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Tag: contact form

  • How to Add a Contact Form in WordPress (2023 Tutorial)

    A contact form is an excellent way to gather information from visitors to your WordPress website. Whether you want to capture orders, survey responses, or job applications, adding a WordPress contact form is an effective way for website visitors to contact and interact with you and your brand online.

    Benefits of Using a WordPress Contact Form

    There are many platforms and online tools available that allow you to create forms. Many modern platforms provide an easy-to-use interface, reporting, and analytics, among other features. However, using a WordPress contact form, you can have all these features and more within your WordPress interface. Here are some other benefits you can gain using a WordPress contact form:

    • Lead Generation – When you use a WordPress contact form, you can take advantage of those entries to grow your audience through your website. A good form plugin will have many many built-in features, so you won’t need separate plugins for lead generation, content funnels, email opt-ins, CRM integration, and more. It’s hard to do this if visitors email you directly from your website or their email platform.
    • Better Security and Validation – With a form natively built on your WordPress website, you can ensure the deliverability of your form results and use spam protection services like Recaptcha, Akismet, and more, protecting your email address and your user’s data.
    • Manage Entries and Contacts in One Place – A WordPress contact form can allow you to have one central location for your form entries and be able to use them throughout your site. Many form plugins allow you to sort, organize and export content from forms you can store and easily create exhaustive databases. This isn’t possible when people email you directly.
    • Create Various Form Types with Advanced Functionality – Surveys, polls, application forms, and more can all be created easily with a WordPress contact form. The limit is your imagination, and with form builders that allow for features like advanced calculations, conditional fields, and more, having a contact form on your website helps make your site an interactive experience for your visitors that’ll have them staying – and returning – to your website.

    How to Add a Contact Form to Your WordPress Site (Step-by-Step)

    We’ll use the popular and feature-rich WPForms Contact Form plugin to add a contact form to our WordPress website. We begin by installing the plugin onto our website.

    Install WPForms

    First, log in to your WordPress dashboard, and hover over Plugins. Then, click Add New and in the search box, enter WPForms. Click the Install button to begin the plugin installation process.

    Install WPForms

    Finally, click the blue Activate button to complete the installation of the WPForms plugin.

    Activate WPForms

    Now that the plugin is installed and activated, you can see that a new menu item has been added to your WordPress menu.

    Create your first form

    Creating Your First Form

    WPForms gives you multiple places to add a new form once you navigate to the dashboard. We’ll start by clicking the orange Add New button at the top of the dashboard.

    Creatings a new form from the WPForms Dashboard

    The form-building process in WPForms starts by naming your form and choosing one of the many templates available. To name your form, enter a title within the Title text box. Then select your form template. We’ll build a custom form for our tutorial, so let’s select the Blank Form template.

    Name form and choose your template

    After choosing the blank form template, you are presented with WPForms’ beautiful drag-and-drop builder. From the left-hand side, you’ll find your field types.

    WPForms field types

    Even with the free version, you are given several form field types that can empower you to create stunning forms. We’ll create a simple contact form and use the name, email, dropdown, and paragraph text fields for our form.

    Add form fields

    Now that we have our form fields selected, let’s look at some of the customizations we can make with WPForms.

    Customizing Your Form and Form Fields

    Firstly, let’s click on the Name form field. Next, we’ll select the General tab from the Field Options for this form field. Now, we’ll change the format of this field and select First Middle Last. Finally, we’ll toggle the Required Form field. This means that we’ve made it mandatory to have this form field filled.

    General Name field edits

    Next, let’s click on the Advanced tab. Let’s add placeholders to our name fields by filling in the placeholder field with our chosen text.

    Advanced form field edits

    To adjust our email field first, click on the email field. Then, click on the General tab. For this field, let’s add an email confirmation option (meaning users must confirm their email by entering it twice). We do this by toggling the Email Confirmation Field.

    Edit your email field

    For our dropdown field, let’s click on the field to begin. Then, click on the General tab. Now, we add a label to the form field so that our users know the purpose of this dropdown. Finally, we’ll add our options to this field.

    Add options and edit your dropdown field

    Lastly, we’ll move on to our final form field, the paragraph field. Click on the form field, then click on the General tab. Assign the field a label. Now that we’ve made edits to the form fields within our contact form, let’s adjust the form settings to match our needs.

    Customizing Your Form Settings

    To adjust our form settings, click on the Settings icon from the left side of the form builder. Then, click on the General tab. This tab allows you to edit the form’s general settings, such as its name, description, tags, etc. We will go ahead and change the text on our submit button. Scroll down to the Submit Button Text text box. Then, enter Send Message.

    Additionally, we’re going to change the processing text for our form. Add your chosen text to the text box. In our case, we edited it to Sending Message.

    Form settings general tab

    WPForms has built-in security; however, if you have another provider you’d like to use, you would use the Spam Protection and Security tab to integrate your chosen spam and security provider with your form. We’ll use the native provisions WPForm has in place for our form now.

