Homepage Subscribe Forms & CTAs

Crimson can display CTA / Subscribe blocks in multiple places (including the homepage and the end of posts), but only when Ghost Members is enabled.

What visitors see depends on two Ghost membership flags:

• Members enabled (members_enabled)

• Invite-only (members_invite_only)

And one theme setting controls where sign-in/sign-up links point:

• Use Portal links (use_portal_links)

Where Subscribe/CTA blocks appear on the homepage

Crimson renders subscribe prompts in these homepage locations:

1. Subscribe block below the 3-Column Hero

   • Appears directly under the 3-column hero section when Members is enabled.

   • If the site is invite-only, the form is replaced with an invite-only message.

     

     Subscribe Form below the 3 Column Hero
2. Subscribe form inserted within Tag Sections flow

   • Injected automatically at specific tag-section positions (example: the 4th tag section insertion point), only when Members is enabled.

     

     Subscribe Form inserted within Tag Sections
3. Other CTA placements (theme-wide)

   • Depending on your layout, CTAs can also appear in other sections and at the end of posts, using the same rules described below.

     

     Subscribe Form in Post Sidebar

     

     Subscribe Form above Footer

All subscribe/CTA placements follow the same membership logic, so changing your Ghost Membership settings automatically updates every CTA block site-wide.

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Membership-driven behavior

1) When Members is disabled

Subscribe Forms are hidden

Condition

• Members disabled in Ghost Admin (Ghost membership features turned off)

Result

• All Subscribe/CTA blocks are hidden

  • Homepage subscribe inserts won’t render

  • The subscribe block below the 3-column hero won’t render

  • Post-bottom subscribe blocks won’t render

Expected UX

Visitors won’t see newsletter signup prompts from the theme because signup isn’t available.

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2) When Members is enabled (normal mode)

Subscribe Forms are visible

Condition

• Members enabled

• Invite-only disabled (Anyone can join)

Result

Subscribe/CTA blocks render a newsletter subscribe form.

What the form includes (visible UI)

A typical Crimson subscribe block includes:

• Title + short description (newsletter value proposition)

• Email input field

• Primary submit button (example: “Subscribe Now”)

• Required Terms/Privacy checkbox

• Space for inline success/error messaging

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3) When Members is enabled AND the site is Invite-only

Invite Only CTA with Sign In link

Condition

• Members enabled

• Invite-only enabled in Ghost Admin

Result

Subscribe/CTA blocks render an invite-only message instead of an email form.

Visible UI elements

• A headline explaining subscriptions are invite-only

• A short “contact the site owner” style message

• A Sign in link for existing members

What’s hidden (because there’s no form)

• Email input

• Subscribe button

• Terms checkbox

• Success/error states (nothing to submit)

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Portal links vs Theme pages

use_portal_links setting (what it changes)

This setting does not control whether CTAs appear.

It only changes where CTA links go when a CTA includes links like Sign in / Sign up / Subscribe / Account.

A) When use_portal_links is OFF (default theme pages)

• Links go to the theme’s routes/pages (example: /signin/, /signup/, /account/)

B) When use_portal_links is ON (Portal links)

• Links open Ghost Portal experiences instead (Portal overlay / portal flow)

• Use this setting if you prefer Ghost’s built-in Portal UX for authentication and subscription flows.

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Where these CTA/Subscribe states apply

The membership-driven states apply consistently anywhere Crimson renders a subscribe block:

• Homepage (injected blocks + below 3-column hero + other homepage CTAs)

• Post templates (commonly shown at the end of posts)

So if you switch your site to invite-only, all subscribe placements automatically change from:

✅ Email subscribe form → ✅ Invite-only message + Sign in link

And if you disable Members entirely, they all disappear.

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Troubleshooting

I don’t see any subscribe blocks anywhere.

Check:

1. Ghost Members is enabled (members_enabled = true)

2. You’re not in a layout where those sections are disabled/absent

3. If you’re testing in a cached environment, hard refresh (or test in incognito)

I expected an email form but I see an invite-only message.

That’s expected when:

• members_enabled = true and members_invite_only = true

Disable invite-only in Ghost Admin to show the email subscribe form again.

CTA links open the wrong experience.

Check the theme setting:

• use_portal_links

  • OFF → theme pages (/signin/, /signup/)

  • ON → Ghost Portal flow