Recently, one of our readers asked us how to prevent newsletter signup spam in WordPress.
Sometimes spam bots fill in your newsletter signup forms and add dummy email addresses to your email list. This costs you money, and email service providers can mark your emails as spam.
In this article, we will explain how to prevent newsletter signup spam in WordPress and keep your email list healthy and spam-free.
What Is Newsletter Signup Spam, and Why Prevent It?
Newsletter signup spam is when a bot fills in a form and joins your email list.
It happens because some spambots simply fill in all the forms they come across. They are hoping to get a message to you.
While newsletter signup spam may be less noticeable than comment spam and contact form spam, it can still cause problems.
Almost all email marketing services charge you based on the number of subscribers you have in your list. This means that you can end up paying for subscribers who are just bots, which is a waste of your money.
Plus, if you are sending out emails to bot email addresses that don’t exist, then this can potentially damage your sender’s reputation.
There are several ways to prevent newsletter signup spam, and in this article, we will cover all the best methods:
Use Double Optin to Prevent Newsletter Signup Spam
Double optin, sometimes called confirmed optin, is useful in several ways. It means people have to confirm they want to receive your emails.
When users first sign up, they get a special email with a button or link to click. If they don’t click this, then they will not receive any further emails.
This method stops many spambots from becoming full members of your email list. They will not be counted in your total subscribers when your email marketing service bills you.
Double optin has many other benefits, too:
You will only email people who truly want to be on your list.
You will not be emailing addresses that don’t exist. This can happen if someone mistypes their email address when signing up.
Your emails will be more likely to get through. Some mail providers require double optin in order to deliver emails.
All reputable email marketing services offer double optin. This setting often comes enabled by default.
First, you need to log in to your Constant Contact email marketing account. Then, click on your name in the top right-hand corner and click the ‘My Account’ link.
Once you are on the My Account page, simply switch to the ‘Advanced settings’ tab.
Next, click the ‘Manage’ link under the Manage contact emails section. This will take you to the Contact Emails page.
On the Contact Emails page, scroll down to the ‘Confirm Opt-in (Double Opt-in)’ section.
Here, you just need to click the ‘Activate’ button to turn on double optin.
You will then see a popup asking you whether you want to continue.
Simply click the ‘Yes, Continue’ button.
Constant Contact will now take you straight to the optin confirmation email.
You can edit the text of this email if you want. The email provider also provides several customization options. You can add images, buttons, videos, social follow links, and more.
When you are done, simply click the ‘Continue’ button at the top.
On the next screen, you will see a preview of your email and other campaign details. Go ahead and click the ‘Activate’ button at the top.
New subscribers to your email list will now receive a confirmation email. They need to click the ‘Confirm Subscription’ button to become full members of your list.
Unfortunately, some spambots are clever enough that they can click on email links and confirm their membership in your list. In that case, you can try some of these other methods to prevent them from signing up for your email list.
Using reCAPTCHA on Your Newsletter Signup Form
Using reCAPTCHA is a great way to block spambots from completing your form and getting on your list in the first place.
We are going to show you how to use reCAPTCHA with 2 popular tools: OptinMonster, and WPForms.
Using reCAPTCHA with OptinMonster to Prevent Email Signup Spam
OptinMonster is a popular lead-generation tool that you can use on your WordPress site. It lets you create a wide range of email signup forms, including popups, slide-in forms, inline forms, sticky bars, and more.
You can easily add a reCAPTCHA to your OptinMonster forms (optins).
To do so, you must first sign up for Google’s reCAPTCHA and register your site there. Just follow our step-by-step instructions on using reCAPTCHA for help with this.
It’s easy to integrate OptinMonster with Google reCAPTCHA. Simply log in to your OptinMonster account and click on your profile name. From here, you can click on the ‘Sites’ link in the dropdown menu.
Here, you just need to find your website in the list.
Next, click on the ‘Edit’ link next to it.
Now, go ahead and scroll down to the Google reCAPTCHA fields.
Copy your Site Key and Secret Key from your Google reCAPTCHA account here and enter them in the respective fields in OptinMonster.
That’s all you need to do. All the email optin forms you create for that website will now be automatically protected against spam.
Using reCAPTCHA with WPForms to Prevent Email Signup Spam
If you are using WPForms for your newsletter signup form, then it’s easy to use reCAPTCHA to prevent bots from joining your list.
First, you need to enable reCAPTCHA by going to WPForms » Settings and clicking on the ‘reCAPTCHA’ tab.
To do this, you will need a Site Key and Secret Key from Google. Just follow our step-by-step instructions on using reCAPTCHA for help with this.
Once you have enabled reCAPTCHA, go ahead and edit your newsletter signup form.
You just need to click on the reCAPTCHA field on the left-hand side.
Then, you will see a message letting you know that reCAPTCHA has been enabled for your form.
Don’t forget to save your changes to your form.
Your form will now have the reCAPTCHA logo on it, showing that reCAPTCHA is active.
Most users will not even notice the reCAPTCHA if you use the invisible version like us. They will only be prompted to complete a reCAPTCHA test if Google thinks they might be a bot.
Using Smart Lead Verification From Emailable
Emailable offers an email verification service that checks email addresses on your list. You can use this service to remove duplicates, filter out temporary and disposable email addresses, and verify whether email addresses are active.
To get started, you can sign up by creating a new account or using your Google account.
After that, Emailable will ask you to select a source for your email list. You can drag and drop the contact list from your computer or select an email marketing platform.
For this tutorial, we will select the Constant Contact option.
Next, you can select the email list you want to validate. For example, we will choose the ‘General Interest’ group from our Constant Contact account.
After that, go ahead and click the ‘Import’ button.
On the next screen, you can simply click the ‘Verify’ button to continue.
You will get a free quality report for all the lists you upload or import into the app. It shows which emails are deliverable and which are risky, duplicate, unknown, or undeliverable.
You can switch to the ‘Emails’ tab from the menu on the left to filter these emails.
This lets you easily and quickly remove any spambots from your list.
Checking Your List for Suspicious Email Addresses or Activity
If you don’t want to use a smart lead verification service, then you can manually remove suspicious email addresses from your email newsletter list.
There’s no perfect way to identify spambots, but one of the following indicators could be a bot:
They have an unusual-looking email address, maybe with lots of numbers or multiple dots in it.
They open 100% of your emails and click on every link. While this could be a very engaged subscriber, it’s likely to be a bot.
They have never opened an email from you but have been a subscriber for a long time.
Once you have found suspicious email addresses on your list, you can simply delete these subscribers.
But what if you are not sure whether certain subscribers are real people or bots? You could tag them, then email them. Ask them to reply if they want to stay on your list. Then, go ahead and delete anyone who doesn’t reply.
To add a tag to a subscriber in Constant Contact, click the ‘Contacts’ tab, then click on your chosen list. Next, find your subscriber. The easiest way to do this is to search by their email address.
Next, click on the three dots to the right of the subscriber’s details.
From here, you can click the ‘Edit’ link.
Tip: If you want to delete a subscriber, you can do that here by clicking the ‘Delete’ link.
Now, it’s time to add tags in the ‘Tags’ section on the right-hand side.
Go ahead and click the ‘Create tag’ button.
A new window will pop up. Simply enter the name of your tag and click the ‘Save’ button.
Once you have tagged all the subscribers who might be spambots, go ahead and create a new campaign.
Before sending out the campaign, you can select recipients with the tags you just set up to filter spam emails.
Email newsletter spambot subscribers can be expensive and irritating. Make sure you use at least one of the above methods to keep your email list healthy and bots-free.