    Spam and protection options with WPForms

    Now, let’s add some notifications to our form. This means we’ll receive an email when a visitor comes onto our website and sends us a message through our form. To enable this, first, click on the Notifications tab. Then, let’s change the Email Subject line to New Website Form Message. Also, let’s adjust the From Name to a name we’ll recognize in our email inbox. With the pro version of WPForms, multiple notifications can be added in the future.

    Add new form notification

    Finally, let’s send our website visitors a confirmation that we’ve successfully received their form entry. To do this, click on the Confirmation menu option. Then, adjust your confirmation message in the textbox. You can also redirect users to another page on your website or show another page in addition to showing an on-screen message.

    Add confirmation message to your form

    After making all these changes to your form, click the orange Save button at the top right-hand corner of the screen. With our form created, let’s add it to our page!

    Adding Your Contact Form to a WordPress Page

    To add your form to your page, create a new page on your website or edit an existing page. Let’s create a new page for our contact form. First, hover over the Pages menu option, then click Add New.

    Add a new page to your WordPress website

    After we are directed to the default WordPress page editor, give your page a title. Then click the black plus icon to open the library of available blocks. Search WPForms and select the WPForms block.

    Create your new page

    Select your form from the dropdown of forms available.

    Select your form

    With your form selected, we can start styling it from within the Block Editor.

    Styling Your Form

    WPForms makes it very easy to style your contact form. While you can use CSS, you can also use the simple tools within the Block Editor to edit and style your form.

    Styling your form

    Within the editor, you can change the color of form fields, form field size, and much more with just a few simple clicks. This is what our form looked like before adding our styling edits:

    Form before styling

    After styling, this is what our form looks like. Notice the submit button has changed color, and edits have been made to the border of the form fields. Don’t forget we can also assign CSS classes to each aspect of our form and use CSS to customize our form further.

    After form styling

    With our form customized and our fields in place, we’ve successfully created our first WordPress form! Here are some tips and tricks you should remember while building your contact form.

    How to Get the Most Out of Your Contact Form

    Contact forms allow you to add a dynamic connection with visitors to your site. However, there are some tips you should remember as you plan on building your site.

    Think Outside the Box

    Though we made a simple form in this tutorial, WPForms and other contact form plugins have hundreds of templates you can use to create a wide array of forms. Forms aren’t just used to collect contact information but can be vital to successful your business. You can create surveys, take polls, and generate quotes for clients with many WordPress form builders. Using a contact form to collect product personalization requests is even possible. Also, don’t be afraid to get creative in the way that you use forms on your website.

    Keep Your Form Secure

    Spammers will use any means to achieve their tasks; one method is online contact forms. However, a security feature like Akismet or Recaptcha can help keep your form content and email address secure. Don’t forget to keep your form security tight as you add forms to your website.

    The Power of Integrations

    Integrations are where using a native WordPress contact form shine. You can create custom email subscription forms that automatically populate your email marketing solution (like Mailchimp). Your form can be connected to your CRM, allowing you to nurture leads effectively. WordPress contact forms instill trust in your customers as they look and feel like your website. Your form becomes a powerhouse that populates different aspects of your business while keeping your processes seamless and streamlined.

    Customize Your Form Notifications and Emails

    Remember to customize your notifications and emails if you’re sending notifications to yourself or your visitors. Adding your brand colors, changing boilerplate text, and more makes your website visitor feel trusting of your brand. Additionally, if you’re redirecting people to different pages after form submission, ensure these pages give your customers all the information they need to embark on their next steps with your website.

    Think About User Experience

    Building a conversion-optimized form ensures that your visitors successfully fill out and submit your form. Creating straightforward and easy-to-understand forms helps guide visitors to a successful form submission. Consider adding tooltips, descriptions, directions, and placeholders that inform your customers about your form’s different fields and sections, providing them with a seamless and frictionless process to completing your form.

    Consider Accessibility

    While not often discussed, accessibility is approaching the forefront of web design. Consider how other users may interact with your forms through alternative means. Ensuring that labels, ARIA, tab sequences, and more are in place helps those who may use the internet differently also to use your website and ultimately experience the interactive element of your website in a way that works best for their needs.

    More Contact Form Plugins and Platforms

    Here are some alternative contact form plugins and platforms to test out.

    • Formidable Forms: A popular form builder that has a clean drag-and-drop interface, more than 15 premium add-ons, creates advanced calculators, and more
    • Gravity Forms: Another WordPress form plugin that has a library of more than 30 form field types, payment processor integrations, and complex form templates such as quizzes, surveys, and more
    • Ninja Forms: Integrated with platforms like AWeber and CampaignMonitor, this form plugin boasts over 40 premium add-ons, making it a great form builder for those who value integration.
    • Contact Form 7: A powerful, free WordPress form plugin with a plethora of integrations from Mailchimp to Stripe
    • Divi: The most powerful WordPress theme has a great Contact Form module that makes creating branded, mobile-responsive forms on your website a smooth process
    • Google Forms: Another free form builder, Google Forms comes with every Google account and is a powerful builder with excellent analytics, allows for multi-page forms, and more.
    • Typeform: This form builder has become popular over the years due to its beautiful UI design, form animations, and integrations. It offers a unique way for users to engage with the form in a conversational way.
    • Jotform: One of the first online form builders, Jotform has had many changes and remains one of the most popular free online form builder platforms.

