscribe block and the newsletter options? I am a bit confused. Are they basically the same thing?

  • Unknown's avatar
    elcristofue · Member ·

    Sure, they work together, @heldbyhishands.

    The Subscribe block is what lets you collect your visitors’ email addresses. When someone enters their email into the Subscribe block, they’re added to your subscribers list. Then, using the Newsletter feature, you can send newsletter emails to those subscribers who signed up through the Subscribe block.

    I hope this helps clarify things! Feel free to let me know if you have any questions. 🙂

  • Unknown's avatar
    heldbyhishands · Member ·

    That’s great, thank you.

    I have found a 50% off voucher for first year too, so I think I will go for it.

    I do have another query – I just changed my theme, and noticed on my posts the title tag is a H2, and the site title is a H1 – While I appreciate this might not be a massive deal, I would rather follow best practices which is the title being a H1. Can I change it or is this just how it is on the theme? And I would have to find a theme that follows the guidelines I am after?

    Thanks

  • Unknown's avatar
    josefhtest · Member ·

    Hi @heldbyhishands,

    I have found a 50% off voucher for first year too, so I think I will go for it.

    That sounds good! Let me know how it goes.

    You are right to consider heading hierarchy, as it’s important for both SEO and accessibility.

    Since you’re using a block theme (also known as a Full Site Editing theme), can fully customize the heading levels in your templates.

    To update the post title to use an <h1> tag instead of <h2>, you can follow these steps:

    1. Go to Appearance > Editor in your dashboard.
    2. Open the template used for single posts (typically called Single Post).
    3. Click on the Post Title block.
    4. In the Tool bar, look for the Heading level option and change it to H1.
    5. Save the changes.
      Check this guide for reference: https://wordpress.com/support/wordpress-editor/blocks/heading-block/

    I’ve made a video on how to do it on Jaida Theme: https://www.awesomescreenshot.com/video/41159759?key=a9fcea7b32eeb54f8a17ef4da1b58b4f

    Let me know if that works for you.

  • Unknown's avatar
    heldbyhishands · Member ·

    Thank you so much. That worked!

    Going to be a pain and ask one more thing.

    My ‘held by his hands’ title – Can I make it bigger in size?

    Really appreciate the support.

  • Unknown's avatar
    josefhtest · Member ·

    Happy to hear that @heldbyhishands!

    And no problem! I can help you with that as well.

    Here’s how to do that from any template:

    1. Go to Appearance > Editor (also known as the Site Editor).
    2. In the top menu, select Templates.
    3. Open the template where you’d like to edit the site title (e.g. All Archives ).
    4. Click directly on the Site Title block. If it’s part of a Header template part, you might need to click Edit on the header first.
    5. Once the Site Title block is selected, you’ll see its settings in the right sidebar.
    6. Under Typography, adjust the Font size using one of the presets (like Small, Medium, Large) or enter a custom value (e.g. 36px).
    7. When you’re happy with the changes, click Save in the top right corner.

    This will update the site title size just for the specific template you’re editing (Changes on All archives are applied across the entire site).

    Let me know how it goes.

  • Unknown's avatar
    heldbyhishands · Member ·

    Hi,

    Thanks, that worked, again much appreciated :)

    I currently have my subdomain connected to search console, when I get the .com domain, do I delete that and put in the .com url into search console instead?

  • Unknown's avatar
    heldbyhishands · Member ·

    And can I do anything about my page insights speed score? It scored between 60 – 70 for performance with red errors on things.

    https://pagespeed.web.dev/analysis/https-heldbyhishands-wordpress-com-2025-06-15-how-do-you-trust-god-when-you-dont-feel-his-presence/qsepztb50p?form_factor=mobile

  • Unknown's avatar
    josefhtest · Member ·

    Hi there again @heldbyhishands,

     You don’t need to delete your current subdomain property from Search Console. Instead, when you get your .com domain, you can add it as a new property in Search Console, so Google can start tracking and indexing it.

    Regarding page insights speed, these tools often don’t consider specific software platforms, like WordPress.com, or tools required to keep your site looking and running well. While they can offer insight into site performance, a lot of the issues they highlight do not apply to a WordPress.com website. Ultimately, if you followed all of these tools’ rigorous rule-checking, you would have a blank site with just raw text because that loads the fastest.

    I checked your site speed and this is looking good!

    Here are other guides that you might find helpful:

    Increase Your Site’s Traffic

    Improve your website’s speed and performance

    Optimize Your Site for Search Engines (SEO) 

    Let me know if you need more help with it. 

