Contact forms are a way to stay connected — giving anyone interested in who you are and what you do an easy step to get in touch. For those seeking in-depth insights, advanced forms can be customised to gather market research and other valuable participant data. You might even want to connect WordPress directly with an app or service you use for business.
From simple contact details to complex surveys, we’ll show you how to build the perfect form for your website with these 8 powerful plugins. We’ll go over how to install your WordPress forms plugin, too!
How forms drive engagement
So, you think you’d like to create a customised form for your WordPress website? It’s a smart idea. Contact forms are a fantastic way to stay connected with your visitors.
Forms make it easier for interested visitors to take action. No more copying and pasting (or misspelling) that email address across.
One of the main advantages is that you can do so without giving away your own personal or professional contact info — streamlining your inbox to receive messages as and when you’d like them.
Stats suggest that contact forms lead to higher conversion rates. According to Hubspot, nearly 50% of marketers agree that online forms are their highest converting lead generation tool.¹
Even so, it’s true that most contact forms see a low completion rate on average. This goes to show how important it is to keep forms short and focused. The average online form today features just 5 fields for users to enter.
Data suggests that shorter forms get higher conversion rates. One study showed that reducing a form even further — down to just 3 fields — can increase conversion rate by almost 50%.² Less is more!
Offering incentives can work wonders. Discounts, exclusive content, or small rewards can be the push someone needs to complete your form.
According to WordStream, top-performing CTA buttons tend to include English action words like “get”, “try”, and “reserve”, rather than “submit” or “enter”.³
While most internet shopping is done via mobile these days, 84% of people still prefer a laptop or desktop computer when it comes to filling out forms. Only 3% stated they prefer to fill out forms on a mobile device.⁴
How to choose the right form for you
There are lots of excellent contact form plugins available, both free and paid, offering various features and levels of customisation.
On the easy side, you’ll find plenty of plugins designed for basic contact forms. These focus on the essential fields and work to make sure visitors have a way to easily get in touch with you.
By including fields for a person’s name or interests, you make the interaction feel more genuine. This builds trust and encourages visitors to connect with you. You might even want to make your forms a bit more fun with interactive elements like sliders, quizzes, or even game-like features.
Marketers and researchers often need to dig deeper with their surveys. Using forms with conditional logic can help you do just that. This feature lets you customize what questions people see based on their earlier answers. It keeps your forms focused and relevant, giving you the detailed data you need.
Many advanced forms plugins can connect with popular business apps and services. This integration allows data collected through a form to be collected automatically through email marketing platforms, CRM systems, or other essential tools.
For busier websites, stronger spam filters and CAPTCHA buttons protect against malicious activity. Other forms allow visitors to upload files of a certain type.
Top #8 Best Forms Plugins for WordPress
1. Happy Forms
If you’re looking for a user-friendly option, HappyForms offers a cheerful interface for quick and easy form building. Don’t be fooled by its simplicity, however: HappyForms still packs in useful features like conditional logic and spam protection.
✓ Simple drag-and-drop form builder for easy customisation.✓ See changes instantly with the live preview feature as you design your forms.✓ Forms look great on any device due to its responsive design.✓ Create dynamic forms that change based on how people answer thanks to conditional logic.✓ Built-in spam protection with CAPTCHA support helps keep unwanted submissions at bay.
2. Everest Forms
Everest Forms is an easy-to-use WordPress plugin for creating and managing custom forms. Whether you need a straightforward contact form or something more complex, its intuitive interface helps you design them without needing to write code. And with a focus on looking good on any device, Everest Forms makes sure both you and your visitors have a smooth experience.
✓ Drag-and-drop builder for easy form creation.✓ Pre-designed templates so you don’t have to start from scratch.✓ Forms that change based on how users answer thanks to conditional logic.✓ Spam protection features to keep your inbox clean.✓ Receive email notifications whenever someone fills out your form.
3. Contact Form 7
Contact Form 7 is one of the most popular WordPress plugins for creating and managing contact forms on your website. It’s known for being simple to use, even if you don’t have any coding experience. You can easily design your forms and manage the messages people send, making it a great choice for websites, big or small.
✓ Easy-to-use interface for creating and changing your forms.✓ Manage multiple contact forms with different options for each.✓ Reduce spam with CAPTCHA and Akismet filtering.✓ Change the emails you receive and the confirmation messages people see after submitting.✓ Add different types of fields to your forms, like text boxes, email, dropdowns, and checkboxes.✓ Can be extended to connect with other popular online tools.
4. Contact Form by BestWebSoft
Contact Form by BestWebSoft is a WordPress plugin that makes adding contact forms to your website easy. It offers a user-friendly interface and options to change forms how you like. It also includes CAPTCHA spam protection to keep your inbox free of junk.
✓ Easy-to-use form builder with a visual builder.✓ Add different types of fields to your forms, like text boxes, email, dropdowns, and more.✓ Reduce spam with CAPTCHA protection.✓ Receive email notifications whenever someone submits your form.✓ Forms look good on different devices thanks to responsive design.