    Conclusion

    A contact form is a powerful tool that every website should have. Not only is it a way for your clients to contact you, but it’s a way to add an interactive element to your website. With a plugin like WPForms, which comes with a drag-and-drop builder, crafting highly-functional and beautiful forms is simple. Integrations, notifications, and security are features that make building a native WordPress contact form a mainstay in the website-building process. To further your research, check out our list of the best contact form plugins you can add to your following website. How do you add contact forms to your website? Is there a plugin that you like that you’d want us to learn more about? Let us know in the comments section down below!

    Featured Image via Viktoria Kurpas / shutterstock.com

    The post How to Add a Contact Form in WordPress (2023 Tutorial) appeared first on Elegant Themes Blog.

  • 9 Best WordPress Conditional Logic Plugins for 2023

    Are you looking for the best conditional logic plugins for your WordPress website?

    Conditional logic plugins allow you to show or hide information based on users’ responses and behavior. They help collect relevant leads, boost conversions, and provide a better user experience.

    In this article, we will show you the best WordPress conditional logic plugins.

    Best WordPress conditional logic plugins

    What is Conditional Logic in WordPress?

    In simple words, you can think of conditional logic as if-then statements. It is a technique where you can automatically display relevant information, snippets, or scripts to users based on their actions.

    For instance, a user may want to connect with the support team. If they select a support team as an option on your WordPress site, then you can show relevant contact information or a landing page.

    Similarly, let’s say a customer is looking for hiking shoes. You can use conditional logic to only show those products and addons that a customer is looking for.

    Where Can You Use WordPress Conditional Logic Plugins?

    You’ll find conditional logic in WordPress forms, automated email workflows, conversion optimization methods, and more.

    Here are some ways you can use conditional logic on your WordPress website:

    • Use conditional logic on your WordPress forms and dynamically change form fields based on the selection users make while filling out your forms.
    • Create optin campaigns and show popups based on different rules, like the user spending a certain time on the page or clicking a link.
    • Load code snippets and scripts based on conditional logic and user roles.
    • Ask different questions in online quizzes based on the user’s previous answers.
    • Display or hide products, addons, and other items based on customer choices on your eCommerce store.
    • Set up visibility rules using conditional logic to show menu items for your visitors.

    That said, let’s see the best WordPress conditional logic plugins you can use today for your website.

    1. WPCode

    WPCode - Best WordPress Code Snippets Plugin

    WPCode is the best WordPress code snippet plugin. You easily add custom code snippets to your website and manage them using the plugin.

    The best part, WPCode offers a conditional logic feature that lets you set up rules for running code snippets without editing code. It is super easy to use and offers a beginner-friendly interface.

    For example, you can load code snippets for logged-in users, run PHP code snippets for specific user roles and page URLs, and insert header and footer pixel scripts for certain pages.

    WPCode Smart Conditional Logic

    You can also hide custom code from running on pages like the homepage or for different user roles.

    2. Conditional Blocks

    Conditional blocks

    Conditional Blocks is a free WordPress plugin for hiding or showing different blocks in the content editor. You can control the visibility of each block without writing a single line of code.

    The plugins let you set up conditions where WordPress blocks will appear for different user roles or membership levels. For instance, you can show the image block to only logged-in users. It also allows you to show certain blocks based on screen size.

    Conditional Blocks offers a premium version as well. You get to unlock more conditions for showing WordPress blocks. For example, you can control block visibility based on post type, time, server requests, and more. There are also conditions for WooCommerce users in the pro version.

    3. WPForms

    WPForms

    WPForms is the best contact form plugin for WordPress. It is beginner friendly plugin that offers a drag-and-drop form builder, lots of templates, and a smart conditional logic feature.

    You can easily hide or show different form fields, display payment options, dropdown menus, and more based on the user’s responses.

    All you need to do is select the form field in the template and enable conditional logic. After that, you can set up the rules to show different form fields.

    For example, let’s say you’re running a net promoter score (NPS) survey on your website. If a user rates 8 or higher, then you can hide other questions in the survey using conditional logic. If they rate a lower score, then you can ask more questions to improve your performance.

    Enter conditional logic conditions

    Besides that, WPForms offers lots of other features and addons. You can integrate different payment services and create forms to collect online payments.

    It also works with some of the most popular email marketing tools, so you can easily collect leads and grow your email list.

    Other than that, there are addons for recovering form abandonment, tracking user journeys, adding save and resume features, learning about the user’s geolocation data, and more.

    4. OptinMonster

    The OptinMonster lead generation tool

    OptinMonster is the best WordPress popup and lead generation plugin. It helps you get more conversions, grow your email list, and increase sales.

    OptinMonster offers powerful display rules that you can use to display your campaigns to the right people at the right time.

    For example, you can show optin popups to users that spend a certain time on a page, visit a particular page, or scroll X% of the page.

    OptinMonster also offers an Exit-Intent technology, which triggers your campaigns as a user is about to leave your website. This helps recover abandoning visitors and converts them into subscribers and customers.