  • Unknown's avatar
    heldbyhishands · Member ·

    OK, I only ask about speed as I was reading on Reddit posts about the LCP needing to load under 2 seconds or something? Mine loads between 6-8 seconds when doing the tests. Even though the site is fast when I test it on my phone.

    And I will add the .com to SC, do i need to resubmit my posts that are already indexed or just new ones going forward?

    Thank you again, sorry to be a pain.

  • Unknown's avatar
    josefhtest · Member ·

    Hi there @heldbyhishands,

    No need to apologize, I am happy to help!

    Regarding your move from heldbyhishands.wordpress.com to heldbyhishands.com:
    When you switch to the custom domain, it’s a good idea to add heldbyhishands.com as a new property in Google Search Console (GSC) and submit the sitemap. You won’t need to resubmit all individual posts — the sitemap will help Google reindex your content, and the 301 redirects from your WordPress.com subdomain will guide search engines and users to the new URLs. If you like, you can use “Request Indexing” in GSC for your key posts to speed things up.
    Check this guide for reference: http://wordpress.com/support/site-verification-services

    On your LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) concern: You’re right that Google suggests LCP should ideally load within 2.5 seconds. If your site loads fast on your phone but tools like PageSpeed Insights report 6–8 seconds, it could be due to factors like large images, fonts, or server location in the test.

    However, the fact that their site feels fast on their phone suggests:

    • The perceived delay could be due to testing tools simulating slower networks or device conditions.
    • There may be large media assets (like images or fonts) delaying LCP without affecting interactive speed.

      Still, it’s smart to optimize for LCP — especially images. You can find more information Image Optimization here:
      Optimize your images

    If you have any other questions, let us know.

  • Unknown's avatar
    heldbyhishands · Member ·

    Thanks so much, that’s super helpful.

    Had another look and not sure I can do much about the LCP, s my images are already around 60kb or so, which I think is decent?

    Yet again though, I appreciate your time.

  • Unknown's avatar
    josefhtest · Member ·

    It’s great to hear that the information was helpful @heldbyhishands!

    I checked your site and see that you have not uploaded many images besides the ones used as featured images for your post, and these are optimized. So far, your site is performing well, and I haven’t found any lag or speed issues. You can now focus on posting regularly and adding more content to your site.
    Here, you can find more tips on boosting traffic: https://wordpress.com/support/getting-more-views-and-traffic/

    If you are interested in more features and built-in products for performance and speed, you can check our hosting plan options Choose a WordPress.com plan

    Let me know if you need more help with boosting traffic or if you are interested in any plan. I’m happy to help!

  • Unknown's avatar
    heldbyhishands · Member ·

    Thanks. I just signed up for the personal plan with the 50% off. Still a bit concerned about the LCP even though I only have one image that is small. But not a lot I can do with the limitations, and the business plan is far too expensive for what it is.

    But I shall see what the next year brings! Appreciate all the tips.

  • Unknown's avatar
    purplecreatively60be36056f · Member ·

    📩 Subscribe Block in WordPress.com – Common Queries Answered

    If you’re using the Subscribe block (also known as the “Email Newsletter” or “Follow Blog” block), here are answers to common questions: ❓ What Does the Subscribe Block Do?

    It allows visitors to enter their email address and receive email notifications when you publish new posts. 🔧 How to Add It

    1. Open a post, page, or widget area in the block editor.
    2. Click “+” → Search “Subscribe” or “Email” → Insert block.
    3. Customize the text and button label (e.g., “Join Our Mailing List”).

    ⚙️ Where Do Subscriber Emails Go?

    • On WordPress.com, emails are managed via the Jetpack system (already built-in).
    • View/manage subscribers in your WP Admin → Jetpack → Subscribers or Marketing → Email Newsletter.

    📬 Will it Send Newsletters Automatically?

    Yes. Subscribers will get email notifications automatically when you publish a new post.

    For custom newsletters (not just post alerts), you’ll need a plugin like MailPoet or integrate with Mailchimp (paid plans). 🔒 Is It GDPR-Compliant?

    Yes, WordPress.com includes consent language and stores subscriber info securely. Still, consider adding a privacy policy page to your site. 🧪 Troubleshooting Tips:

    • Test it with your own email to confirm emails are delivered.
    • If it’s not showing up, ensure Jetpack is enabled and connected.
    • Use a public site (not private) for subscriptions to work properly.
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