### [How to Create a WordPress File Upload Form (Easy Guide)](https://wpforms.com/how-to-create-a-file-upload-form-in-wordpress/)

**Published:** December 17, 2019
**Author:** Hamza Shahid

**Excerpt:** Wondering how to let your website visitors upload attachments through a simple WordPress file upload form?

Giving users the ability to upload documents and media to your WordPress site can make it easier for you to collect the information you need.

In this article, I'll show you how to create a WordPress file upload form the easy way using the WPForms plugin.

**Content:**

Want to let your website visitors send you files without the hassle of email attachments?

If you’re collecting resumes, design proofs, cat photos (no judgment), or any other kind of file, adding a file upload form to your WordPress site makes life easier for everyone.

No email chains, no lost files, and no “Oops, forgot the attachment!” moments. And you don’t need to touch a single line of code to make it happen. Common uses include:

- **Job applications**: Resumes, cover letters, and portfolios
- **Client projects**: Design briefs, spreadsheets, and spec documents
- **Support tickets**: Screenshots, error logs, and screencasts
- **Content submissions**: Guest posts, images, and audio clips
- **Order forms**: Signed contracts, proofs, and custom files

[Create Your File Upload Form Now! 🙂](https://wpforms.com/pricing/)

In this article, I’ll show you the easiest way to create a WordPress file upload form using WPForms. Your visitors can send you exactly what you need, and you can stay organized without breaking a sweat.

## How to Create a File Upload Form in WordPress

Prefer to watch and learn? The video above will walk you through the entire process, or check out the steps below for the most up-to-date information.

- [Step 1: Install the WPForms Plugin](#step-1-install-the-wpforms-plugin)
- [Step 2: Choose a File Upload Form Template](#step-2-choose-a-file-upload-form-template)
- [Step 3: Customize the WordPress File Upload Form](#step-3-customize-the-wordpress-file-upload-form)
- [Step 4: Configure Form Notifications & Confirmations](#step-4-configure-form-notifications-confirmations)
- [Step 5: Add Your File Upload Form to Your Website](#step-5-add-your-file-upload-form-to-your-website)
- [Step 6: View the Uploaded Files in WordPress](#step-6-view-the-uploaded-files-in-wordpress)
- [Bonus: Advanced WordPress File Upload Features](#bonus-advanced-wordpress-file-upload-features)

### Step 1: Install the WPForms Plugin

To start, you’ll need to [install WPForms](https://wpforms.com/pricing/). As the best form builder plugin, you can easily create a file upload form with WPForms, thanks to its drag-and-drop interface. It even has a dedicated [File Upload field](https://wpforms.com/features/file-uploads/), which we’ll use in this tutorial.

[![The WPForms homepage](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/WPForms-Website.png)](https://wpforms.com/pricing/)

WPForms comes with [2,100+ form templates](https://wpforms.com/templates/) that you can use as-is or modify to make them your own. That includes several file upload form templates to help you create your form quickly and accept attachments, such as:

- **Documents** (.doc, .xls, .ppt, and .pdf)
- **Images**, (.png, .gif, and .jpg)
- **Videos** (.mpg, .mov, and .wmv)
- **Audio files** (.wav, .mp3, and .mp4)
- And more.

If you need help installing WPForms, learn how to [install and activate a WordPress plugin](https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/step-by-step-guide-to-install-a-wordpress-plugin-for-beginners/). Remember, you’ll need a paid license to use the File Upload field.

[Build Your WordPress Form Now](https://wpforms.com/pricing/)

### Step 2: Choose a File Upload Form Template

Go to your WordPress dashboard and click on **WPForms » Add New** in the left-hand menu to add a new form.

We’ll use one of WPForms’ [2,100+ form templates](https://wpforms.com/templates/) to make our file upload form and kick things off!

Scroll down and type “file upload form” in the template search field. When this template appears in the results, move your cursor over it and click **Use Template**.

![Choosing the File Upload Form template](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/choose-file-upload-form-template.png)Then WPForms will populate a pre-built File Upload Form, where you can **Add Fields** via drag-and-drop functionality to the form preview on the right side.

![The File Upload Form template](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/file-upload-form-template.png)Now we can customize our WordPress file upload form to make it relevant to our website and the customers that will be using it.

Remember that you can add extra fields or move your file upload field to a different spot just by dragging and dropping.