    Enter exact URL for exit intent display rule

    Other than that, you can display campaigns to users from a particular location or when they click a link. There are also display rules for eCommerce sites. You can show popups when customers have a specific cart total or when they view a product.

    OptinMonster also offers a drag-and-drop builder, which makes it very easy to create attractive campaigns. There are lots of templates for different types of campaigns and various customization options. You can also integrate it with leading email marketing tools to collect leads.

    5. YITH WooCommerce Product Add-Ons & Extra Options

    YITH WooCommerce product addons and extra options

    YITH WooCommerce Product Add-Ons & Extra Options is a WooCommerce plugin that lets you add extra options and addons to your products.

    The plugin is very easy to use and allows you to add options and extra services, like warranty, insurance, special transfer services, express shipping, customizations, and more.

    For example, if you’re selling jewelry and rings, then you can add an option to engrave the customer’s name. Or if you’re selling tech products in WooCommerce, then you can offer additional services like warranty, product customization, and device checkup.

    With YITH WooCommerce Product Add-Ons & Extra Options, you get a conditional logic feature that automatically shows or hides addons and options based on the customer’s selection.

    You can define rules, and when the conditions are met, users will be able to see extra services and addons on your WooCommerce products.

    6. Thrive Quiz Builder

    Thrive Quizzes

    Thrive Quiz Builder is the best WordPress quiz plugin and is part of Thrive Theme suite. It is beginner friendly to use, and you can create complex quizzes for your website without editing code.

    The plugin offers different quiz styles, which include a right/wrong, number, percentage, personality, and survey. Thrive Quiz Builder also provides pre-made quiz templates that you can use to get started quickly.

    Using the plugin, you can create conditional quizzes. The drag-and-drop quiz builder lets you display questions based on the user’s previous answers. Simply set the conditions where the next question will only appear if a person enters a particular answer.

    When they’re finished, you can direct them to a page or product based on their answers.

    Besides that, you can create badges for users, customize the quizzes, track results, check the quiz flow and see where users dropped off, and get detailed analytics of how your quizzes perform.

    7. Formidable Forms

    The Formidable Forms plugin and Signature addon

    Formidable Forms is the next WordPress conditional logic plugin on our list. The plugin allows you to create simple contact forms to advanced and complex WordPress forms, like mortgage calculators.

    Formidable Forms offers a conditional logic feature built into its drag-and-drop form builder. You can easily set up conditions for each form field and show or hide them based on the user’s answers.

    If you have a multi-step form, then you can use conditional logic to automatically skip pages and lead users to the relevant section. Similarly, you can send email confirmation or redirect users to respective pages based on their answers.

    Other features offered by Formidable Forms include pre-built templates for web applications. It also lets you create apps for real estate listings, product reviews, restaurant menus, and more.

    The plugin also has a visual views feature that allows you to display data from form entries on the frontend of your site.

    8. If Menu

    If Menu

    If Menus is the next conditional logic plugin for WordPress on our list. It is a free WordPress plugin that you can use to create dynamic menus and control their visibility on your site.

    The plugin lets you use conditional logic to show or hide different menu items. For instance, it lets you display certain menu items only if a user is logged in, hide menu items on mobile devices, show specific menus to admin and editors, and more.

    Similarly, you can also show menu items to users from different locations or show any entirely new menu to members.

    9. FunnelKit

    FunnelKit Automations

    FunnelKit is the best WooCommerce sales funnel and automation plugin. It lets you create high-converting landing pages, order bump pages, upsells, checkout pages, and more.

    FunnelKit Automation offers multiple triggers that you can for automating workflows. You can set up different conditions, and based on the user’s actions, you can initiate different tasks.

    For example, if a customer adds products to the cart but doesn’t checkout, then you can trigger the cart abandonment recovery workflow.

    Similarly, you can automatically show different products to customers as upsells or order bumps. This way, you’ll increase sales without spending on paid ads.

    Which WordPress Conditional Logic Plugin Should You Use?

    Choosing the right conditional logic plugin for WordPress depends on your requirements and what you want to achieve.

    If you want to create dynamic forms that show different fields to users based on their selection, then WPForms is the best plugin. It is super easy to use and offers lots of customization options.

    Similarly, if you are looking to run different code snippets based on certain conditions, then WPCode is the perfect solution. It lets you set up rules and conditions without editing code.

    On the other hand, you can use OptinMonster to display different campaigns based on user actions or create conditional quizzes using Thrive Quiz Builder.

    You can also use conditional logic in WooCommerce and use FunnelKit to trigger workflows based on customers’ selections and actions.

    We hope this article helped you find the best WordPress conditional logic plugins. You may also want to see our list of best WooCommerce plugins and how to start your own podcast.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post 9 Best WordPress Conditional Logic Plugins for 2023 first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • How to Create Your Company Org Chart in WordPress

    Do you want to create your company org chart in WordPress?

    Organizational charts can help visitors, clients, and potential customers learn more about your business, and find the right person to contact. If you have lots of employees, then an org chart can also help different teams communicate and work together more easily.

    In this article, we will show you how to create a company org chart in WordPress.

    How to create your company org chart in WordPress

    Why Create Your Company Org Chart in WordPress?

