Are you looking to add a contact form to your WordPress website? You‘re not alone. According to a study by HubSpot, forms are the most commonly used lead generation tool, with 74% of businesses using web forms for lead collection.
Having a contact form on your website is essential for several reasons:
- It allows visitors to easily reach out to you without having to search for contact information
- It keeps your email address private, protecting you from spam
- It enables you to collect leads and customer data right from your website
- It integrates with your other marketing and CRM tools
Simply put, if you want to generate leads and interact with your audience, you need a contact form on your WordPress site.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll walk you through everything you need to know to create effective contact forms for your WordPress website. We‘ll compare the best WordPress form plugins, show you how to build a form step-by-step, share expert tips and best practices, and much more.
WordPress Contact Form Plugins Compared
While you can code a contact form from scratch, most WordPress users rely on plugins for easier form creation. But with over 1,000 form plugins in the official WordPress directory, how do you choose the right one for your needs?
Here is a comparison table of the most popular WordPress contact form plugins:
| Plugin | Ease of Use | Pre-built Templates | Spam Protection | Conditional Logic | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WPForms | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ (Pro) | $79+ |
| Ninja Forms | ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ (Pro) | $99+ |
| Contact Form 7 | ⭐⭐✰✰✰ | ❌ | ✔️ | ❌ | Free |
| Gravity Forms | ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | $59+ |
| Formidable Forms | ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ (Pro) | $79+ |
Based on ease of use, features and pricing, we recommend WPForms for most WordPress websites. It strikes the perfect balance between beginner-friendliness and advanced capabilities.
"WPForms is both easy and powerful. We love how quick and intuitive it is to create forms with the drag and drop builder and how we can use conditional logic and partial entries to optimize our lead generation."
– Adam Connell, Blogging Wizard
Of course, the right form plugin for you depends on your specific needs. For a simple contact form, the free Contact Form 7 plugin may suffice. For advanced use cases, a more powerful premium plugin like Gravity Forms could be a better choice.
How to Create a Contact Form with WPForms (Step-by-Step)
Now that you know why WPForms is our top pick, let‘s walk through how to use it to create a contact form on your WordPress site.
Step 1: Install and Activate WPForms
First, you‘ll need to purchase WPForms from their website and download the plugin ZIP file. Then, in your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New and click the "Upload Plugin" button at the top.
Choose the WPForms ZIP file you downloaded and click "Install Now". After a few seconds, you‘ll see a success message and an "Activate Plugin" link. Click that link to activate WPForms.
Step 2: Create a New Form
With WPForms activated, hover over the new "WPForms" item in your WordPress sidebar and click "Add New". On the next screen, you‘ll be able to choose from a variety of pre-built form templates.
Since we‘re creating a simple contact form, go ahead and select the "Simple Contact Form" template.
Give your form a name and click the "Create Form" button.
Step 3: Customize Your Form Fields
Now you‘re in the WPForms drag-and-drop builder, which lets you easily add and customize fields for your contact form.
The pre-built template starts with the following fields:
- Name
- Comment or Message
These are the essentials most contact forms need. But you may want to collect additional information like phone number, company name, order number, and so on. To add more fields, simply drag the desired field type from the left panel to your form.
For example, to add a phone number field, drag the "Phone" field to your form. Then click on the field to edit its options in the left panel. You can make the field required, change the label, and more.
Continue customizing your form until you have all the fields you need. You can preview how it looks by clicking the "Preview" button in the top right.
Step 4: Configure Notifications and Confirmations
After setting up your form fields, open the "Settings" tab in the left panel to configure your form‘s notification and confirmation settings.
In the "Notifications" section, you can designate the email addresses that should receive form submissions. By default, it will send to the site administrator but you can add additional recipients or change it to a different email entirely.
You can also customize the email subject line and body content. Use the "Show Smart Tags" option to easily insert form field values into the email. For example, you could include the user‘s name in the email subject line by adding the {name} smart tag.
Tip: If you want to send form submissions to multiple team members, create a shared inbox (e.g. [email protected]) to centralize your contact form entries and assign them to the appropriate team member for follow up.
Under the "Confirmations" section, set up the message users will see after submitting the form. The default confirmation message is "Thanks for contacting us! We will be in touch with you shortly." But you can customize this to your liking or redirect users to a specific page instead.
Step 5: Configure Form Settings
Next, go to the "Settings" tab and configure your form settings. The key settings to pay attention to are:
- Submit Button Text – Customize the label for your form submit button (e.g. "Send Message" instead of "Submit")
- Spam Prevention – Enable the anti-spam honeypot and Google reCAPTCHA to prevent spam submissions
- AJAX Forms – Enable AJAX form submissions for a better user experience
There are also settings for form scheduling, restrictions, privacy and more under the "Form Locker", "Scheduling", and "Privacy" tabs.
Step 6: Add Your Form to a Page
Now your contact form is ready to go! The last step is embedding the form on a page or post on your WordPress site.