![Adding a File Upload field to a contact form](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-file-upload-field-contact-form.png)### Step 3: Customize the WordPress File Upload Form

With the File Upload Form template, you’ll already have the **Name**, **Email**, **Phone, File Upload**, and **Additional Comments** fields.

Click on any of the form fields to make changes to its **Label**, **Description**, and other settings like setting up **Smart Logic**.

![File upload field options](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/file-upload-field-options.png)If we talk about the File Upload field, you’ll notice that it comes with a list of different options for you to customize. These include:

- **Allowed File Extensions** — If you want to restrict the types of files that can be uploaded to your WordPress form, put them here, each separated by a comma.
- **Max File Size —** Specify, in megabytes, the max size file you’ll allow users to upload. If you leave this blank, WPForms will default to the maximum file size limit that’s allowed by your web host. If you need to increase it, see this tutorial on [how to change the maximum file upload size in WordPress](https://wpforms.com/how-to-change-max-file-upload-size-in-wordpress/).
- **Max File Uploads —** If you’ve chosen the Modern style (see below), you can specify how many files users can upload to your form.
- **Required —** If you want to require that users upload documents to WordPress before they can submit their form, select this checkbox.

![Modern file upload drag and drop](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/modern-file-upload-drag-and-drop.gif)In the **Advanced** tab of the field options panel, you have the following options:

- **Style** — You can switch between the default Modern style (recommended) and the Classic style. Only the Modern style allows for users to upload more than 1 file at a time.
- **Store file in WordPress Media Library** — Save files uploaded to this field in your site’s WordPress Media Library.
- **Enable File Access Restrictions** — Restrict access to file uploads using user role restriction or password protection.
- **Enable Camera** — Allow users to capture photos or videos directly through the form.

The File Access Restrictions option is worth highlighting. When enabled, you can [restrict who can view uploaded files](https://wpforms.com/docs/restricting-access-to-uploaded-files/) based on WordPress user roles or protect them with a password. This is useful if you’re collecting sensitive documents like contracts, medical records, or financial files. Only users with the right role or password will be able to access the uploads.

The Camera option is another feature I like. It lets visitors on mobile devices take a photo or record a video directly from the form without leaving the page. So if someone needs to submit a photo of a damaged product for a warranty claim or capture their ID for verification, they can do it right on the spot.

### Step 4: Configure Form Notifications & Confirmations

Notifications are an excellent way to know when someone submits one of your file upload forms. All forms in WPForms have notifications enabled by default.

- To get an email message when someone completes your form, you’ll need to [set up form notifications in WordPress](https://wpforms.com/docs/setup-form-notification-wpforms/) and provide your email address.
- You can also send a notification to the respondent if you’d like to let them know that their entry has been successfully submitted. For more on this, check out our step-by-step guide on how to send multiple form notifications in WordPress.

![Accessing a form's notifications settings](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/notifications-settings.png)There are 2 ways you can include your form’s uploaded file(s) in the email notification. The recommended option is to use [Smart Tags](https://wpforms.com/docs/how-to-use-smart-tags-in-wpforms/) to add a link to the body of the email.

![A file upload link in an email notification](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/notification-file-upload-link.png)Using **Smart Tags** means the image itself is not included in the email. That can help to avoid emails being tagged as spam.

If you’d like to include the image as an attachment, can scroll down to the **Advanced** settings for the notification and **Enable File Upload Attachments**.

![Enabling file upload attachments for an email notification](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/enable-file-upload-attachments-1.png)Keep in mind that email providers may have limits on the size of the attachments you can send from your site, so it’s best to test your form when you launch it.

Once you’ve set up the form notification, you can go ahead and check out our tutorial on [how to set up form confirmations](https://wpforms.com/docs/setup-form-confirmation-wpforms/). To start, click on the **Confirmations** tab in the Form Editor under **Settings**.

![form confirmations](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/multi-step-lead-form-confirmations.png)There are 3 different kinds of confirmations in WPForms:

1. **Message —** This is the default confirmation type. It displays a message after someone hits submit on your form, and is customizable.
2. **Display Page —** Automatically sends users to any post or page on your site like a thank you page.
3. **Redirect —** Useful if you want to take the user to a different website or specialized URL for more complex development.

Select the type of confirmation type you’d like to create. For this example, we’ll select **Message** and add a basic confirmation message.

![Customizing the file upload form confirmation message](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/file-upload-confirmation-message.png)Feel free to customize the confirmation message to your liking and click **Save** when you’re done. Now you’re ready to add your form to your website.