    An organizational chart shows how a company is structured, from the CEO right through to the different teams and individual employees within each team.

    A helpful organizational chart can help employees understand how other teams are structured, and who they need to contact in any situation.

    A chart may also be useful to third parties. For example, if you’re creating a client portal then an org chart can help clients find the best person to contact.

    You might even add a company org chart to your public WordPress website, to show the human side of your business and improve your brand’s reputation.

    That being said, let’s take a look at how to easily create and manage a company organizational chart in WordPress.

    How to Create Your Company Org Chart in WordPress

    The easiest way to build an employee chart is by using Organization Chart.

    With this free plugin, you can create charts using a simple visual editor, and add images, links, text, and popups to your company org chart.

    An org chart, created using WordPress

    The first thing you need to do is install and activate the Organization Chart plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

    Upon activation, go to Wpdevart Chart » Charts. Then, click on the Add New button.

    How to create a company org chart in WordPress

    This launches the user-friendly visual editor.

    To start, type in a title for the company org chart. This is just for your reference so you can use anything you want.

    Adding a title to a company organizational chart

    By default, Organization Chart adds one element to the chart. Typically, you’ll turn this into the head of your organization, such as the team leader or CEO.

    To add more people to the chart, simply hover over the default element. You’ll now see two small icons: a pencil and an arrow.

    Go ahead and click on the arrow, which adds one element directly below the first one.

    Building an organizational chart in WordPress using a plugin

    Now, simply hover your mouse over this new element and you’ll see three arrows.

    This allows you to add another element to the right or left of this person. Typically, people on the same level in an org chart have the same job title or similar responsibilities.

    Adding multiple levels to a company org chart

    You can also click on the downwards-pointing arrow to create a new level below this person. Usually, people will report to the person above them in an org chart.

    By hovering over each element and clicking on the different arrows, you can easily create your company’s structure. This includes multiple different branches or teams.

    Customizing a company employee chart

    The next step is adding content to each element, such as the person’s name, author photo, or email address.

    To get started, hover over any element and then click on the small pencil icon.

    Adding content to a company staff chart

    In the popup that appears, you’ll need to add a photo of the person.

    Go ahead and click on the ‘Upload’ button and then either choose an image from the WordPress media library or upload a new file from your computer.

    Adding employee images to a hierarchical chart

    After that, type in a ‘Title,’ which will appear directly below the person’s picture. Typically, you’ll want to use the person’s name.

    You can then add a ‘Description,’ which will appear beneath the title. Usually, you’ll want to type in the person’s job title, but you can also add a short sentence about their role.

    Adding a title to an employee chart

    Next, you may want to add a link to the image, title, or description. For example, you might link to a contact form for the person or maybe a page where potential clients can see the employee’s design or photography portfolio.

    To do this, simply type in the URL you want to use. Then, choose the area where you want to add the link using the settings in the ‘Select the link area’ section. For example, you might add a link to the person’s image or description.

    Adding links to a staff chart

    By default, the link opens in the same tab. You may prefer to open the link in a new tab, particularly if you’re using an external URL. To do this, simply check the box next to ‘Open the URL in a new tab.’

    You may want to show more information about each person in the company org chart. For example, you could add their business email address and phone number, bio, a more detailed job description, or any other information you want.

    This plugin lets you create a popup for each person. In this way, you can show detailed information without making the chart look complicated or text-heavy.

    To add a popup, simply click on the ‘Popup’ tab.

    Adding popups to a staff chart in WordPress

    You can now type your messaging into the small text editor. This editor has all the standard WordPress formatting, so you can add links, create a bullet point list, use bold and italic text formatting, and more.

    When you’re happy with the information you’ve entered, you can specify how visitors will open the popup using the settings next to ‘Select the Popup area.’

    How to add popups to a business website

    With that done, click on ‘Update.’

    Now, simply repeat this process for every person in the company org chart.

    Building an employee page using WordPress

    When you’re happy with how the chart looks, click on the ‘Save’ button.

    After that, it’s time to add the chart to your WordPress blog or website. Simply open the page or post where you want to show the company org chart, and then click on the ‘+’ icon.

    In the popup that appears, type in ‘WpDevArt organization chart.’ When the right block shows up, give it a click to add it to the page.

    Adding a block to a WordPress website

    That done, open the ‘Select a Tree’ dropdown and choose the org chart you created earlier.

    When you’re ready to make the org chart live, click on either the ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ button.

    Publishing an organizational chart in WordPress

    Now, you can visit your business website to see the company org chart in action.

    We hope this article helped you learn how to create your company org chart in WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to create automated workflows in WordPress, and our expert pick of the best live chat software for small businesses.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post How to Create Your Company Org Chart in WordPress first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • Pop Up Your Contact Game: Adding a Form in WordPress

    Are you looking for ways to increase engagement and get more leads on your WordPress website? One simple trick to boost your contact game is by adding a pop-up form. Pop-up forms are an effective way to capture visitors’ attention and encourage them to take action. In this article, we’ll show you how to add a pop-up form to your WordPress website and get more leads.

