AI Summary
Confession time — I’m really not that tech savvy. (If you’ve ever received an email from me, you probably already know this to be true…)
As such, I used to spend way too much time manually copying form submissions from my WordPress blog and into other tools. Every time someone filled out a contact form, I’d open my CRM, create a new lead, then hop over to my email platform to add them there too. It was really just a time-consuming waste of my energy.
So I’m excited to show you how connecting WPForms to n8n has transformed my entire workflow, and it can for you too!
In this step-by-step guide, I’ll walk you through setting up the WPForms n8n integration to automatically route form submissions to all kinds of destinations. Email marketing tools, CRMs, project management apps, and thousands of other services, just to name a few.
And, as always with WPForms, it requires no coding whatsoever. So if I can do it, anyone can do it. Let’s go!
How to Connect WPForms to n8n: Automate Your WordPress Form Workflows
What You’ll Need Before Starting
Before we dive into the setup process, let’s make sure you have everything ready. You’ll need:
- WPForms Pro license (or higher) installed and activated on your WordPress site
- WPForms version 1.9.8.1 or newer to access the n8n addon
- An n8n account (either self-hosted or n8n cloud)
The n8n addon is available exclusively with WPForms Pro and higher license levels, which gives you access to workflow automation capabilities that can seriously transform how you handle form submissions.
Create Your Wordpress Form Now
What You Can Do With the n8n Integration
Why do you need those tools to get started? Here’s why! WPForms + n8n allows you to stop being the middleman between your forms and all your other tools. These are a few examples of what you can do with it:
- Automatically add new leads to your CRM when forms are submitted
- Trigger email sequences in your marketing platform
- Create tasks in project management tools
- Send notifications to Slack or Microsoft Teams
- Store submission data in Google Sheets or databases
- Build custom multi-step automations across dozens of apps
The possibilities are virtually endless. And as I said, you can set everything up through a visual interface without writing a single line of code.
Step 1: Build Your Workflow in n8n
Your first task is to create a workflow in n8n that will receive and process your form submissions. Think of this as setting up the “receiving end” of your automation.
Add the WPForms Trigger Node
Log into your n8n dashboard and start a new workflow. In the workflow editor, you’ll see a canvas where you can add different nodes. These are like the building blocks for your automation.
Click the + (plus) icon to add your first node.
In the search field, type “WPForms” and select the WPForms Trigger option from the results.
If this is your first time using the WPForms node, you’ll need to install it by clicking the Install node button that appears.
Once installed, click Add to workflow to add the WPForms Trigger node to your workflow canvas.
This node will act as the entry point for all data coming from your WordPress forms.
Copy Your Webhook URL
After adding the WPForms Trigger node, click it to open the configuration panel. You’ll see several tabs and options, but the most important one right now is under the Parameters section.
Expand the Webhook URLs section and open the Production URL tab. This reveals the unique webhook address that n8n has generated for your workflow.
Click on the URL to copy it to your clipboard — you’ll need this in just a moment when we configure the WPForms side of things.
Keep this browser tab open as you move to the next step.
Step 2: Configure WPForms to Send Data to n8n
Now that n8n is ready to receive data, it’s time to configure your WordPress form to send submissions to your workflow.
Enable the n8n Integration
In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to the WPForms form builder. You can either create a brand new form or open an existing form that you want to connect to n8n.
Once you’re in the form builder interface, look for the Marketing section in the left sidebar and click on n8n. You’ll see a toggle switch labeled “Enable n8n Integration” — turn this on to activate the connection.
Enter Your Webhook Details
After enabling the integration, several new configuration fields will appear.
The first field you’ll see is for the Webhook URL. Paste the Production URL you copied from n8n earlier into this field.
By the way, there’s a helpful “Test Connection” link you can click to verify that your WordPress site can successfully communicate with n8n. It’s worth clicking this to catch any potential connection issues early.
Exchange the Secret Key
Security is important when connecting external services, which is why WPForms uses a secret key to authenticate requests.
You’ll see this Secret Key displayed in the WPForms settings. Copy it, then switch back to your n8n workflow tab.
Then, back in the WPForms Trigger node settings in n8n, find the Secret Key field and paste the key you just copied.
This ensures that only legitimate submissions from your WordPress form can trigger the workflow.
Activate Your Workflow
Before you leave n8n, there’s one crucial step: activating your workflow.