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.
Are you looking for a way to add a QR code for Stripe payments on your WordPress website?
QR codes, or Quick Response Codes, are a type of barcode that users can scan using their mobile phones. You can show a Stripe payment form using QR codes and help customers easily purchase a product or service.
In this article, we will show you how to add Stripe QR code payment in WordPress.
Why Add Stripe QR Code Payment in WordPress?
Stripe is a popular payment gateway that lets you accept online payments on your WordPress site or eCommerce store. It makes it very easy for customers to pay using their credit cards.
The best part is that customers don’t have to go through a lengthy signup process. They can simply enter their credit card on the website to make a purchase.
Adding Stripe QR code payments to your site gives customers the flexibility to complete a purchase quickly. Customers can simply scan the code to open the payment link.
This makes the checkout process very simple and fast. It helps people to easily buy a product and service on your online store. As a result, you’ll see a boost in conversions and reduced cart abandonments.
That said, let’s look at how you can add a Stripe QR code payment to your WordPress website.
Create a Stripe Payment Form in WordPress
First, you’ll need to add a Stripe payment form on your website to accept online payments from customers.
The best way to do that is using WPForms. It is the best contact form plugin for WordPress that’s super easy to use and easily integrates with Stripe. There are many form templates to choose from, and you can customize them using the drag-and-drop builder.
For this tutorial, you’ll need the WPForms Pro license because it includes the Stripe addon. There’s also a WPForms Lite version that you can use for free. It allows you to accept Stripe payments, but there’s a 3% transaction fee for payments made through your forms.
To start, you’ll need to download and install the WPForms plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, you can go to WPForms » Settings from your WordPress dashboard and enter the license key. You can find the key in your account area on the WPForms website.
Simply enter the key and click the ‘Verify Key’ button.
Once that’s done, you’ll need to go to the WPForms » Addons page and install the Stripe addon.
Go ahead and click the ‘Install Addon’ button, and WPForms will automatically install and activate it.
From here, you can head to WPForms » Settings from the WordPress admin panel and go to the ‘ Payments’ tab.
Next, simply click the ‘Connect with Stripe’ button and follow the onscreen instructions to connect your account with WPForms.
Once Stripe is connected, you can go to WPForms » Add New to create a new form.
WPForms offers lots of form templates to choose from. You can select a simple contact form, an order form, or a Stripe payment form and customize it.
For this tutorial, we will use the ‘Stripe Payment Form’ template.
Next, you can customize your form using the drag-and-drop form builder. By default, you’ll see different form fields in the template.
However, WPForms lets you add more form fields to the template, like a dropdown, checkboxes, email, phone, address, website, and more.
You can also click any form field on the template to customize it further.
For instance, we changed the text for each item on your demo form and enabled the option to show prices after the item label.
Once you’re done editing the form, simply switch to the ‘Payments’ tab and select ‘Stripe’ from the menu on the left.
From here, ensure the ‘Enable Stripe payments’ option is enabled.
Next, you can switch to the Settings tab. Here, you’ll see options to change the notification and confirmation settings.
For instance, you can select what action should take place once a user submits a form. WPForms lets you show a message or a page or even redirect users to a URL.
You’re now ready to display your Stripe payment form on your website.
Simply click the ‘Save’ button to store your changes and then click the ‘Embed’ button at the top.
Next, WPForms will show a popup where you can choose an existing page or create a new one to embed your form.
We will choose the ‘Select Existing Page’ option for this tutorial.
Next, you’ll need to enter a name for your new page.
Once that’s done, simply click the ‘Let’s Go’ button.
You can go ahead and publish the page and visit the website to see it in action.
Now go ahead and copy the link of your payment form page, as you’ll need it to create a QR code.
Alternative Method: You can also create a Stripe payment form using WP Simple Pay. It is the best Stripe payment plugin for WordPress and helps you collect online payments without setting up a shopping cart.
WP Simple Pay is a more straightforward option compared to WPForms. It is perfect if you’re just looking to create a basic form to accept credit card payments.
However, if you’re looking for more customization options and form templates, then we recommend using WPForms.
Now that your Stripe payment form is ready, you can create a QR code for it and display it anywhere on your site.
There are 2 ways you can add a QR code to your site. You can use the Google Chrome browser’s feature or use a WordPress plugin.
1. Create QR Codes using Google Chrome
If you’re using the Google Chrome browser, then you can use it to share a webpage via a QR code.
First, you’ll need to open the Stripe payment form page in a new tab or window.
Next, you can click the share icon in the top right corner of the site address bar. From here, simply select the ‘Create QR Code’ option.
After that, Google Chrome will generate a QR code for your Stripe payment form page.
You can go ahead and download the QR code as an image.
Next, simply place the image anywhere on your site.
For example, you can show the QR code on product pages, so customers can quickly scan them and open the form to make a purchase.
2. Create a Stripe Payment QR Code using a WordPress Plugin
You can also add QR codes to your site using a WordPress plugin like Shortcodes Ultimate. It is a free plugin that lets you create over 50 different types of shortcodes, including QR codes.
Upon activation, you will see the Shortcode Ultimate welcome screen.
Next, you’ll need to edit a page or post to add your QR code.
Once you’re in the content editor, simply add a shortcode block.
After that, you should see an ‘Insert shortcode’ option.
You can simply click the double brackets icon to add your QR code.
Next, the plugin will display different shortcode options for your site.
Go ahead and select the ‘QR Code’ option.
After that, you’ll see options to enter details for your QR code.
In the Data field, you can enter the URL of your Stripe payment form that you created earlier.
Besides that, there is an option to enter a title for the code, which acts as an alt-text. You can also adjust the size of your QR code.
If you scroll down, then you’ll see more options to customize your QR code. For instance, you can change the primary color, background color, and more.
Once you’re done, simply click the ‘Insert shortcode’ button.
The plugin also lets you see a live preview of the code on your blog post or landing page.
Go ahead and publish your page to see the Stripe payment form QR code in action.
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.
Are you looking for the best WPForms alternatives?
WPForms is the powerful drag and drop WordPress forms plugin out there. It lets you quickly create contact forms, payment forms, surveys, and more without any coding at all. However, there are a lot of other forms plugins out there, and we want to help you find the one that works best for your site.
In this post, we’ll explore some of the best alternatives to WPForms.
Is There a Free Alternative to WPForms?
Yes, there’s a free version of WPForms! WPForms Lite gives you the most important features you need to get started with creating forms.
With WPForms Lite, you can access ready-made templates and create unlimited forms right in the form builder.
That said, let’s look at the best WPForms Pro alternatives.Â
We do think that WPForms is the best form builder available, and if you’re not ready to purchase a license just yet, we suggest that you give WPForms Lite a shot.
It is the best alternative WordPress form plugin to WPForms Pro and offers plenty of features for free. With over 6 million professionals using the product on their websites, it’s one of the most popular plugins available.
You can use WPForms Lite to:
Build unlimited forms without writing a single line of code
Get unlimited responses
Protect your forms against spam
Receive entry notifications by mail
Create payment and subscription forms with Stripe integration
Building forms only takes a few minutes, too. WPForms Lite lets you build many types quickly with its user-friendly drag and drop interface.
Simply choose your template and drag any field you want from left to right.
The Lite version alone has plenty of field options, including multiple choice, dropdown, reCAPTCHA, payment fields, and a GDPR agreement.
Also, with the free version, you can email users when forms are completed for confirmation or direct them to the next steps.