    Boost Your Contact Game with a Pop-Up Form in WordPress

    Pop-up forms are a great way to grab visitors’ attention and encourage them to take action. Whether you want to collect email addresses, gather feedback, or promote a new product or service, a pop-up form can help you achieve your goals. The good news is, adding a pop-up form to your WordPress website is easy. There are many plugins available that can help you create and customize your pop-up form in a matter of minutes.

    One popular plugin for creating pop-up forms in WordPress is OptinMonster. This plugin comes with a drag-and-drop builder that makes it easy to create custom pop-up forms without any coding skills. OptinMonster also offers various targeting and triggering options, so you can display your pop-up form to the right audience at the right time. For example, you can set up your pop-up form to appear after a visitor has spent a certain amount of time on your website or scrolled down a certain percentage of the page.

    Get More Leads and Boost Engagement with this Simple Trick

    Adding a pop-up form to your WordPress website can help you get more leads and boost engagement. By capturing visitors’ contact information, you can follow up with them and turn them into loyal customers. Pop-up forms also provide a way for visitors to give feedback or ask questions, which can help you improve your website and customer service.

    To make the most of your pop-up form, be sure to offer something of value in exchange for visitors’ contact information. This could be a free ebook, a discount code, a webinar, or a newsletter subscription. By providing a valuable incentive, you’re more likely to get visitors to fill out your form and become leads.

    Adding a pop-up form to your WordPress website is a simple and effective way to boost your contact game and get more leads. With the right plugin and targeting options, you can create a custom pop-up form that grabs visitors’ attention and encourages them to take action. So why not give it a try and see how it can help you grow your business?

  • 9 Best WordPress Forum Plugins in 2023

    Forums are a great tool to foster discussion and connection on the internet. With some of the best WordPress Forum plugins out there, it is easier than ever to create your own online community.

    In this post, we’ll provide you with our list of the most helpful WordPress forum plugins to help you get a forum up and running on your site.

    Key Features of the Best Forum Plugins (What to Look For)

    For those looking to create an online community, WordPress is a great platform to build on. When looking for a forum plugin, it needs to be able to do the job well. Look for these features of the best forum plugins:

    • User Accounts and Dashboards: User registration and management should be simple and efficient so users can register an account with ease and you can track user activity, receive real-time updates, and engage with the community.
    • Customization of Styles and Layouts: Look for a forum plugin with a wide range of customization options to help you create a forum that matches your brand’s style and layout, from color schemes to custom fonts.
    • Advanced Moderation Tools: To keep forums clean and spam-free, look for plugins with a variety of moderation tools that allow administrators to manage the content of their forums, including features like moderation queues, flags, and automatic spam filters.
    • Simple to Use: You want a simple forum that does not inhibit a community from growing, with a user-friendly interface and clear navigation to help users find what they’re looking for and participate in the community with ease.
    • Option to Subscribe to Topics and Receive Notifications: Subscribing to topic notifications is an essential feature for keeping users engaged with the forum. Participation is key in keeping the forum interesting and worth visiting.
    • Compatibility: Make sure your forum plugin is compatible with essential plugins and themes you will use on your site.

    The Best WordPress Forum Plugins

    Most would agree that the two most popular WordPress forum plugins are bbPress and BuddyPress. Although these plugins are free and provide a core foundation for building forums, they are often used with other themes and plugins to get a more polished design and user experience. Some of the best membership plugins and LMS plugins have built-in forums using bbPress and BuddyPress integration. So, we’ve expanded our list to include other plugins and themes that can help you build online communities with the tools you need.

    Here they are:

    1. Answers by Creative Minds (CM Answers)

    CM Answer Q&A Plugin for WordPress

    Answers by Creative Minds (a.k.a. CM Answers)  is a Q&A-style WordPress forum plugin designed to help you build engaging communities around answering questions. Its forum-like layout and functions focus on questions versus topics—making it perfect for creating a Stack Exchange/Quora-style forum. The basic free version has enough features to start, but the pro version is what makes Answers a great choice for building forums.

    Key Features for CM Answers:

    • Forum topic views and answer counters
    • Forum-related email notifications for administrators and users
    • Sorting options in the question and answer pages
    • The forum template can be easily customized
    • Ability to monetize forums with PayPal/Stripe integrations

    CM Answers Monetization

    Not only is CM Answers a great tool for building a Q&A-style forum, but it also offers unique features that set it apart from other forum plugins. For instance, website owners can use it to replace the commenting system on regular blog posts (without the need for a comment plugin). And, the forums can be monetized which is an ideal choice for thought leaders and bloggers who want to create a paid community around their offerings.

    CM Answers is for you if you…

    • Need a total Q&A forum solution
    • Have been kicking around the idea of creating a paid community (similar to a paid Facebook Group or Discord server)

    CM Answers Pricing: $39 per year

    Get CM Answers

    2. ForumEngine

    ForumEngine WordPress Forum Theme

    ForumEngine is a WordPress theme that makes it easy to turn your site into a discussion forum. Yes, theme. We’ve included it for those who may want a complete forum solution (or website) without having to build and design one yourself. A theme may be of particular interest to those who want to run a community forum on a separate WordPress installation on a sub-domain or in a root folder (eg. community.example.com or example.com/community).

