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Adding a form to a WordPress page is an essential task for any website owner who wants to collect information from their visitors. With WordPress, you can easily add a contact form to your website using the built-in block editor or third-party plugins like WPForms.
WPForms is a user-friendly plugin that allows you to create and add forms to your WordPress website without any coding knowledge. With its drag-and-drop interface, you can easily create custom WordPress forms for your website, including contact forms, feedback forms, surveys, and more. The plugin also offers a range of templates and pre-built forms that you can use to save time and effort and is probably the best WordPress contact form plugin.
To get started with WPForms, you need to install and activate the plugin on your WordPress website. Once you have done that, you can create a new form by clicking on the WPForms menu in your WordPress dashboard. From there, you can choose from a range of templates or create a custom form using the drag-and-drop builder. Once you have created your form, you can add it to any page on your website using the built-in shortcode or the WPForms block in the WordPress block editor.
Understanding WPForms
WPForms is a powerful form builder plugin for WordPress websites that allows you to create and customize forms with ease. With WPForms, you can create a wide variety of forms, including contact forms, survey forms, order forms, and more.
WPForms is available in both free and premium versions. The free version, called WPForms-Lite, is a great option for those who are just starting out or have basic form needs, and it has just introduced a payment integration with Stripe. WPForms Lite includes basic features such as a drag-and-drop form builder, pre-built WPForms templates, and spam protection.
The premium version of WPForms, on the other hand, offers more advanced features such as advanced payment integrations, conditional logic, multi-page forms, and more. With WPForms, you can create professional-looking forms that are fully customizable to match your website's branding.
To get started with WPForms, you first need to install and activate the plugin on your WordPress website. Once activated, you can create a new form by clicking on the WPForms menu in the WordPress dashboard and selecting “Add New”.
WPForms makes it easy to create forms by providing a drag drop form builder interface. You can add a variety of form fields, such as text fields, dropdowns, checkboxes, and more. You can also customize the form settings, such as form layout, form confirmation message, and form notification emails.
Installing the WPForms WordPress Plugin
In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins> Add New Plugin. Search for WPForms and click install, then activate WPForms.
Creating a New Form
Choosing a Template
WPForms offers a variety of free form templates to choose from, making it easy to get started. To choose a template, simply click on “Create New Form” and select a template that best fits your needs. You can also start with a blank form and add fields as needed.
Customizing Your Form
Once you have selected a template, you can customize your form by adding, removing, or editing fields. To add a new field, simply drag and drop it from the field options on the right-hand side of the screen. To edit an existing field, click on it to access its individual settings.
You can also customize the title of your form, individual form field names, and dropdown options. Additionally, you can change the background color of your form to match your website's branding. You can also customize the color and text on the submit button.
Adding A Form to a New Page
To add your form to a new page, simply create a new page and click on the “+” icon to add a new block. Search for the “Form” block and select it to add it to your page. From there, select the form you just created and click “Publish” to make it live on your website.
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Adding a Form to a Sidebar Widget
You can add a form to a sidebar widget in the same way that you add one to a page or post. Click on the “+” icon and search for the “Form” block and add it to your sidebar. This is a great idea for adding a contact form or a sign up form to every post by putting it in the sidebar.
Publishing the Form
Before publishing your form, be sure to preview it to ensure that everything looks and functions as intended. You can do this by clicking the “Preview” button in the top right-hand corner of the screen.
Form Settings
WPForms offers a variety of settings to customize your form even further. You can choose to receive email notifications when someone submits a form, add a follow-up message to be displayed after submission, and confirmation emails to be sent to email subscribers. To access your form settings, click on the gear icon in the top left-hand corner of the screen.
Advanced Form Customization
For those looking to take their forms to the next level, WPForms also offers advanced customization options. You can add custom CSS to your form to change its appearance even further, or use the advanced form builder to create complex forms with multiple pages and conditional logic.
Exploring WPForms Features
Contact Forms
WPForms makes it easy to create a simple contact form for your website. You can add fields such as name, email, phone number, and message to your contact form. You can also customize the form with your own branding and choose where to send the form submissions.
Here are some additional forms that can be created with WPForms:
- Subscription Forms
- Event Registration
- Quizzes – Premium Feature
- Appointment Booking -Premium Feature
- Surveys and Polls – Premium Feature
Managing Form Submissions
Once you have added a form to your WordPress page using WPForms, you can easily manage the form submissions. This is an important aspect of using forms on your website, as it allows you to stay on top of incoming messages and inquiries.
WPForms Lite will send submissions to your email. WPForms Pro will save them on your WordPress site.
To view form submissions, simply go to the WPForms Pro plugin in your WordPress dashboard. From there, you can see all of the forms you have created, along with the number of submissions for each form.
Clicking on a form will take you to the form submissions page, where you can view all of the submissions for that particular form. You can also filter submissions by date, export them to a CSV file, and delete old submissions if necessary.
When a user submits a form on your website, they will receive a confirmation message. This message can be customized to fit your needs, and can include a thank you message or instructions for what the user should expect next.