WPForms Lite can connect with Constant Contact for lead generation, too. Once users submit their information through a newsletter form, the new contact will be added to your email list. Newsletter signup and user registration forms are a powerful way to get more leads from your WordPress site.
You will want to use WPForms Pro to connect with other email marketing services like Mailchimp, GetResponse, AWeber, Drip, and others.
WPForms Lite also easily integrates popular page builders SeedProd and Divi so that you can create and embed contact forms without complex shortcodes.
But what if you want to connect your forms to a service that doesn’t have an addon? WPForms Lite connects with Uncanny Automator, which allows you to send WPForms submissions to other plugins and services.
Unlike most free plugins which lack proper customer support, WPForms Lite provides support in the WordPress.org forums, and you can expect a typical response time of 1 to 3 business days.
If you’re a Pro member, you get help even faster since you can open a support ticket and expect a response within 1 business day.
While it’s missing some advanced features like conditional logic and multi-page forms, WPForms Lite is the perfect tool for freelancers, creatives, or other business owners who only need simple forms.
Pricing: WPForms Lite is completely free to use. If you want to upgrade to the Pro version, WPBeginner users can enjoy an exclusive 50% OFF discount on all plans by using our WPForms coupon.
Formidable Forms is an advanced WordPress form builder and a great alternative to WPForms if you’re looking to create complex forms.
WPForms and Formidable Forms share many similarities. For instance, both have user-friendly drop form builders to create forms.
That said, Formidable Forms tends to favor developers and brands requiring complex forms with advanced functionality, while WPForms specializes in powerful forms that are easy to design and embed.
Formidable Forms lets you create calculation forms, which is very useful for businesses like real estate or finance businesses.
You also get unique templates like car payment, paycheck, and mortgage calculations (along with many others), making Formidable Forms really stand out.
Besides that, you can turn your form results into user-generated content. They create eye-catching reports, graphs, and charts using form submission data. The plugin can also export the data into many different formats, such as proposals, invoices, certifications, and more.
Pricing: Formidable form plans start at $39.50 per year. However, you can also use the free version of the plugin as an alternative to WPForms.
WP Simple Pay is a plugin that makes creating and accepting payment forms on your WordPress site super easy.
Your forms can capture one-time payments or recurring subscriptions to fit your needs. This is perfect for business owners, freelancers, and agency owners who want to accept payments on their site without the fuss of creating an online store.
With WP Simple Pay, you can accept over 10 different payment methods, including credit or debit cards, ACH, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and other payment methods. This is more than just any other payment form builder, including WPForms.
If you need to take payments or donations on your site, then WP Simple Pay is a great alternative to using WPForms payment forms.
Pricing: Pricing plans start at $49.50 per year, giving you access to unlimited payment forms and no monthly fees. Higher plans offer features like Buy Now, Pay Later installment plans, and dedicated landing pages to help boost conversions.
WP Charitable is the best plugin for building non-profit donation forms and fundraising campaigns.
Collecting and managing donations in WordPress can be difficult since most donation and fundraising plugins are either too pricey or too limited. Expensive platform fees can quickly add up and eat into your fundraising efforts.
If you’re building donation forms, WP Charitable is the best choice. Since the platform doesn’t charge transaction fees, you can be assured that your donors’ generous donations won’t be taxed on your website.
With WP Charitable, you can create unlimited fundraising campaigns and set goals for each cause.
The free version of WP Charitable supports PayPal donations and offline payments. With the paid plans, you can add other payment gateways like Authorize.net and Stripe.
Pricing: Plans start at $99 per year with access to unlimited campaigns and donors. With higher plans, you will get addons such as recurring donations, peer-to-peer fundraising and crowdfunding, and newsletter software integration.
Typeform is a popular form builder that allows you to create forms, applications, quizzes, and even surveys or polls.
Like WPForms, there’s no coding involved. There are over 120+ integration options, and everything from logos to videos can be edited in the Typeform software, so you can build an appealing form.
You can also choose from 100+ templates based on different industries and use cases, including ecommerce sites, medical institutions, and more.
That said, Typeform does have some drawbacks. The biggest downside is the cost. The Basic plan starts from $25 per month to create unlimited forms. That’s something WPForms Lite can do for absolutely free.
There’s also a cap on how many monthly responses you can receive based on the type of plan you choose. The Basic plan only captures a mere 100 responses, which isn’t enough for most small businesses.
Plus, the most expensive plans run $996 USD per year, which drives up the cost of running a website by a lot.
Also, it’s a SaaS (software as a service) tool, meaning it stores data onto external services. This can be a security threat since you’ll be leaving your customer’s personal data in someone else’s hands.
Pricing: Typeform’s Basic plan starts at $300 per year with a small limit of 100 responses. The most advanced plan costs $996 per year and gives you extra features like conversion tracking, custom branding, and priority support.
HubSpot Form Builder allows you to create simple contact forms. It is a great alternative to WPForms if you already use other HubSpot products like the HubSpot customer relationship management (CRM), email marketing, or live chat tool.
What’s unique about HubSpot Form Builder is that you can create custom forms that meet your website need and automatically sync your new contacts collected from your forms into the HubSpot CRM.
You can create embedded forms, popup box forms, forms as standalone pages, or as dropdown banners. As a result, you can place lead generation forms at the right time and place in the customer journey.
Also, the plugin has an automation feature, allowing you to send emails to the user once they’ve submitted your forms. However, it’s only available as part of paid plans.
One of the biggest disadvantages is that the HubSpot Form Builder is quite limited in form templates, giving users only a handful of templates to work with. So if there isn’t a template to match your needs, you’ll have to create the form from scratch.
HubSpot Form Builder is part of a larger ecosystem of tools, meaning you don’t have to use third-party tools like Google Analytics for insights. You will have a built-in analytics dashboard to see how your forms are performing. And best of all, you can create a HubSpot form right in WordPress.
Pricing: The HubSpot Form Builder is free. However, if you want to access some of the other tools along with the form builder, pricing starts at $216 per year.
Gravity Forms is a powerful solution to create custom forms in WordPress.
With this plugin, you can build contact forms, surveys, and quizzes for your website with ease.
It comes with plenty of advanced features like conditional formatting, which shows or hides certain questions based on the user’s previous answer.
Gravity Forms also offers many addons to help you get the most out of the plugin. You can track users by geolocation, allow signatures, and collect partial form entries.
That said, Gravity Forms does fall short when compared to WPForms. It only comes with 15 templates and lacks a free version. If you’re using Gravity Forms on multiple sites, the licenses still provide a decent value for money.
Pricing: The Basic license starts at $59 per year, providing only access to 1 site and a few integrations.
Ninja Forms is another WPForms alternative you can start using for free. It features a drag and drop form builder so you can build interactive online forms without coding.
The plugin offers a wide range of addons for purchase, such as conditional logic, file uploads, Excel export, and multi-step forms. Unfortunately, you have to buy each one separately, which can quickly rack up, especially when buying more than one or two addons.
Out of this list, Ninja Forms offers some of the most integrations out of any tool. For example, you can connect them with different payment apps like Stripe and PayPal, CRMs like Salesforce, and other tools like webhooks and Slack.
Pricing: The base plugin is free to download in the official WordPress repository. However, you can buy a subscription with additional features starting at $99 per year or purchase individual addons.
Contact Form 7 rounds out our list because it is the oldest and most downloaded contact form plugin in the official WordPress plugin directory.
It is a WPForms alternative, but we don’t recommend that you use it. The only real benefit of using Contact Form 7 is that it’s free to use, and you can create simple forms. WPForms Lite does everything it can and more.