    Key Features of ForumEngine:

    • Frontend style customizer with other frontend controls
    • Adaptive design for mobile use
    • User badges and achievements
    • Live notification system
    • Translation support

    ForumEngine Frontend User Styling

    One of its standout features is its detailed styling function, which gives you complete control over the look and feel of your forum. That, and individual users can customize styling their way with a front-end styler.

    ForumEngine is for you if you…

    • Have the flexibility to use a theme versus a plugin for your forum solution
    • Want to pay a low Lifetime (LTD) price for the software
    • Like an active developer who listens to feedback and posts updates regularly

    ForumEngine Pricing: $49 per year

    Get ForumEngine

    3. bbPress

    bbPress WordPress Forum Plugin

    bbPress is an incredibly popular WordPress plugin that makes it easy to add a forum to your site. Developed by some of the same team behind WordPress.org (the open-source project)—bbPress has an air of familiarity that is classically WordPress. We like that it seamlessly integrates with membership plugins like MemberPress and Paid Memberships Pro so that you can easily add a forum to your membership site. It even integrates with Lifter LMS to create a community forum for your online course as well.

    Key Features for bbPress:

    • Ability to create multisite forums
    • Customizable forum templates
    • Forum spam protection through Akismet
    • Fast, light, and built to WordPress standards
    • Extend your forum with numerous free, third-party plugins
    • Allow users to subscribe to topics and specific forums

    bbPress showcase of Free plugin user groups

    The key feature and advantage of bbPress are that it is completely free and open-source. This means that you can go to the website and download the plugin without having to worry about any upsells or hidden costs. And since it is developed to the highest standards, free and open source feels pretty good.

    bbPress is for you if you…

    • Want a lightweight and reliable forum plugin
    • Want a free solution that works without a lot of design options
    • Use a membership or LMS plugin that already has built-in integration for it.

    bbPress Pricing: Free

    Get bbpress

    4. Asgaros Forum

    Asgaros Free WP Forum Plugin

    Asgaros Forum is a lightweight and straightforward WordPress plugin that makes it easy to add a forum to existing websites. It’s designed to provide all the basic features of a forum without getting bogged down in unnecessary features and bloat, making it an ideal choice for websites that need a small and simple forum.

    Key Features of Asgaros Forum:

    • Users create profiles that come with notifications and personal feeds
    • Users have access to media uploads within the forum
    • Forum statistics and analytics
    • Guests can guest-post within forums
    • Moderation system for approval processes and forum banning
    • Compatible with Multisite

    Asgaros Forum Moderation Reports

    One of the great features of Asgaros Forum is its moderation tools. Moderators have deep visibility about who is online (in real-time), which makes it easy to keep an eye on what’s happening in the forum. Additionally, the plugin offers a simple admin page with topic/user monitoring, usage reporting, and moderation tools.

    Asgaros Forum is for you if you…

    • Need a forum solution that can be added to an existing website
    • Want just enough features to open up a forum but not too many to manage

    Asgaros Forum Pricing: Free

    Get Asgaros Forum

    5. wpForo

    wpForo free WP Forum Plugin

    wpForo is a comprehensive and user-friendly forum plugin for WordPress. It allows site owners to easily create modern forums where their users can participate, ask questions, answer, up-vote, and subscribe to topics. This plugin brings everything you need to run an efficient and professional community, including a powerful and beautiful forum with unique features. The core features of the plugin are free, but if you need more, some affordable add-ons allow you to integrate WooCommerce memberships, GIPHY, private messaging, and many more.

    Key Features for wpForo:

    • Easy drag-and-drop forum management system for admins
    • Member ratings and badges
    • Built-in forum sitemap, forum SEO tools, and caching system
    • Six end-user forum styles, including dark mode
    • Four forum layouts and designs
    • Built-in topic and forum subscription

    wpForo Forum Quality Sytyles and Design

    One of the reasons why many users prefer wpForo over other forum plugins is its modern design. Other forum solutions can tend to look dated (plus forums are hard to style anyways). It includes four major layout styles for site admins to use and six styles (sometimes called skins) that individual users can use to customize their experience (including dark mode!).

    Engage your community even more with gamification and reward points to users for getting likes and up-votes using MyCred plugin integration.

    wpForo is for you if you…

    • want a modern-looking forum option out of the box
    • Enjoy the core features and don’t mind paying for the occasion extension/add-on

    wpForo Pricing: Free with Paid add-ons available

    Get wpForo

    6. WP Discussion Board

    Discussion Board Forum Plugin

    WP Discussion Board – WordPress Forum Plugin is a user-friendly and practical solution for those looking to add a forum to their WordPress site. With a simple setup and a form-driven front-end design, this plugin is accessible to users with no prior WordPress knowledge.

    Key Features of Discussion Board:

    • User management for forum administrators
    • Frontend user self-serve and management
    • Spam reduction tools
    • Shortcode library to show forum on other pages and posts
    • Designed to look beautiful and work with any theme

    Discussion Forum Minimalistic Design

    The Discussion Board offers a minimalist and modern forum that can be placed anywhere on your WordPress website. The user registration process is streamlined and effortless. Overall, Discussion Board is easy to look at which isn’t the case with every forum plugin out there.

