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Why Your Mailchimp Popup or Form Won't Go Away (And How to Fix It)

26 threads Sep 16, 2025 Plugin → Mc4wp: mailchimp for wordpress

Content

You've deactivated or even uninstalled the 'MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress' plugin, but that pesky signup form or popup is still appearing on your site. This is a common and confusing issue reported by many users. This guide will explain the most likely reasons this happens and provide clear steps to permanently remove the unwanted form.

Why This Happens

The core 'MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress' plugin itself does not create popups or top bars. These features are typically added by separate, companion plugins. When you deactivate the main MC4WP plugin, these other plugins may remain active and continue to display their content. The most common culprits are:

  • BoxZilla: A popup and slide-in plugin developed by the same team behind MC4WP.
  • Mailchimp Top Bar: A separate plugin that adds a signup bar at the top or bottom of your site.
  • Theme or Other Plugin Code: Your theme or another plugin might have its own method for embedding a Mailchimp form that is independent of the MC4WP plugin.
  • Shortcodes in Content: The form might be embedded directly into posts, pages, or widgets using a shortcode (e.g., [mc4wp_form id="123"]), which will appear as raw code if the main plugin is removed.

How to Permanently Remove the Form or Popup

1. Check for and Deactivate Companion Plugins

First, log into your WordPress admin dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. Look for and deactivate any of the following plugins if they are present:

  • BoxZilla
  • MC4WP: Mailchimp Top Bar

After deactivating them, you can safely delete them. This should immediately stop any popups or top bars from appearing.

2. Search for and Remove Form Shortcodes

If the form was added manually using a shortcode, you will need to find and remove that code. Shortcodes can be located in:

  • Individual Posts and Pages (check using the Classic Editor block or a code editor in Gutenberg)
  • Widgets (Appearance > Widgets)
  • Theme files (e.g., header.php, footer.php) – less common

Manually editing each post can be time-consuming for large sites. A search and replace plugin may help, but it is crucial to create a full backup of your site before attempting any database operations.

3. Clear All Caching

After making these changes, your browser or a caching plugin on your site might still be serving an old, cached version of the page. To see the changes, you must clear all caching:

  • Clear your browser cache or view the site in an incognito/private browser window.
  • Clear any server-side or plugin-based cache (e.g., from WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, or your hosting provider's control panel).

4. Investigate Your Theme and Other Plugins

If the form persists after completing the steps above, the source is likely not related to the MC4WP ecosystem. The form could be a feature of your theme or another plugin. To investigate:

  1. Temporarily switch to a default WordPress theme (like Twenty Twenty-Four). If the form disappears, you know the issue is with your theme's code.
  2. Deactivate all other plugins except the MC4WP family. If the form disappears, reactivate your plugins one-by-one to identify which one is causing the conflict.

Conclusion

A form that remains after uninstalling 'MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress' is almost always caused by a separate plugin like BoxZilla or Mailchimp Top Bar, or by leftover shortcodes in your content. By systematically deactivating these companion plugins and cleaning up your site's content, you can successfully remove the form for good.

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