In addition to the confirmation message, you can also set up email confirmations to be sent to both the user and yourself. This ensures that you receive a notification every time a form is submitted, and allows you to respond to inquiries in a timely manner.
WPForms Notifications and Emails
Once you've created a form using WPForms, you'll want to ensure that you receive notifications when someone fills it out. Fortunately, WPForms makes it easy to set up notifications and emails.
To begin, navigate to the Settings tab in the form builder. From there, click on the Notifications tab. Here, you can add a new notification or edit an existing one.
When creating a new notification, you'll need to specify the email address(es) where you want to receive notifications. WPForms allows you to send notifications to multiple email addresses, so you can ensure that everyone who needs to see the form submissions receives them.
In addition to specifying email addresses, you can also customize the subject line and message of the notification email. This can be useful if you want to ensure that the email stands out in your inbox or if you want to provide additional context for the form submission.
By default, WPForms sends notifications immediately when someone submits a form. However, you can also choose to delay notifications by a certain amount of time. This can be useful if you want to review the submissions before sending notifications to others.
Finally, WPForms also integrates with popular email marketing services like MailerLite, Mailchimp, and Constant Contact. If you use one of these services, you can set up automatic email campaigns that are triggered when someone submits a form. This can be a great way to follow up with leads or customers who have expressed interest in your business.
Security and Spam Protection
When it comes to adding forms to your WordPress site, security and spam protection should be a top priority. You don't want to risk exposing your site or your visitors to security threats or annoying spam messages. Fortunately, Easy WP Forms offers several features to help you secure your forms and prevent spam.
Spam Protection
One of the most important aspects of form security is spam protection. Easy WP Forms comes with built-in anti-spam measures to help you prevent unwanted messages from bots and spammers. It uses a combination of honeypot fields and Google reCAPTCHA to verify that the form was submitted by a real person and not a bot.
In addition, you can also use third-party spam protection services like hCaptcha. hCaptcha is a privacy-focused alternative to Google reCAPTCHA that provides better user experience and stronger security. With Easy WP Forms, you can easily integrate hCaptcha into your forms to provide an extra layer of protection against spam.
Security
Easy WP Forms also takes security seriously. It uses the latest security protocols and encryption standards to ensure that your form data is safe and secure. All form submissions are encrypted using SSL/TLS encryption, which prevents unauthorized access to your data.
In addition, WPForms also offers several security features to help you protect your forms from hacking and other security threats. For example, you can enable IP blocking to prevent malicious users from accessing your forms. You can also enable form submission limits to prevent users from submitting too many forms in a short period of time.
Payment Gateways with WPForms
If you're using WPForms to create payment forms for your WordPress website, you'll need to integrate a payment gateway to accept payments from your customers. WPForms supports several popular payment gateways, including PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net.
To add a payment gateway to your WPForms payment form, you'll need to have an account with the payment gateway provider and obtain the necessary API keys. Once you have the API keys, you can easily integrate the payment gateway with WPForms by following these steps:
- In the WPForms form editor, click on the Payments tab.
- Select the payment gateway you want to use from the list of available options.
- Enter the API keys and other required information for the payment gateway.
- Configure the payment settings for your form, such as the currency and payment amount.
- Save your changes and publish your form.
With WPForms and a payment gateway, you can create custom payment forms for your WordPress website and start accepting payments from your customers in minutes. WPForms also offers several payment form templates to help you get started quickly, including donation forms, order forms, and subscription forms.
When choosing a payment gateway for your WPForms payment form, it's important to consider factors such as transaction fees, payment processing time, and security features. WPForms supports several popular payment gateways, so you can choose the one that best meets your needs.
WPForms Alternatives
While WPForms is a popular and reliable WordPress form builder, there are several alternatives available that may better suit your needs. Here are some of the most popular alternatives to WPForms:
Contact Form 7
Contact Form 7 is a free WordPress plugin that has been around for over a decade. It is a simple and flexible plugin that allows you to create and manage multiple contact forms. While it lacks some of the advanced features of WPForms, it is a great option for those who need a basic contact form for their website.
Google Forms
Google Forms is a free online form builder that allows you to create surveys, quizzes, and other types of forms. It is a great option for those who want a simple and straightforward form builder that integrates seamlessly with other Google products. However, it may not be the best option for those who want more advanced features or the ability to customize their forms extensively.
Gravity Forms
Gravity Forms is a premium WordPress form builder that is known for its advanced features and flexibility. It is a great option for those who need a powerful form builder that can handle complex forms and integrations. However, it is more expensive than WPForms and may not be the best option for those on a tight budget.
Ninja Forms
Ninja Forms is a free and premium WordPress form builder that offers a wide range of features and integrations. It is a great option for those who want a flexible and customizable form builder that can handle a variety of use cases. However, it may be more complex to use than WPForms and may take some time to get used to.
Formidable Forms
Formidable Forms is a premium WordPress form builder that is known for its advanced features and customizability. It is a great option for those who need a powerful form builder that can handle complex forms and integrations. However, it is more expensive than WPForms and may not be the best option for those on a tight budget.
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