5. FormCraft
FormCraft is a flexible WordPress plugin for building custom forms without the hassle. Building up forms visually is easy, even if you need something more complex. Features like conditional logic (making your forms interactive) and the ability to connect with other popular tools make FormCraft a solid choice for managing form submissions.
✓ Easy drag-and-drop form builder with responsive design across all devices.✓ Add different types of fields: text boxes, email, dropdowns, and more.✓ Conditional logic lets your forms change based on user responses.✓ Works with popular email marketing services and other online tools.✓ Spam protection features to keep unwanted submissions at bay.
6. Formidible Forms
Formidable Forms is a powerful WordPress plugin that makes it easy to create both simple and complex forms. Advanced features like conditional logic (making your forms interactive), calculations, and the ability to connect with other popular tools make Formidable Forms a versatile choice for a wide range of form-building needs.
✓ Offers a wide range of fields: text boxes, email, dropdowns, and more.✓ Conditional logic lets your forms change based on user responses.✓ Perform calculations within your forms.✓ Works with popular email marketing services, CRMs, and payment services.✓ Keep your forms safe from spam with features like CAPTCHA.
7. Gravity Forms
Gravity Forms is a powerful and popular WordPress plugin with advanced premium features, including (you guessed it) conditional logic and the ability to connect with other popular platforms. Through its extensive library of add-ons and integrations, Gravity Forms can connect with popular services like PayPal, Mailchimp, Salesforce, and many others.
✓ Offers a wide range of fields: text boxes, email, dropdowns, and more.✓ Make your forms change based on user responses with conditional logic.✓ Break longer forms into steps for a better user experience.✓ Link up with popular email marketing services, CRMs, and other apps✓ Spam protection features help keep your inbox clean.
8. Contact Form by WPForms
WPForms is a user-friendly WordPress plugin that keeps form building easy. There’s hundreds of pre-made form templates, with a visual interface that lets you design the form you need without any coding knowledge. Features like conditional logic (making your forms interactive), spam protection, and its ability to connect with other popular tools, make it a well-rounded choice for all your website form needs.
✓ Pre-designed templates so you don’t have to start from scratch.✓ Conditional logic lets your forms change based on how people answer.✓ Works with popular email marketing services, payment platforms, and more.✓ Built-in spam protection keeps unwanted submissions away.✓ Forms look great on any device thanks to its responsive design.
How do I install a form plugin for WordPress?
As with any plugin, it’s incredibly easy to add (or remove) forms using WordPress. As we can’t give instructions for every single plugin out there, we’ll use Contact Form 7 as an example. All of these plugins can be installed in the same way, while most of the plugins themselves allow you to set up forms using similar principles.
Note that many plugins require the Block Editor (also referred to as the Gutenberg editor) installed. If you’ve installed the Classic Editor plugin, you may need to switch back to the Block Editor.
To begin, start by accessing your Managed WordPress dashboard and select “Plugins” from the left-hand menu, followed by “Add New.”
In the search field, look for “Contact Form 7.” Once you find it, click “Install” to set up the plugin. Then click “Activate.” Of course, you can try any another forms plugin, if you like!
Once activated, find the “Contact” option in the left-hand menu and select it. This will take you to the Contact Forms overview page. To create a new form, select “Add New.”
Give your form a descriptive title and then, in the “Form” section, add the text fields you want to include.
From here, enter a suitable Title for your form in the provided field and set what text fields you want to appear within Form.
Next, click on the “Mail” tab in the toolbar. Update the “To” field with the email address where you want form submissions sent. If necessary, also update the “From” address. It’s important to use an email address with the same domain name as your hosting account to ensure the mail is delivered correctly.
You can personalise the messages users see upon successful submission or error. Do this by selecting the “Messages” tab and editing the text as needed. Once you’re satisfied with your form, click “Save” within the “Status” window to finalise your changes. To make future changes to the contact forms you’ve created, just hover your cursor over the form’s title and select “Edit.”
And that’s it! While Contact Form 7 is a great way to make simple contact forms in WordPress, remember that there are loads of other form plugins out there. You’ll find different, advanced features (too many to cover here!) that might be handy for you or your business, whether that’s options for surveys, quizzes, taking payments, or connecting with other apps and services.
Wrap Up
Creating a custom contact form for your WordPress site is a smart move — protecting email privacy, making it easy for visitors to get in touch, and sometimes even boosting conversion rates. Installing a good plugin couldn’t be simpler with WordPress. When you choose the right plugin and design your form, be sure to keep it user-friendly with clear instructions and call-to-action buttons. Remember that it’s short, simple forms that tend to get the most responses.
References
https://wpforms.com/online-form-statistics-facts/Hubspot
https://www.quicksprout.com/contact-form-conversion-rate/
17 Best Practices for Crazy-Effective Call-To-Action Buttons
https://themanifest.com/web-design/blog/6-steps-avoid-online-form-abandonment/