To do this, create a new page or open an existing one in the WordPress editor. Click the "+" button to add a new block and search for "WPForms".
Select the WPForms block to embed a form. In the block settings on the right, select your newly created contact form.
Now publish or update the page and view it on the front end. You should see your contact form ready for submissions!
Best Practices for Contact Forms
To make your WordPress contact forms as effective as possible, follow these best practices and expert tips:
Keep It Short
Shorter forms tend to have higher conversion rates. Only ask for the information you really need, as each additional field creates more friction for the user.
According to a study by Hubspot, reducing form fields from 4 to 3 can improve conversions by 50%. So scrutinize each field and cut any that aren‘t essential.
Use Conditional Logic
If you do need to collect a lot of information, you can use conditional logic to make your forms less daunting. With conditional logic, you can show or hide fields based on a user‘s previous answers.
For example, let‘s say you want to collect a shipping address on your contact form. You could add a "Reason for Contact" field with the options "Question about an order", "Business inquiry", and "Other".
Then using conditional logic, you would only show the address fields if the user selects "Question about an order" as their reason. This keeps your form concise while still collecting all the information.
Consider Accessibility
When designing your contact form, prioritize accessibility so users with disabilities can still complete it. Use proper semantic HTML, provide labels for each field, and ensure your form can be navigated with a keyboard.
"Accessible forms are crucial for inclusion. They ensure that all your potential customers and leads can contact you, regardless of ability."
– Joe Dolson, Accessibility Specialist
For more on creating accessible forms, check out the W3C‘s tutorial on accessible forms.
Optimize For Mobile
With over 50% of web traffic coming from mobile devices, it‘s essential that your contact form is mobile-friendly. Use a responsive form layout that adapts to smaller screens and ensure your field labels and buttons are easily clickable.
WPForms automatically makes your forms mobile responsive. But it‘s still a good idea to test your form on multiple devices to check the user experience.
Customize the Submit Button
The submit button is the final step to form completion so it‘s important to get it right. Use a contrasting color to make the button stand out and choose compelling copy like "Send Message" or "Get In Touch".
Positioning also matters. Eye tracking studies have found that placing form buttons on the left side results in faster completion times, as it follows the natural F-shaped reading pattern.
Use Multiple Forms
Don‘t just limit yourself to a single contact form on your contact page. Use forms strategically throughout your site to capture leads in context.
- Add a newsletter sign-up form to your blog sidebar
- Include a quote request form on your services pages
- Show a feedback form after key conversion events
"The more opportunities you give users to engage with your brand, the more leads you‘ll generate. Don‘t make them search for your contact form – put it in multiple places and make it easy to find."
– Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights
Set Up Form Tracking
To gauge the effectiveness of your contact forms, you need to set up proper tracking and analytics. WPForms integrates with Google Analytics so you can track form views, submissions, and conversions.
Go to WPForms > Settings > Integrations to enable Google Analytics tracking. Then to view your form analytics, go to WPForms > Reports.
Monitoring your form analytics will help you spot areas for improvement. If a form has high views but low submissions, that could indicate the form is too long or complicated. Test simpler variations and track the results.
WordPress Contact Form FAQs
Got questions about WordPress contact forms? We‘ve got answers to frequently asked questions below:
What‘s the best free contact form plugin for WordPress?
For a basic contact form, the free version of WPForms (WPForms Lite) or Contact Form 7 are good options. They don‘t have advanced features but work well for simple forms.
Can I create a contact form without a plugin?
Yes, you can create an HTML form and paste the code into your WordPress site. But this requires coding knowledge and will lack the user-friendly features of WordPress form plugins.
How can I prevent spam form submissions?
Most WordPress form plugins include built-in spam prevention features like honeypot fields and reCAPTCHA integration. You can also use an anti-spam plugin like Akismet alongside your form plugin.
Where should I place my contact form?
Common placements for contact forms include your site‘s contact page, about page, sidebar, and footer. You can also use popups and slide-ins to present forms to users at key moments, like when they‘re about to leave your site.
How can I track contact form conversions?
To track form conversions, integrate your form plugin with Google Analytics or use a tool like MonsterInsights that includes form tracking out of the box. This will show you which forms are generating the most leads and where in your funnel to focus optimization efforts.
Conclusion: Your WordPress Contact Form Success Checklist
Adding a contact form to your WordPress site is one of the best ways to generate leads and engage your audience. To recap, here‘s your contact form success checklist:
- ✔️ Choose a user-friendly WordPress form plugin like WPForms
- ✔️ Use pre-built form templates for quick and easy setup
- ✔️ Keep your forms short and only include essential fields
- ✔️ Use conditional logic to show fields only when needed
- ✔️ Ensure your forms are accessible and mobile-friendly
- ✔️ Customize your submit button and place it to optimize conversions
- ✔️ Include forms throughout your site to capture leads in context
- ✔️ Set up form analytics to track performance and look for optimizations
With these best practices, you‘ll be well on your way to contact form mastery and more leads for your WordPress site. For more on contact forms and lead generation, check out our other articles:
