Are you ready to create your first form with WPForms? By following the step-by-step instructions in this walkthrough, you can easily publish your first form on your site.
Note: The steps below are for WordPress version 5 or newer. If you are using an older version of WordPress, please see our tutorial on working with forms in the WordPress Classic Editor.
Before getting started, make sure you’ve installed and activated WPForms on your site.
Adding a New Form
To begin, you’ll need to be logged into your WordPress admin area. Once there, click on WPForms in the admin sidebar to go to the Forms Overview page.
Then, to create a new form, click on the Add New button to launch the WPForms form builder.
In the Setup page of the form builder, you can enter a name for your form (such as “Contact Us”) in the Form Name input field.
If you’d rather not enter a name, then the form name will default to the name of the template you choose.
Below the Form Name field, you’ll find many form templates in the Select a Template section. These are pre-built templates of commonly used forms to help you get started quickly.
You can use the categories in the menu on the left or the search bar in the top left corner of the template library to search through the available options.
Once you find a template that suits your needs, hover over it and click the Use Template button.
If you would prefer to build your form entirely from scratch, select the Blank Form template.
Note: Looking for even more templates? You can create your own or suggest a new one. We’d love to hear your ideas!
Customizing Your Form
Once you’ve selected a form template, the form builder will take you to the Fields screen.
The left panel will show you the available fields. The ones you have access to will depend on your license level.
Note: If you’d like more information on all the WPForms fields, be sure to check out our tutorial on how to choose the right form field.
In the right panel, you will see an editable preview of your form.
To add a field to your form, you can either click on it in the left-hand panel or drag and drop it directly into the form preview.
To delete a field from your form, you can hover over it and click the red trash can icon.
Accessing Field Options
Field options enable you to configure the details and settings of each field, such as its label and description.
To view and edit the options available for a field, click on it in the preview panel. The field options will then appear in the left panel of the form builder.
Note: Want to learn more about how to customize your forms’ fields? Check out our guide to WPForms’ field options.
Once you’re done editing the field options, click the Save button to save your changes.
Editing Form Settings
To access your form’s settings, click on the Settings tab on the left side of the form builder.
For this tutorial, we’ll focus on the first 3 settings available: General, Notifications, and Confirmations.
General
In this section, you can change the form name and description.
You can also customize the submit button and toggle on or off spam protections for your form.
By expanding the Advanced section, you can also add custom CSS to your forms. We only recommend these settings for more experienced users.
Note: Want to learn more about incorporating custom CSS into your forms? See our developer documentation for advanced tutorials and snippets.
Notifications
Form notifications are automated emails that are sent out when your users submit forms. In the Notifications settings, you can configure these emails according to your preferences.
Note: If you’d like more details on configuring notification emails, be sure to check out our guide on how to set up form notifications in WPForms.
Confirmations
Form confirmations are ways to inform users that they have successfully submitted a form. You can also use them to provide more information or options to your users.
Note: If you’d like more details on WPForms’ Confirmations settings, check out our tutorial on setting up form confirmations.
Once you’re done configuring your form’s settings, click on the Save button at the top of the screen to save your changes. You can click on the X button to exit the form builder.
Displaying Forms on Your Site
There are several different ways to add your forms to your site. For this tutorial, we’ll focus on how to display forms on your site within a page or a widget.
Embedding Your Form on a WordPress Page
There are two different ways to embed your forms on a WordPress page. You can use the built-in embed wizard in the form builder or add your form to a page manually with the block editor.
Embedding a Form with the WPForms Embed Wizard
Once you’ve finished customizing your form, you can use the Embed Wizard right from the form builder by clicking the Embed button.
From here, you’ll have the option to either create a new page to embed your form on, or to select an existing page to add your form to.
If you select the Create New Page option, you’ll be asked to enter a name for the page. Then click the Let’s Go button to embed your form and publish your page.
If you choose the Select Existing Page option, you’ll be asked to pick which page to embed your form on from the dropdown.
Then click the Let’s Go button to be redirected to the block editor to embed your form.
Embedding a Form with the Block Editor
Once you’ve opened the page editor, you can add a new block by clicking the plus (+) icon in the upper left corner.
This will open a menu of block options. To locate the WPForms block, you can search for “WPForms” or scroll to the Widgets category. Then click the WPForms block.
This will add the WPForms block to the page editor. Next, select the form you want to embed from the Select a Form dropdown.
After you select a form title, the full form will display within the WPForms block. You can open up additional settings for the block by clicking the three-dot icon, then Show more settings.
Within these block options, you can customize the following settings:
- Form: This setting allows you to choose a different form to display.
- Show Title and Show Description: With these options, you can hide or show additional form details.
- Advanced: Here you can add CSS classes to your form. This option is recommended for advanced users only.
Once you’re happy with your form and its settings, you can publish the page and visit your website to see your form in action. Here’s what our example would look like on a live site:
Embedding Your Form in a Widget
Note: These instructions are for the Block Widgets editor that shipped with WordPress 5.8. If you’re still using the Classic Widgets editor, please see our tutorial on using forms with the Classic Editor for steps to embed a form in a widget.
A WordPress widget is a small block of content on your site that performs a specific function. For instance, you can add the WPForms block to a widget area to embed a form in the sidebar or footer of your site.
Note: Want to learn more about WordPress widgets? Check out WPBeginner’s guide to using widgets.
To access your site’s widgets, navigate to Appearance » Widgets in the WordPress admin area sidebar. This will open the Widget editing screen.
From here the process is very similar to embedding a form in a post or page. First, find the widget area you want to add your form to. Click on it to be sure you’re editing the right area.
Then click on the blue plus (+) button in the top left corner of the editor.
In the block library, search for “WPForms” or scroll to the Widgets section and click on the WPForms block.
This will add the WPForms block to your selected widget area. You can drag and drop blocks to rearrange them as needed. Then choose the form you wish to display from the Select a Form dropdown.
Be sure to click on the Update button in the top right corner of the Widgets editing screen to save your changes.
Here’s a sample of what a form would look like in the footer on a live site:
That’s it! You now know how to create forms with WPForms.
Next, please be sure to test out your form. We’ve created a detailed testing checklist to help ensure that your form looks and works just how you’d like.