That said, Contact Form 7 is not user-friendly. There are no drag and drop builders or templates to use. Instead, you have to copy shortcodes to embed forms and toggle with dynamic merge tags to build the most basic contact forms.
Additionally, all forms are styled plainly. You can’t customize the style of your forms, making it hard to match the form’s design to your WordPress theme.
If you’re looking for a free WordPress contact form plugin, then WPForms Lite, Ninja Forms, and Formidable Forms Lite are all considerably better solutions than Contact Form 7.
Pricing: It’s a free plugin. However, it lacks many basic features, no real customization is available, and you get limited support.
What to Look for in an Online Form Builder
When you’re on the hunt for an online form builder for your WordPress website, there are many features and factors to consider.
Fortunately, WPForms offers all of these features and then some. This makes it the most comprehensive form builder plugin on the market.
Let’s look at a few of them.
Pre-built Templates
The best online form builders have pre-built form templates, allowing you to set up the forms you need in minutes. You never have to start from scratch as you do with plugins like Contact Form 7.
Instead, look for a form builder with a template gallery that includes the most popular forms needed for WordPress websites, like contact forms, newsletter signup forms, application forms, donation forms, order forms, and more.
In fact, the WPForms Lite version alone has 900+ form templates, meaning there’s a form to fit almost anything you could need.
Conditional Logic
In some cases, you may want to show or hide specific fields to users based on their responses.
That way, your visitors won’t see tons of empty fields that don’t apply to them.
You can use conditional logic to create dynamic forms that adapt as your visitor fills out the form. For example, you may want to:
Filter your survey questions based on a demographic question
Process payments only when certain conditions are met
Provide customized support based on the type of issues your customers are experiencing
Surveys & Polls
A good form builder should also include the ability to create survey forms, polls, and quizzes.
Unlike most professional survey tools, WPForms Pro lets you easily embed surveys and polls onto your site. This helps you share and distribute them to a wider audience.
Everything is housed and stored within WordPress, meaning all your survey responses will be stored on your website, so you don’t have to log into different platforms and you can ensure your users’ data is secure.
Also, you’ll see survey charts to visually see how responses are segmented. You can also download MonsterInsights, the best Google Analytics plugin, to measure your form completion rates as well.
Conversational Forms
Static forms can feel plain, which increases the likelihood of form abandonment. Online form builders should be able to create conversational forms.
This is a more interactive layout that only focuses on one question at a time rather than showing all of the questions at once.
Also, conversational forms can be completed using a keyboard only, making them more suitable for mobile users.
Multi-Page Forms
Long forms can be overwhelming, causing users to abandon the form altogether. However, creating multi-page forms splits your single-page form into smaller sections with a progress bar to help reduce fatigue.
Respondents are more likely to finish the form when separated into pages rather than seeing one long form.
Spam Protection
Online forms are vulnerable to spam bots that crawl through websites to find ways to email you through a non-secure form.
Since website owners often don’t give out their email addresses, forms are an easy way for hackers to add spam comments, send phishing links, and spread malware.
That’s why you need built-in security features in your online form builder to prevent spam emails.
WPForms features the latest spam defense methods. For example, you can add a CAPTCHA to bypass spambots so that only humans can submit your forms.
Which WPForms Pro Alternative is the Best?Â
In our experience, the best alternative to WPForms Pro is WPForms Lite. For many users, the options in the free version can get them started with their website or business. Â
It is a powerful and easy-to-use plugin that lets you build just about any type of form. The Lite version can do all of the basic functions users need without any of the bloat other contact form plugins have.
There simply is no other free forms plugin that has the same ease of use and number of features as WPForms Lite.
However, if you need direct CRM integration, HubSpot Form Builder is the way to go.
For more complex forms or calculations, Formidable Forms is the clear winner.
If you want to be able to choose and pay for only the features you will use the most, then we think that Ninja Forms is your best option.
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.
Are you looking for the best video communication service for your business?
The right conference call software will make it easy to communicate with co-workers, partners, suppliers, clients, and more. This can help you be more productive, reach your goals, and build stronger relationships even across big geographical distances.
In this article, we will compare Google Meet vs Zoom to help you decide which video chat software is right for your website.
Why Should Your Business Use a Video Communication Service?
With the rising trend of remote working, many teams no longer work in the same building. If you are a big company, then you may even have staff in multiple countries.
This can make it difficult to collaborate and build relationships with co-workers. While you could communicate using email, phone calls, or call center software, there’s no substitute for face-to-face interaction.
These services can help people to communicate effectively and build successful business relationships, even when they are in completely different locations.
Even if you work alone, conference call services are an easy and flexible way to communicate with partners, suppliers, clients, interview candidates, and more.
When all your contacts are using the same service, it’s easier to set up meetings, send invites, manage attendees, and share and record important meetings.
However, with so many tools on the market, it can be difficult to find the best software. For example, if you are looking for unlimited video meetings, Microsoft and Salesforce integrations, and business text messaging, then Nextiva is a great choice.
Meanwhile, if you want video chat that integrates with top services such as Gsuite, Dropbox, and Microsoft, then RingCentral is one of the most feature-rich business phone and online meeting systems on the market.
There are also plenty of tools that offer free plans, including Google Meet and Zoom.
In this Google Meet vs Zoom guide, we are comparing these two popular tools to see which is right for your business. Simply use the quick links below to jump straight to the feature you want to compare:
Even if you are already using software like a virtual business phone number app, the right video communication service can help you run a successful business.
That being said, let’s start with an overview of these two popular conference call services.
It’s essentially an enhanced version of Google Hangouts that’s designed specifically for business owners. Google Meet is a fully web-based service, so you don’t need to install any software to use it.
To try the service for yourself, simply head over to the Google Meet website and click on ‘New Meeting’. You can then select ‘Start an instant meeting’ to launch a test meeting and try the Google Meet features for yourself.
Zoom – Overview
Zoom is a popular online video conferencing and meeting tool that allows you to set up an online conference call simply by sharing a link.
Zoom may be easy to set up, but it’s also packed with advanced features that can make your meetings more productive. These include searchable transcripts, instant messaging, screen sharing, and collaborative note-taking.
Price Comparison – Google Meet vs Zoom
When choosing business tools, it’s important to find a service that fits your budget. Some video conferencing plans also put limits on the call duration and the total attendees.
When deciding whether a service is good value for money, it’s important to take these factors into consideration. With that in mind, let’s compare the price for Google Meet and Zoom.
Google Meet – Price Comparison
Anyone with a free Google Account can create a video meeting and invite up to 100 participants for a maximum of 60 minutes.
If you want to meet for longer than an hour, then you will need to upgrade to Google’s Business Starter plan ($6 per user, per month, with a one-year commitment) or higher. All of Google’s paid plans allow you to meet for 24 hours, which should be enough for most businesses.
The Business Starter plan limits you to 100 attendees, so if you want to invite more people, then you will need to buy a Business Standard plan ($12 per user/month, one-year commitment), which allows you to invite 150 participants.
Need to invite even more people? Google’s Business Plus lets you run 500-participant video meetings for $18 per user/month if you buy a one-year plan. Meanwhile, the Enterprise Plan allows you to invite 1000 participants to a video meeting.
All the paid plans come with a custom business email address, Gmail Business email, phishing and spam protection, US or international dial-in phone numbers, and a digital whiteboard.
You will also get Chat Team messaging and Drive Secure storage. However, the amount of storage you get will vary based on your plan.