    Discussion Board is for you if you…

    • Like the idea of using form submissions as part of the forum experience
    • Need dedicated moderation and spam protection tools built-in

    WP Discussion Board Pricing: Free; Paid plans start at $49 per year

    Get WP Discussion Board

    7. BuddyPress

    BuddyPress WordPress Community Plugin

    BuddyPress is a powerful plugin developed by the same team behind bbPress and WordPress. It goes in a slightly different direction than bbPress in that it can transform your website into a social media network. BuddyPress can work with any WordPress theme to help you create an online community complete with user profiles, messaging, and networking options. It’s ideal for business owners and bloggers who want to build a community around their content and product.

    Key Features for BuddyPress:

    • Users can control profile visibility
    • Admins can create custom profile fields
    • Friendships and friend connections
    • Public and private messaging
    • Customizable emails

    BuddyPress Personal Profile and Friend Requests

    Forums are often great for creating community. BuddyPress goes the extra mile and brings social networking functionality directly into a WordPress website. It offers an exciting alternative to traditional forums and comment plugins with less emphasis on “staying on topic” and more emphasis on community engagement.

    BuddyPress is for you if you…

    • Like the idea of building a social network for your users directly on your site
    • Want community engagement that goes beyond forums
    • Don’t mind the extra setup that is entailed in creating social features

    BuddyPress Pricing: Free

    Get BuddyPress

    8. Sabai Discuss

    Sabai Discuss WordPress Forum Plugin

    Sabai Discuss is a premium WordPress plugin that offers a unique take on forums. It combines the best of both worlds by offering both a discussion stream and a question-and-answer tool, making it ideal for those who want to create a community-driven Q&A website, a discussion forum, a knowledge base, or even a helpdesk portal.

    Key Features for Sabai Discuss:

    • Discussion Stream makes it easy to stay on top of new activities with a streamlined information feed
    • Voting engine for threads within the forum
    • Upvote or downvote questions
    • Moderation system with user reporting
    • Forum users can use the frontend markdown editor

    Sabai Discuss Attractive Forum Layouts

    One of the standout features of Sabai Discuss is its attractive and easy-to-read interface. It’s designed to look like a Q&A platform like Quora or Stack Overflow, and it does so in a way that’s both functional and visually appealing. This makes it a great choice for those who want a forum that feels modern and engaging.

    Sabai Discuss is for you if you…

    • Enjoy purchasing products from Envato Marketplace
    • Need a Q&A-based forum setup

    Sabai Discuss Pricing: $24 (LTD) with 6 months of support

    Get Sabai Discuss

    9. Simple:Press

    Simple:Press Ultimate Forum Plugin

    Simple:Press is a feature-packed WordPress forum plugin that offers a sleek and customizable interface. Its threads are clean and have simple colors that complement your website’s content. The free version is fairly basic, but you can enhance its functionalities by purchasing a premium plan. Ideal for businesses that are planning for very large and complicated communities.

    Key Features for Simple:Press:

    • Sub-forum support
    • Forum ranking and badges
    • User-defined signatures
    • Upload avatars or use Gravatar or WordPress avatar
    • Forum statistics for the admin
    • Member profile options for users
    • Monetization potential

    SimplePress Clean and Advanced Forums

    Simple:Press touts itself as an enterprise solution. If you are looking for a robust and complex community forum, Simple:Press aims to be the ideal plugin for your needs.

    Simple:Press is for you if you…

    • Have enterprise-level dreams for your community
    • Don’t mind paying a pretty penny for advanced features
    • Want a modern-looking forum

    Simple:Press Pricing: Free; Paid plans start at $199 per year

    Get Simple:Press

    What are the Best WordPress Forum Plugins?

    Our list of the best WordPress forum plugins provides you with a glance into what’s available to you as you build your online forum. Should you want to monetize your community, you can consider using bbPress with a membership plugin like MemberPress or Paid Memberships Pro. Or you can use CM Answers or Simple:Press .

    If you are after a forum theme, check out Forum Engine as it is a complete forum built into a theme instead of a plugin.

    Plugin Price Free Option
    🥇 CM Answers $39/yr ✔️ Visit
    🥈 ForumEngine $49/yr ❌ Visit
    🥉 bbPress Free ✔️ Visit
    4 Asgaros Forum Free ✔️ Visit
    5 wpForo Free (Paid Add-ons) ✔️ Visit
    6 Discussion Board $49/yr ❌ Visit
    7 BuddyPress Free ✔️ Visit
    8 Sabai Discuss $24 (6 months support) ❌ Visit
    9 Simple:Press $199/yr ✔️ Visit

    When choosing any plugin on WordPress, it is important to look at features and pricing carefully. This means paying very careful attention to what is (and isn’t) offered with each pricing tier. WordPress offers many great free and cheap options for forum plugins. Enjoy building your community.

    Featured Image via M. Ageng sumantri / shutterstock.com

    The post 9 Best WordPress Forum Plugins in 2023 appeared first on Elegant Themes Blog.