List Armor

Preference Center

Give subscribers control over their email preferences with a branded, compliant preference page.

On this page

Overview

The preference center lets subscribers manage their email preferences instead of unsubscribing entirely. By offering granular control, you reduce opt-outs while staying CAN-SPAM compliant.

Branded Experience

Custom logo, colors, and messaging

Topics

Organize emails into categories subscribers can control

Compliant

CAN-SPAM compliant with full audit trail

Better than unsubscribe: Instead of losing subscribers entirely, let them choose which emails they want. Keep engaged subscribers while respecting their preferences.

Setting Up

Your preference center is created automatically when you first visit it.

Getting Started

  1. Navigate to Preference Center from the main menu
  2. Your preference center is created with default settings
  3. Customize your branding (logo, colors, text)
  4. Create topics for different email categories
  5. Connect topics to your campaigns
  6. Share the preference center link with subscribers
One per account: Each List Armor account has a single preference center that applies to all campaigns. This ensures a consistent experience for subscribers.

Branding & Customization

Make the preference center match your brand so subscribers recognize it as legitimate.

Setting Description
Display Name Your brand name shown at the top of the page
Logo Your brand logo (PNG or JPG)
Primary Color Accent color for buttons and links (hex code)
Header Text Main heading text (e.g., "Manage your email preferences")
Success Message Confirmation shown after subscribers update preferences
Footer Text Optional footer for contact info or privacy links

Preview Your Changes

As you customize settings, use the preview to see exactly how subscribers will experience your preference center before going live.

Managing Topics

Topics are email categories that subscribers can opt in or out of individually.

Creating Topics

For each topic, provide:

  • Name — What subscribers see (e.g., "Weekly Newsletter")
  • Description — Brief explanation of what's included
  • Sort Order — Display position (lower numbers appear first)
Automatic list creation: Each topic automatically gets its own suppression list. When subscribers opt out of a topic, they're added to that list.

Example Topics

  • Weekly Newsletter
  • Product Updates
  • Promotional Offers
  • Industry News
  • Event Invitations
  • Partner Communications

Archiving Topics

Topics that have been used in campaigns cannot be deleted (for compliance reasons). Instead, archive them to hide from subscribers while preserving the historical record. Archived topics can be unarchived later if needed.

Campaign Integration

Connect topics to campaigns to track which emails relate to which preferences.

How It Works

  1. Create topics in your preference center
  2. When creating or editing a campaign, select relevant topics
  3. Include the preference center link in emails from that campaign
  4. When subscribers update preferences, their choices apply to those topics

Affiliate Tracking

Add a ref parameter to preference center links to track which affiliate's email led to the preference change: 

https://app.listarmor.com/preferences/<token>/?email=user@example.com&ref=affiliate-slug

This connects preference changes to specific campaign affiliates for analytics.

Subscriber Experience

Here's what subscribers see when they visit your preference center.

1
Subscriber clicks preference link

Link in email opens the preference center with their email pre-filled

2
Current preferences loaded

If they've set preferences before, their current choices are shown

3
Subscriber makes choices

Check/uncheck topics, or use global unsubscribe to opt out of everything

Preferences saved

Confirmation page shows your custom success message

Global Unsubscribe

The preference center includes a "unsubscribe from all" option for subscribers who want to opt out completely. This adds them to all topic suppression lists at once.

Tracking & Analytics

Every preference change is tracked for compliance and analytics.

What's Recorded

  • Email address — Who made the change
  • Topics changed — Which preferences were updated
  • Timestamp — When the change occurred
  • IP address — For compliance verification
  • Affiliate reference — Which campaign led to the change (if tracked)

Suppression List Updates

When subscribers change preferences:

  • Opt out of topic — Added to that topic's suppression list
  • Opt in to topic — Removed from that topic's suppression list
  • Global unsubscribe — Added to all topic suppression lists

Compliance

The preference center is designed with CAN-SPAM compliance in mind.

CAN-SPAM Requirements

Links Never Expire

Preference center links work indefinitely, as required by CAN-SPAM.

Audit Trail

Every preference change is logged with timestamp and IP address.

History Preserved

Topics can be archived but not deleted, preserving compliance history.

Immediate Processing

Preference changes take effect immediately, not just within 10 days.

Secure Links

Preference center links use cryptographic signatures to prevent tampering. Each link is unique to the subscriber's email address.

Best Practices

Keep Topics Clear

Use descriptive names and explanations. Subscribers should understand exactly what they're opting in or out of.

Limit Topic Count

Too many topics overwhelm subscribers. Start with 3-5 meaningful categories that reflect your actual email program.

Match Your Brand

Use your logo and brand colors so subscribers recognize the page as legitimate and trust it.

Prominent Placement

Include the preference center link in every email, not just as an alternative to unsubscribe.

Sample Email Footer

Don't want to receive these emails?

Update your preferences | Unsubscribe from all

Need Help?

If you have questions about setting up your preference center, our support team is ready to assist.

Contact Support