If you upgrade to Business Standard or higher, then you will also get access to noise cancellation, the option to record meetings and save them to Google Drive, appointment booking pages, Cloud Search Smart search, and advanced security features.
Zoom – Price Comparison
Like Google Meet, Zoom has a free plan that allows you to invite up to 100 attendees. However, you can only meet for 40 minutes, compared to the 60 minutes allowed by Google Meet’s free plan.
If you need to meet for longer than 40 minutes, then all of Zoom’s paid plans allow you to run 30-hour meetings. While this is longer than the Google Meet plan, it may not be required unless you run unusually long meetings or livestream virtual events and conferences.
Unlike Google Meet, the cheapest paid plan (Pro, priced at $15.99 per month, per user) still limits you to 100 attendees. If you want to invite more than 100 people, then you will need to upgrade to Business (19.99/month/user), which allows 300 attendees.
If you want to invite over 300 people, then you must contact Zoom and discuss upgrading to their Enterprise plan.
If you upgrade to a Pro or higher plan, then you will get access to an Essential Apps package. This is a package of third-party apps that Zoom has curated to make your meetings more productive. It includes apps that allow you to take notes, create a visual agenda, get personalized meeting reports, and create automated workflows.
The Business plan introduces some powerful extra features, including single sign-on and managed domains. You can also add your own branding, which is useful if you are a freelancer, designer, or developer who regularly uses Zoom to chat with clients.
If you want to make voice calls, then both Business Plus and Enterprise come with Zoom Phone, which allows you to make secure voice calls across all supported devices.
Winner – Google Meet
For running short meetings with 100 or fewer attendees, both the free Zoom and free Google Meet plans are great options. However, if you want to run longer meetings with over 100 attendees, then you will need to upgrade to a paid plan.
Generally, Zoom’s plans are slightly cheaper than the Google Meet equivalent. However, all of Google’s paid plans include the Google Workspace bundle of business and personal productivity tools and a secure business email.
This gives Meet a big advantage over Zoom, especially if you are a new business that needs a full suite of productivity tools and a professional email address.
If you are already using the Google apps, then it also makes sense to choose Google Meet since it works seamlessly with the other Google tools.
With all that in mind, the paid Google Meet plans do have a slight advantage over Zoom, even if both free plans represent great value for money.
Ease of Use – Google Meet vs Zoom
Choosing easy-to-use tools can save you a ton of time. This leaves you free to focus on more important tasks, including growing your business.
Here is how the two video conferencing software options compare for user-friendliness.
Google Meet – Ease of Use
Google Meet aims to make the user experience as effortless as possible. You can visit the Google Meet website in any supported web browser and start a meeting with just a few clicks.
If you have already accepted a Meet invite, then you can click on the event in your Google Calendar. This will open a popup with a ‘Join with Google Meet’ button.
Another option is to click on the ‘Meet’ button inside your Gmail account.
As you can see, it’s very easy to create or join a meeting, especially if you are already using Google tools.
Google Meet also has a pre-meeting ‘waiting room’, where you can toggle the camera and microphone on and off. You can also check the sound and video quality and change the settings before joining the meeting.
Google Meet’s settings are very simple, with just a few options. You can change the microphone, speakers, and camera that Google Meet uses and tell Google to log you out of meetings automatically if no one joins after a few minutes.
During meetings, you will find a row of buttons at the bottom of the screen where you can access some basic settings, send emojis, raise your hand to ask a question, and perform other basic tasks. You can also enable closed captions, which is great for accessibility.
To invite other people, simply share the link or dial-in number that Google Meet creates for you automatically.
If you want to schedule a team meeting, then just create a new event in Google Calendar. Then, click on the ‘Add Google Meet video conferencing’ button.
This creates a meeting link automatically.
With that done, just click on ‘Add Guests’ and type in the name or email address of every contact you want to invite.
As you can see, Google Meet is designed with simplicity in mind.
Most of the time, the video conference software works out of the box, and you can schedule meetings with just a few clicks. However, this ease of use does mean that Google Meet lacks some of the more advanced features you get from platforms like Zoom.
Zoom – Ease of Use
When it comes to ease of use, the Zoom experience is very different depending on whether you are using the online client or the desktop app.
The Zoom online client isn’t particularly user-friendly compared to the Google Meet experience. For example, if you want to schedule a meeting, then you will need to fill out a form.
However, the desktop app is much easier to use.
You can schedule a meeting or create an instant meeting with the click of a button.
You can also easily share your screen or join a meeting by typing in the meeting ID or link.
Before you join a meeting, you will get a chance to enable or disable the audio and video. However, unlike Google Meet, there’s no ‘waiting room’ where you can preview how the video feed will look before joining the main meeting.
No matter whether you are using the desktop app or the online client, Zoom’s settings are much more detailed and in-depth compared to Google Meet.
This does mean there’s a steeper learning curve, and non-techy users, in particular, may struggle with some of Zoom’s more advanced features.
However, Zoom’s comprehensive settings do mean the tool is far more flexible and powerful compared to Google Meet. For example, with the right Zoom settings, you can share a second webcam, which can be useful if you run webinars, demonstrations, or virtual classrooms.
Zoom can even recognize gestures and translate them into a corresponding meeting reaction. For example, you can trigger the thumbs-up emoji by putting your thumb up to the camera.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise that Zoom’s settings can be a bit overwhelming and confusing at first.
Winner – Google Meet
When it comes to ease of use, Google Meet definitely has the edge, particularly if you already use Google’s services. You can start a meeting instantly from the apps you are already using, including Gmail and Google Calendar.
If you already have a Google account, then getting started with Meet feels effortless. The default settings are also a good fit for most users, so Google Meet often works out of the box.
If you download the Zoom desktop app, then you will get a much better experience compared to the online client, and you will also have a ton of advanced features to explore.
However, if you are simply looking for click-and-go video chat software, then Google Meet is the clear winner.
Cross-Platform Support – Google Meet vs Zoom
A good video conferencing solution should always be within easy each, no matter what device or web browser you are using. This is particularly important if you regularly work from different places or give employees the option to work from home.
That said, let’s see how Google Meet and Zoom stack up in terms of the devices and operating systems they support.
Cross-Platform Support – Google Meet
Much like Google’s other web-based tools, Google Meet runs completely in the web browser. It supports Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Apple Safari.
This means you should have no problems joining a meeting from your desktop computer, assuming you have a good internet connection and one of the major web browsers.
If your browser doesn’t support Google Meet, then you can still dial in using a phone number or PIN that Meet creates automatically.
If you regularly have video calls on your smartphone or tablet, then you can download the Google Meet app for iOS or Android. This app has a similar user interface to the desktop version, which allows you to join and create meetings with just a few taps.
Cross-Platform Support – Zoom
Unlike Google Meet, Zoom has a desktop application for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It may take longer to set up compared to Google Meet, but the desktop app provides a much better user experience compared to the Zoom online client, so it’s well worth the effort.
If you don’t want to install the app, then the web client supports Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Chromium Edge. There’s also a mobile app for Android and iOS.
Winner – Zoom
No matter what device you are using, you should have no problems accessing Google Meet or Zoom. Both video communication services also have well-designed mobile apps, which we highly recommend if you regularly make calls from your smartphone or tablet.
However, Zoom is the winner simply because it’s the only platform that has a dedicated desktop app. If you have a busy schedule, then you can just leave Zoom running in the background while you work on other tasks. You can then connect to meetings, create new events, check your schedule, and more simply by checking the desktop interface.