### Step 5: Add Your File Upload Form to Your Website

After you’ve created your form, you need to add it to your WordPress site.

And WPForms lets you add your forms to multiple places on your WordPress website including your pages, blog posts, and [sidebar widgets](https://wpforms.com/how-to-add-a-contact-form-in-wordpress-sidebar-widget/).

To begin to embed your file upload form, create a new page or post in WordPress, or go to the update settings on an existing one.

After that, add a new block and select the **WPForms** icon to proceed and add your form to the page/post.

![Adding a WPForms block to a page](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/add-wpforms-block-2.png)Click on the WPForms dropdown and pick the form you’ve already created that you want to insert into your page. So select your file upload form.

![Selecting a file upload form in the WPForms block](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/wpforms-block-choose-file-upload-field.png)Next, click on the blue button in the top right that says either Publish or Update, so your form will appear on your website.

![Publishing a file upload form](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/publish-file-upload-form.png)That’s it! Your file upload form is now live on your website and ready to start accepting attachments from your users.

### Step 6: View the Uploaded Files in WordPress

WPForms stores each form submission as an entry. To view uploaded files, go to **WPForms** » **Entries**.

![select-form-to-view-entries](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/select-form-to-view-entries-1024x734.png)And from there, select the right form from the list and click on **View** to view details and attachments related to the specific entry.

![Viewing an entry to your file upload form](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/view-file-upload-entry.png)Next, right-click the file to download the file, or click to view it in your browser, the choice is up to you!

![Viewing the file upload in an entry](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/entry-file-upload.png)Better yet, the WPForms WordPress plugin has tons of addons you can install so you can do more with your files.

For example, you can use our [Zapier addon](https://wpforms.com/addons/zapier-addon/) to automatically save all file uploads to different services, such as:

- [Google Drive](https://wpforms.com/how-to-create-a-wordpress-google-drive-upload-form/)
- [Dropbox](https://wpforms.com/how-to-create-a-simple-dropbox-upload-form-in-wordpress/)
- And many other cloud storage services

[Create Your File Upload Form Now](https://wpforms.com/pricing/)

### Bonus: Advanced WordPress File Upload Features

Once your file upload form is live, there are a few extra features worth knowing about. These can help you stay organized, keep files secure, and handle more complex workflows.

**Auto-Sync Uploads to Cloud Storage**

Instead of downloading files from your WordPress dashboard manually, you can automatically send uploads to the cloud service you already use. WPForms integrates with:

- **[Google Drive](https://wpforms.com/how-to-create-a-wordpress-google-drive-upload-form/)** — Automatically save uploaded files to specific Drive folders
- **[Dropbox](https://wpforms.com/how-to-create-a-simple-dropbox-upload-form-in-wordpress/)** — Route file submissions directly to Dropbox
- **[Amazon S3](https://wpforms.com/how-to-create-a-wordpress-amazon-s3-upload-form/)** — Store uploads in S3 buckets for large-scale file handling

This is especially useful if your team works in Google Workspace or manages files across multiple projects. Files land where they need to go without extra steps.

**File Upload Security**

Accepting file uploads means you need to think about security. A few things to keep in mind:

- Use the **Allowed File Extensions** field to restrict uploads to only the file types you actually need
- Set a **Max File Size** to prevent oversized uploads from eating through your hosting storage
- Enable **File Access Restrictions** (covered in Step 3) to lock down who can view submitted files
- Consider using **reCAPTCHA or Turnstile** on your form to block spam submissions

For a deeper look at protecting your forms, check out our guide on [file upload security best practices](https://wpforms.com/file-upload-security-top-tips-for-online-forms/).

**Multiple File Uploads**

If you need visitors to send more than one file at a time, the Modern upload style supports multiple file uploads in a single field.

You can set the exact number of files allowed using the **Max File Uploads** setting in the field options. For a full walkthrough, see our tutorial on [how to create a contact form with multiple file uploads](https://wpforms.com/how-to-create-wordpress-contact-form-multiple-file-upload/).

### FAQs About WordPress File Upload Forms

File upload forms are one of the most popular topics among our readers. Here are answers to the most common questions about creating and managing WordPress file upload forms.

#### Why Use a File Upload Field on My Forms?

You might need to add a file upload field to your WordPress forms so users can upload documents to WordPress as well as other types of files and media as they submit their forms to you.