Look for the Active toggle switch in the top-right corner of the n8n interface and turn it on.
Keep in mind that your workflow should be complete with all the actions you want to happen after receiving form data.
You can always come back later to add more nodes and expand your automation, but make sure the basic structure is in place before activating.
Step 3: Choose When to Trigger Your Workflow
Back in the WPForms form builder, you’ll notice a Trigger Event dropdown menu. This powerful feature lets you control exactly when your n8n workflow should run.
Available Trigger Options
You have three trigger event options to choose from:
- Form Submitted triggers your workflow every single time someone completes and submits your form. This is the most common choice and works well for general contact forms, lead generation forms, and registration forms.
- Entry Marked as Spam activates your workflow only when a submission is flagged as spam by WPForms’ spam detection. This is useful if you want to log spam attempts, notify your security team, or perform additional verification checks.
- Payment Processed runs your workflow after a payment is successfully completed through your form. This is ideal for e-commerce applications, donation forms, or any form that accepts payments through Stripe, PayPal, or other payment gateways.
Choose the trigger event that best matches your automation goals.
Step 4: Map Your Form Fields
The Field Mapping section is where you tell n8n which pieces of information to receive from your form submissions. This is a critical step because it determines what data your workflow can access and process.
How Field Mapping Works
Field mapping pairs your WPForms fields with parameter keys that n8n will recognize. On the left side, you’ll enter a parameter key (this is the label n8n will use internally). On the right side, you’ll select which form field should populate that parameter.
For example, if you want to capture someone’s email address, you might enter “email” as the parameter key and then select your Email field from the dropdown menu.
If you want to capture their name, you’d enter “name” as the parameter key and select your Name field.
Adding Multiple Mappings
Most forms collect multiple pieces of information, so you’ll typically need several field mappings. After setting up your first mapping, click the blue + plus button to add another row. Continue adding mappings for each piece of data you want to send to n8n.
Common field mappings include email addresses, names, phone numbers, company names, message content, and any custom fields specific to your form.
Once you’ve configured all your field mappings, click the Save button in the form builder to preserve your changes.
And that’s all there is to it! See? I told you that if I can do it, you can do it too.
And now that you’ve successfully connected WPForms to n8n, you have the foundation for super-powerful workflow automation. Consider exploring our other addons and n8n integrations that can further streamline your processes.
Create Your Wordpress Form Now
FAQ About n8n
I know that n8n can seem overwhelming at first. But it doesn’t have to be! Check out the list of most frequently asked questions about n8n integration, and don’t hesitate to reach out to us for more support.
How can I test my n8n integration?
In the n8n workflow editor, click the “Execute Workflow” button. Then, switch to your WordPress site and submit a test entry through your form. Fill out all the fields as a real user would, then hit submit.
Switch back to n8n and check whether the workflow received the data. You should see the submission details appear in the workflow execution log. If everything looks correct, congratulations — your integration is working!
If you don’t see the data appear, double-check that your webhook URL is correct, your secret key matches, and your workflow is activated.
What if I accidentally delete the n8n node?
If you accidentally delete or remove the WPForms Trigger node from your n8n workflow, your form submissions will no longer trigger the automation.
To fix this, simply add a new WPForms Trigger node, copy its new Production URL, and update the Webhook URL in your WPForms form builder. Don’t forget to reactivate the workflow after making these changes.
Can I build complex, multi-step workflows?
Yes! The real power of n8n comes from chaining multiple actions together. After your WPForms Trigger node receives a submission, you can add nodes to:
- Send data to multiple destinations simultaneously
- Apply conditional logic (if/then scenarios)
- Transform or format data before sending it elsewhere
- Add delays between actions
- Create error handling and fallback procedures
Explore n8n’s node library to discover the hundreds of apps and services you can connect to your forms.
Next, Add a “Read-Only” Field to Your Online Form
You now know how to trigger an entire n8n workflow from your online form submissions. Congratulations! But what about form entries that need to be untouchable? Those that really shouldn’t be going anywhere… Usernames on a registration form, for example.
Did you know a field like that — well, nearly every field on your WordPress form — can be a “read-only” field? And it’s super easy to do! Check out the few simple steps to adding a “read-only” field to your form here.
Ready to build your form? Get started today with the easiest WordPress form builder plugin. WPForms Pro includes lots of free templates and offers a 14-day money-back guarantee.
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