Text Chat and Channels – Google Meet vs Zoom
Google Meet and Zoom allow you to have face-to-face conversations with people no matter where they are in the world. However, they both also support text chat, so let’s see how these features compare.
Text Chat and Channels – Google Meet
Google Meet allows you to send messages that appear alongside the main video screen. However, everyone on the call can see these messages, so there’s no way to have private one-on-one conversations.
You also can’t see any messages that people sent before you joined the meeting. Unless the meeting is being recorded, the entire conversation history will also disappear as soon as you leave the call.
You can’t add emojis or GIFs to your messages, although you can send a limited number of reactions that float across the main video window.
Text Chat and Channels – Zoom
Unlike Google Meet, you can send private messages to individual attendees in a Zoom call. This is particularly useful if you regularly host large meetings with lots of attendees. Without the option to send private messages, the chat could easily become too noisy and distracting, with multiple conversations happening at once.
Zoom also makes it easy to add emojis to your messages, although, just like Google Meet, there’s no option to add GIFs.
Similar to Google Meet, Zoom also adds a conversation log to recorded meetings, so people can follow along with the chat.
It also hides any messages that were sent before you joined the call. This is exactly the same behavior as Google Meet, but it may still be frustrating for some users.
Winner –Zoom
With the option to send private messages and built-in support for emojis, Zoom is the clear winner when it comes to text chat.
WordPress Integrations – Google Meet vs Zoom
If you have a WordPress website, then you may be wondering whether you can integrate WordPress with your video conferencing software. Let’s take a closer look at how both tools handle WordPress integration.
WordPress Integrations – Zoom
There are several ways to connect Zoom to your WordPress website. If you run webinars or online conferences, then you can use WPForms and the Uncanny Automator plugin to automatically register attendees when they fill out a form on your website.
In this way, you can onboard new clients, schedule coaching calls, and more. If you sell online courses or training, then you can even add students to an upcoming webinar or session as soon as they enroll.
Then, you can use Uncanny Automator to create a recipe that registers the visitor automatically when they complete the form.
If you have a WooCommerce store, then you can use the same Uncanny Automator recipe to enroll new customers in a product webinar after they buy an item in your online store.
Additionally, if you want to manage your Zoom meetings from the WordPress dashboard, then you may want to look at Video Conferencing with Zoom. This plugin allows you to import all your Zoom meetings into the WordPress dashboard with a single click.
You can even restrict your Zoom content using a membership plugin. In this way, you can make money online by selling access to your Zoom recordings.
WordPress Integrations – Google Meet
You can connect Google Meet to your WordPress website using Zapier. This popular automation tool comes with a ready-made workflow that will automatically schedule a Google Meet every time you publish a new post.
This can improve your editorial workflow by giving all team members a time to meet and review the new content, provide feedback, or review the post’s traffic, conversion rates, and other important metrics using a tool like Google Analytics.
Even better, you can build your own custom Google Meet and WordPress automation workflows using the Zapier editor. This gives you the freedom and flexibility to integrate WordPress and Google Meet in the way that works best for you.
Winner – Zoom
You can integrate Google Meet and WordPress in lots of ways using Zapier. However, the combination of Uncanny Automator and WPForms gives Zoom a definite advantage.
These two must-have WordPress plugins allow you to automatically add students, customers, co-workers, and other contacts to your Zoom webinars and calls. For this reason, Zoom is a great choice for WordPress blog and website owners.
Professional and Community Support – Google Meet vs Zoom
Google Meet and Zoom are both easy to use, but everyone needs help from time to time. Let’s compare their support options to see the help that’s available.
Professional and Community Support – Google Meet
If you prefer to find answers yourself, then there is an entire library of tutorials and videos in the Google Meet Help portal. You can look through the different pages or type in your question and get articles recommended to you.
There’s also a Google Meet Community where you can browse questions that other people have posted.
While there is a lot of information here, thankfully, Google has created a detailed sorting and filtering system that can help you find the information you are looking for, fast.
If you can’t find a relevant thread, then you can always create your own.
Simply post your question to the Community portal, and wait for a response from the Google Meet community.
If you want to improve your Google Meet knowledge and boost your productivity, then you can check out the Google Workspace Learning Center. Here, you will find quick start guides, cheat sheets, productivity guides, and many other useful resources.
Do you prefer professional support instead?
Google’s Business Starter, Business Standard, and Business Plus all come with standard professional support. However, if you buy an Enterprise plan, then you will get access to Enhanced Support, which promises faster response times, more advanced product knowledge, and even support for third-party technologies.
Professional and Community Support – Zoom
If you have any questions, then the Zoom Support portal should be your first stop. Here, you will find a knowledge base with thousands of articles, a learning center with on-demand video courses, and an active community question-and-answer site.
If you are interested in community support, then the Zoom Q and A threads are helpfully divided into categories and organized into Latest, Trending, Solved, and Unanswered tabs.
This system should help you get answers to common questions, fast.
If you have a Zoom problem that no one else has posted about, then you can always start a new thread and get direct help from the Zoom community.
The Zoom support portal also has a chatbot, so you can type in questions and get answers at any time of the day or night. Often, this is much faster than looking through all the Zoom documentation yourself.
If you buy a Business plan or higher, then you will also get live chat support, phone support, and the option to submit web tickets.
Alternatively, if you have a Pro plan, then you can submit web tickets and may be entitled to live chat and phone support, depending on the total cost of your Zoom subscription.
Additionally, if you need professional support, then Zoom offers a range of premium support plans.
Winner – Tie
While both Google Meet and Zoom offer professional support, it’s the community support and online resources that really put these two popular video services ahead of the competition.
No matter whether you choose Meet or Zoom, you will get access to detailed and extensive articles, tutorials, video guides, forums, and countless other online resources.
That said, both Google Meet and Zoom are excellent choices when it comes to support.
Google Meet vs Zoom: Which Is Better For Your Business?
If you are looking for an easy, convenient video conferencing tool with excellent support, then both Google Meet and Zoom are great options.
Both video chat platforms make it easy to communicate with teammates, employees, customers, and other contacts around the world. They are also available across all major browsers and work on smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. This means you can use both Google Meet and Zoom from any location.
Ultimately, the software that’s right for you will vary depending on the features your business needs, the size of your organization, and how long your meetings typically last.
Each tool has its own strengths and drawbacks. If you want a solution that works out of the box for most users and integrates with the full suite of Google Workspace apps, then Google Meet is likely better for your business.
But if you want more advanced features and a dedicated desktop app, then Zoom is the better option. We also recommend Zoom if you run a WordPress website due to its seamless integration with WordPress via powerful plugins like Uncanny Automator and WPForms.
Alternatives to Google Meet and Zoom
In this guide, we focused on Google Meet vs Zoom, but there are lots more communication tools on the market that might be better for your business.
If you are looking for an alternative solution, then Nextiva is the best virtual business phone number service on the market.
At WPBeginner, we use Nextiva for all our business phone needs because it helps our team answer incoming customer calls from anywhere in the world without having to share their personal cell phone numbers. Plus, the Nextiva Video plan comes with video conferencing, screen-sharing, and file-sharing features.
If you regularly video chat with customers or offer customer support, then RingCentral is another popular business VoIP service provider that lets you set up a cloud call center solution for your business.
They also offer an AI-powered video meeting experience with advanced features such as live transcription, intelligent meeting summaries, and virtual backgrounds.
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Do you want to add extra profile fields for users to fill in when they register on your WordPress website?
Maybe you want to allow users to submit their social media profiles. Or you might want them to submit their business phone number when registering. This can all be done by adding additional profile fields.