#### What Kinds of Forms Can I Create?

One of the most common uses of a file upload field is in [job application forms](https://wpforms.com/how-to-create-a-job-application-form-in-wordpress/) so applicants can attach their resume files and other important documents. However, there are countless other scenarios where a WordPress file upload form can come in handy, such as:

- User-submitted content forms so users can attach a blog post or image they want to share
- Client services forms so clients can attach their spreadsheets or project spec documents
- Customer support forms so customers can attach screenshots or screencasts of their issue
- A [CSV file upload form](https://wpforms.com/allow-csv-file-uploads-wordpress/) so visitors can send you orders or timesheets
- Order forms where you want to [require payment with the file upload](https://wpforms.com/how-to-require-payment-on-a-wordpress-file-upload-form/)

#### What File Formats Does WPForms Accept?

When you create an image upload form, WPForms uses the same defaults as WordPress:

- **Images** (.png, .gif, and .jpg)
- **Documents** (.doc, .xls, .ppt, and .pdf)
- **Video** (.mpg, .mov, and .wmv)
- **Audio** (.wav, .mp3, and .mp4)

Sometimes you’ll want to accept file uploads that WordPress doesn’t allow by default. There’s an easy way to do that. Here’s [how to allow additional file upload types](https://wpforms.com/how-to-fix-file-type-is-not-permitted/) to your forms using a free plugin. It lets you specify the file format and MIME type for each additional file extension.

If you’d like to increase the maximum upload image size for your site, check out this tutorial on [increasing the maximum file upload size in WordPress](https://wpforms.com/docs/a-complete-guide-to-the-file-upload-field/).

#### How Do I Increase the File Upload Size Limit in WordPress?

By default, most WordPress hosts set the maximum file upload size between 2MB and 64MB. If you need to accept larger files, you can increase this limit in a few ways: editing your php.ini file, adding a line to your .htaccess file, or contacting your hosting provider to adjust the setting. For a full walkthrough, check out our guide on [how to change the maximum file upload size in WordPress](https://wpforms.com/how-to-change-max-file-upload-size-in-wordpress/).

#### Can Visitors Upload Multiple Files at Once?

Yes. When you use the Modern upload style in WPForms (which is the default), visitors can drag and drop multiple files into a single upload field.

You control the maximum number of files through the **Max File Uploads** setting in the field options. For step-by-step instructions, see our tutorial on [creating a contact form with multiple file uploads](https://wpforms.com/how-to-create-wordpress-contact-form-multiple-file-upload/).

#### How Do I Keep File Uploads Secure?

WPForms gives you several tools to protect uploaded files. You can restrict allowed file extensions, set size limits, and enable File Access Restrictions to limit who can view uploads by user role or password.

Adding reCAPTCHA or Cloudflare Turnstile to your form also helps block spam and malicious submissions. For more tips, read our guide on [file upload security for online forms](https://wpforms.com/file-upload-security-top-tips-for-online-forms/).

#### Can I Automatically Save Uploads to Google Drive or Dropbox?

Yes. WPForms has dedicated addons for Google Drive, Dropbox, and Amazon S3 that automatically sync file uploads to your cloud storage.

You can also use the Zapier addon to connect with hundreds of other cloud services. Files are saved to the folder you specify, so your team can access them without logging into WordPress.

#### Is It Possible to Accept File Uploads Without a Plugin?

Technically, you can code a custom file upload handler using WordPress hooks and PHP, but it requires significant development work and opens up security risks if not done carefully.

A form builder plugin like WPForms handles file validation, size limits, storage, spam protection, and access restrictions out of the box. For most sites, using a plugin is faster, safer, and far easier to maintain.

### Next, Create a File Upload Widget in WordPress

If you want to allow site visitors to upload files directly to your website using a widget, be sure to check out our helpful guide on [how to create a WordPress file upload widget](https://wpforms.com/how-to-create-a-file-upload-widget-in-wordpress/) and make it easier to collect the information you need!

[Create Your File Upload Form Now](https://wpforms.com/pricing/)

Ready to build your form? Get started today with the easiest WordPress form builder plugin. [WPForms Pro](https://wpforms.com/pricing) includes lots of free templates and offers a 14-day money-back guarantee.

If this article helped you out, please follow us on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/wpforms) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/easywpforms) for more free WordPress tutorials and guides.

**Categories:** WordPress Tutorials

**Tags:** attach files to forms, conditional logic, document upload, file upload, form entries

---