Tutorial

WPForms Tutorial: How to Create Forms in WordPress

Creating forms in WordPress is a crucial task for website owners. Whether you want to create contact forms, surveys, payment forms, or registration forms, WPForms is one of the most user-friendly and powerful form builder plugins available.

In this tutorial, we will walk through the process of creating different types of forms using WPForms and how to integrate them into your WordPress site.

Table of Contents

  1. What is WPForms?
  2. Installing WPForms Plugin
  3. Creating a Simple Contact Form
  4. Customizing Your Form
  5. Embedding the Form on Your Website
  6. Advanced Features: Multi-step Forms, Surveys, and Payments
  7. WPForms Lite vs WPForms Pro
  8. Conclusion

1. What is WPForms?

WPForms is a drag-and-drop form builder plugin for WordPress, designed to help you easily create forms without needing any coding knowledge. It offers a wide range of features, from basic contact forms to advanced forms like payment gateways, surveys, file uploads, and more.

Key Features of WPForms:

  • Drag-and-drop builder
  • Pre-built templates
  • Responsive design (mobile-friendly)
  • Smart conditional logic
  • Payment integration (PayPal, Stripe)
  • File upload support
  • Multi-step forms
  • Spam protection (Google reCAPTCHA)

2. Installing WPForms Plugin

To get started with WPForms, you first need to install the plugin. Here’s how you can do it:

Step 1: Log in to Your WordPress Dashboard

Navigate to your WordPress admin area and log in.

Step 2: Go to Plugins > Add New

From the WordPress dashboard, click on Plugins on the left sidebar, then click Add New.

Step 3: Search for WPForms

In the search bar at the top-right, type in WPForms. Once it appears, click on the Install Now button next to WPForms.

Step 4: Activate WPForms

After the installation is complete, click the Activate button. You should now see a new menu item called “WPForms” in your WordPress dashboard.

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Step 5: Setup Wizard (Optional)

When you first activate WPForms, a setup wizard will appear to guide you through the basic configuration. You can either follow this or skip it if you prefer to configure the plugin manually.

3. Creating a Simple Contact Form

Let’s start by creating a basic contact form, which is one of the most common forms for any website.

Step 1: Create a New Form

  • Go to WPForms > Add New in your WordPress dashboard.
  • You’ll be taken to the WPForms builder interface.
  • Name your form something like “Contact Form” and choose the Simple Contact Form template from the options available.

Step 2: Customize Form Fields

The Simple Contact Form template typically includes fields like Name, Email, and Message. You can customize this by adding, removing, or modifying fields:

  • Add New Fields: On the left-hand side, you will see a selection of fields. Drag and drop any additional fields into your form.
  • Modify Existing Fields: Click on any field to customize its label, placeholder text, and whether it’s required.
  • Rearrange Fields: Drag and drop fields to rearrange their order.

Step 3: Save Your Form

Once you’re satisfied with the form design, click the Save button in the top-right corner.

4. Customizing Your Form

WPForms offers several options for customization to make your form more functional and visually appealing:

Field Options:

  • Single Line Text: Collects short text entries like names.
  • Email: Ensures the user enters a valid email address.
  • Dropdowns, Checkboxes, Radio Buttons: Allows for multiple choices or selections.
  • File Upload: Enables users to upload documents or images.

Advanced Options:

  • Conditional Logic: Show or hide specific form fields based on user input. For example, if a user selects “Yes” for a question, a new set of fields can appear.
  • Field Size: Adjust the width and appearance of the form fields.
  • Custom CSS: For developers who want full control over the look and feel of the form.
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5. Embedding the Form on Your Website

Now that your form is ready, it’s time to embed it onto a page or post.

Step 1: Copy the Shortcode

After saving your form, WPForms will display a shortcode at the top of the form editor (e.g., [wpforms id="123"]). Copy this shortcode.

Step 2: Paste the Shortcode on a Page/Post

  • Go to Pages or Posts in your WordPress dashboard.
  • Select the page or post where you want the form to appear.
  • Paste the copied shortcode into the content editor where you want the form to be displayed.
  • Alternatively, you can use the WPForms block in the Gutenberg editor. Simply click the “+” button, search for “WPForms,” and select the form you want to insert.

Step 3: Publish Your Page/Post

Once the shortcode is in place, click Publish or Update to make the form live on your site.

6. Advanced Features: Multi-step Forms, Surveys, and Payments

WPForms Pro (the premium version) offers a suite of advanced features to create more complex forms.

Multi-step Forms

Multi-step forms help improve user experience by breaking a long form into smaller, manageable steps. To create a multi-step form:

  • Go to the Add New Form option and select the multi-step form template.
  • Divide your form fields into different sections by adding “Page Break” fields.
  • Customize the progress bar style and step titles.

Surveys and Polls

If you need user feedback, WPForms Pro allows you to create powerful surveys and polls:

  • Add rating, Likert scale, and multiple-choice fields for detailed surveys.
  • Enable survey reporting to get visual reports (pie charts, bar graphs, etc.) of the responses.
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Payment Integration (PayPal and Stripe)

For eCommerce websites or businesses collecting payments online:

  • Use WPForms’ payment fields (available in WPForms Pro) to accept one-time or recurring payments.
  • Integrate with PayPal or Stripe in the Payments tab.
  • You can also add fields like Total, Dropdown pricing options, and Credit Card fields.

7. WPForms Lite vs WPForms Pro

WPForms comes in two versions: WPForms Lite and WPForms Pro.

WPForms Lite:

  • Free to use.
  • Includes basic features like drag-and-drop form builder, a simple contact form, email notifications, and basic form fields.
  • Suitable for users who only need basic forms like contact forms.

WPForms Pro:

  • Offers advanced features like payment integrations (PayPal and Stripe), conditional logic, multi-step forms, user registration, surveys, polls, file uploads, and more.
  • Comes with priority support and premium templates.

8. Conclusion

WPForms is a versatile and easy-to-use plugin for creating any type of form on your WordPress site. Whether you need a simple contact form or advanced features like payments and surveys, WPForms has you covered. With its drag-and-drop builder, anyone can create professional-looking forms without writing a single line of code.

Start with WPForms Lite if you’re new, and upgrade to WPForms Pro as your needs grow. Happy form-building!

By following this tutorial, you should now be able to create, customize, and embed forms using WPForms on your WordPress site. If you have any questions or run into any issues, feel free to leave a comment below!

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