In this article, we will show how to easily add additional user profile fields in WordPress registration forms.
Why Add Additional User Profile Fields in WordPress Registration?
By adding more user profile fields to your WordPress website’s registration form, you can collect extra information from users to improve your marketing campaigns, personalize content, or simply learn more about your audience.
For example, you can ask your users to provide their phone numbers or social media profiles when registering on your WordPress site.
All of these extra fields can be handy if you run a membership website or allow users to sign up as subscribers to your blog. They can also be helpful if you want to store extra contact information for the other writers on your multi-author blog.
That being said, let’s see how to easily add additional user profile fields in WordPress. For this tutorial, we will be discussing two methods, and you can use the links below to jump to the method of your choice:
Method 1: Add Custom User Profile Fields Using Advanced Custom Fields (Recommended)
The best way to add extra user profile fields in WordPress is to use the Advanced Custom Fields plugin. It lets you choose from multiple fields and customize them to fit your needs.
Upon activation, you need to head to the ACF » Field Groups page from the WordPress admin sidebar and click the ‘+ Add Field Group’ button.
This will take you to a new page where you can start by typing a name for the field group.
Keep in mind that this will be the name of the entire field group and not the individual user’s field.
After that, scroll down to the ‘Fields’ section and choose a field type from the dropdown menu.
For example, if you want users to provide their phone number upon registration, then you can choose the ‘Number’ option. Alternatively, if you want users to provide their social media profiles, then you can pick the ‘Text’ option.
Once you have done that, just type the name of your field into the ‘Field Label’ option. For instance, if you want users to provide their Twitter handle before registering, then you can enter that into the field.
The plugin will then automatically generate a field name according to your label name.
Next, you must switch to the ‘Validation’ tab from the top. From here, you can make the field required by toggling on the switch. This way, users won’t be able to register on your WordPress site without filling in the additional field.
After that, you can even set a character limit for your custom field.
Now, switch to the ‘Presentation’ tab from the top.
Once you are there, you can add placeholder text, instructions, and wrapper attributes for your additional user profile field.
Next, scroll down to the ‘Settings’ section and make sure that the ‘Location Rules’ tab is selected. From here, you must set up conditional logic for your custom field so that it will only be displayed for your WordPress site registration.
To do this, select the ‘User Form’ option from the dropdown menu in the left corner of the screen. After that, choose the ‘Register’ option from the dropdown menu in the right corner.
Finally, click the ‘Save Changes’ button at the top of the screen to store your settings.
If you want to add another additional field, then you can also click the ‘+ Add Field’ button.
Now visit your user registration page to view the additional user profile field in action.
This is how it looked on our demo website.
Method 2: Add Additional User Profile Fields With Profile Extra Fields (Easy & Simple)
This method allows you to quickly and easily add extra fields to user profiles and user registration forms in WordPress. It is a little less flexible, but it gets the job done.
Once the plugin is activated, it’s time to create some additional user profile fields to use on your registration forms.
We are going to create a phone number field as an example, but you can add as many of these fields as you want.
First, visit the Profile Extra Fields » Add New page from the WordPress admin sidebar. From here, type the name of the field next to the ‘Name’ option.
For example, if you are creating a field for users to submit their phone number, then you can type ‘Phone Number’ as the field name.
After that, select a field type from the dropdown menu. If you are adding a social media profile field, then you can use the ‘Text Field’ option.
However, if you want a field for phone numbers, then you need to select that option from the dropdown menu.
After that, you can also type a pattern for your phone number field or add a description for it.
Next, scroll down to the ‘Field Properties’ section and check the boxes for the user roles that you want this field to be displayed for.
For instance, if you want this field to be displayed for all the authors registering on your WordPress site, then you can check the box next to this user role.
You can choose as many user roles as you want.
Next, you can also check the ‘Required’ box if you don’t want users to register without filling in this field in the form. Make sure that the ‘Always Show in User Registration Form’ box is checked so that your user field will be displayed in the form.
Finally, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your settings.
Now, you will need to go into your WordPress dashboard to change some settings for new registrations.
Head to the Settings » General page in your WordPress admin area and then check the membership box so that anyone can register on your website.
Next, you need to make sure that the default role is set to the role which you have added extra fields for. After that, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your settings.
This way, you can control the level of access new users have, and this will force the registration form to show the fields you selected earlier in this tutorial.
Here’s what the default registration form looked like on our demo website.
Bonus: Make a Custom User Registration Form in WordPress
The methods in this tutorial have shown you how to add extra user profile fields to the default WordPress registration form.
However, if you would like to create a custom user registration form in WordPress, then you can also easily do that by using the WPForms plugin.
It is the best WordPress form plugin that allows you to design your own user registration form using drag and drop. It also integrates seamlessly with plugins like Advanced Custom Fields, so you can easily insert additional user profile fields.
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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.
Finally, click the blue Activate button to complete the installation of the WPForms plugin.
Now that the plugin is installed and activated, you can see that a new menu item has been added to your WordPress menu.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Select your form from the dropdown of forms available.
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.
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:
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.
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
Are you looking for the best customer reviews plugins for WordPress?
Customer reviews can make your business seem more trustworthy and get you more sales. However, collecting, formatting, and showing those reviews can take a lot of time and effort.
In this article, we will share the best WordPress review plugins to help you easily add customer reviews to WordPress.
Why Use a Customer Reviews Plugin for WordPress?
Customer reviews are a powerful form of social proof that can make your business seem more trustworthy and encourage people to buy from your website.
Even if you have created lots of high-converting landing pages full of great copy, customer reviews might talk about features and benefits you have overlooked. This can get you more sales and conversions. Reviews can even improve your WordPress SEO since they typically include lots of relevant keywords.
However, collecting, managing, and formatting customer reviews manually can take a lot of time. That’s why we recommend using a customer review plugin to add different types of reviews to WordPress.
That being said, let’s take a look at some of the best WordPress customer review plugins you can use to collect, manage, and format customer reviews.
This single plugin allows you to show reviews from Yelp, Facebook, Google, WordPress.org, Trustpilot, and TripAdvisor, so you don’t need to install multiple plugins.
Reviews Feed Pro also automatically copies your website’s design.
This means the reviews will perfectly suit your WordPress theme and look like a natural part of your website rather than content embedded from another platform.
You can also fine-tune your review feeds using Smash Balloon’s user-friendly editor.
Here, you can change the feed’s layout, choose what content to show in each review, add a call to action button, and more.
When you are happy with how the review feed looks, you can add it to any page, post, or widget-ready area using either a shortcode or the Reviews Feed block.
After placing the feed, new reviews will appear on your website in real time. This way, visitors will always see the latest reviews.
Most business owners want to show reviews of their venue, products, or services. However, some websites might want to show reviews for other businesses. For example, if you own a business directory or membership site, then you might want to display reviews of different local companies.
With Reviews Feed Pro, you can show reviews from any public Yelp, Trustpilot, WordPress.org, or Google Reviews page.
Only supports the listed review platforms, with no option to add extra platforms.
Although there is a free Reviews Feed plugin, it only shows Google and Yelp reviews. You’ll need to upgrade to the premium plugin to display reviews from TripAdvisor, Facebook, Trustpilot, and more.
Why we chose Smash Balloon’s Reviews Feed Pro: This plugin is very easy to set up and allows you to create a review feed in minutes.
Even better, the review feed will update automatically. This makes Smash Balloon a great marketing automation tool for small businesses, as you don’t need to worry about collecting, formatting, and displaying new reviews.
Pricing: You can buy an all-in-one bundle for $598, which includes the core Smash Balloon plugin plus all the premium addons, including Reviews Feed Pro, Instagram Feed Pro, YouTube Feed Pro, and more.
WPForms is the best WordPress form plugin on the market, used by over 6 million WordPress sites. With WPForms, you can create a simple form that lets customers review your business, products, or services.
You can create a simple customer review form using the free version of WPForms and its user-friendly drag-and-drop editor.
However, if you upgrade to WPForms Pro, then you will get access to over 800 professionally-designed templates.
These include forms that collect all kinds of reviews. For example, WPForms has a restaurant review form that’s perfect for cafes, takeaways, and restaurant websites.
It also has forms that are ideal for niche review sites, including book review templates, product review forms, and even user review forms.
If you need more features, then there’s also a Post Submissions addon that allows you to accept customer testimonials.
After buying the addon, you can create a customer review form using the Testimonial Form template. You can also accept submissions from both non-registered and registered customers if you allow user registration on your WordPress site.
You can even allow users to upload images on your WordPress site. For example, you might ask them to upload a headshot or company logo, which you’ll show next to their testimonial. You could even ask visitors to upload their own photos of your products so that potential customers can see what they really look like.
Reviews are a valuable form of social proof, so you will want to make it easy for customers to share their thoughts and feedback. With that in mind, you may want to use WPForms’ Survey and Polls addon to collect customer feedback, such as star ratings.
This is often quicker and easier compared to writing a full review. In this way, you can encourage customers to share their feedback, no matter how busy they are.
Pros:
Ready-made customer review templates that you can add to your online marketplace or store with just a few clicks.
Although WPForms Pro comes with multiple review forms, you will need to buy addons to unlock some of its more advanced features.
If you buy the cheapest Basic plan, then you can only use WPForms on one website.
Why we chose WPForms: With multiple customer review templates, WPForms makes it easy to collect customer testimonials. All of the WPForms templates are fully customizable, so you can add and remove fields, or even create your own forms from scratch using the drag and drop form editor.
With that in mind, WPForms is a good option for all kinds of eCommerce websites and even niche review sites.
Pricing: An annual WPForms license starts from $49.50.
WP Business Reviews is an all-in-one WordPress plugin that lets you add Yelp, Facebook, Zomato, and Google reviews to WordPress.
You can create a separate feed for each platform or show reviews from multiple platforms in a single feed.
WP Business Reviews has a helpful tagging and grouping system, so you can display reviews that mention a particular subject, your most popular digital product, keywords, or anything else that’s important to your business.
If you are worried about negative or spammy reviews, then WP Business Reviews has advanced filters so you can control the content that appears on your website.
If you accept customer submissions using a plugin such as WPForms, then you can add this content to WP Business Reviews manually. The plugin will then show this user-generated content as part of your Yelp, Facebook, Zomato, or Google feed.
Organize your reviews using tags, groups, and filters.
Support for multiple layouts, including galleries, carousels, and lists.
Filter negative reviews by setting a minimum star rating.
If you own a bakery, restaurant, coffee shop, or any other food-based business, then WP Business Reviews is a great choice as it can show your latest Zomato reviews.
Cons:
WP Business Reviews doesn’t support some of the biggest review platforms, such as TripAdvisor and Trustpilot.
Although the plugin comes with light, dark, and transparent styles, some users may struggle to customize WP Business Reviews to perfectly match their theme.
Why we chose WP Business Reviews: If you run a bar or pub, restaurant, or any other food-based business, then the plugin’s Zomato support makes it a great choice.
We also like the detailed tagging and grouping system, which allows you to highlight your favorite reviews. Plus, you can manually add any user-submitted reviews you collect using a plugin like WPForms.
Pricing: You can buy an annual WP Business Reviews license for $49.00.
Reviews can improve your SEO by adding keywords to your website. Reviews typically talk about things that matter to your customers, so they can also help you appear in relevant search results.
However, to really get the most out of your reviews, it’s important to use an SEO plugin.
All in One SEO (AIOSEO) is the best SEO plugin for WordPress on the market, used by over 3 million WordPress websites. It lets you add product review schema to your posts and pages, which will help search engines better understand your reviews and show them to potential customers.
You can also use AIOSEO to add product schema markup in WordPress and WooCommerce. This encourages search engines like Google to show your total review count, star rating, and other information in its search results pages.
This makes your website stand out in the search results, which often means more clicks and traffic for your WordPress blog or website.
You can quickly and easily add this schema information using AIOSEO’s user-friendly editor.
There is a free version of AIOSEO, but you will need the pro version if you want to change the schema type.
Smart XML sitemaps that automatically notify the search engines about any new customer reviews.
SEO audit checklists so you can optimize your customer reviews page and other important content.
Boost your local SEO so nearby people can discover your reviews.
Cons:
Although AIOSEO can help your reviews appear in relevant search results, the plugin wasn’t specifically designed with customer reviews in mind.
There’s a learning curve if you want to master AIOSEO’s more advanced features.
Why we chose All in One SEO: Although it’s easy to overlook, a good SEO plugin is essential for getting the most out of your reviews. With its built-in support for rich snippets, automatic SEO audits, and other search engine-friendly features, AIOSEO can show your reviews to people who are looking for products and services just like yours.
If you run a WooCommerce store, then AIOSEO can also optimize your WooCommerce SEO, including your product pages and product categories.
Pricing: You can download AIOSEO for free from the official WordPress repository. If you need more advanced features, then you can upgrade to AIOSEO Pro from $49.60.
If lots of people recommend a product, then we are more likely to buy that product. With that being said, positive product reviews can get you a ton of extra sales.
This free plugin can check whether each review comes from a genuine buyer. It will then show a trust badge next to verified reviewers so that visitors can see which reviews are genuine.
Customers can also upload pictures, leave star ratings, and vote on whether they found a review helpful. You can even add FAQs and a question-and-answer section to your products so customers can ask questions about your products or business.
When a customer buys a product, the plugin can automatically send them an email asking for feedback. This is a great way to get more reviews, particularly if you offer to send a coupon after a WooCommerce product review.
If you upgrade to the premium version, then you can also customize the review section, remove the plugin’s branding, and change the default email to your business email address.
Pros:
Integrates perfectly with WooCommerce.
Get more reviews by sending automated, personalized emails to customers.
Highlights genuine, verified reviews.
Built-in shortcodes to display a review list, grid, or slider on any page or post.
Adds an FAQ section to your product pages.
Cons:
This is a WooCommerce plugin, so it doesn’t work with other popular eCommerce plugins like Easy Digital Downloads.
Uses the standard reviews template provided by WooCommerce, which may be a problem if you want to customize your WooCommerce product pages.
Why we chose Customer Reviews for WooCommerce: If you have a WooCommerce store, then this plugin will integrate perfectly with your website. It also comes with extra features that can take your reviews to the next level, including automated emails, a question-and-answer tab, and personalization.
Pricing: You can download the free plugin from the official WordPress repository or purchase a premium license for $49.99.
If you collect reviews using a plugin such as WPForms, then you will need a way to display them on your website.
Easy Testimonials is a free plugin that lets you easily add customer reviews and testimonials to your WordPress website.
Easy Testimonials comes with over 25 professionally designed templates, so you have full control over how your reviews look and which content you feature. For example, you can show all your reviews, display a review at random, or even create a slideshow.
Easy Testimonials comes with several widgets, so you can add your reviews to the sidebar or similar areas. For more information, see our guide on how to add and use widgets in WordPress.
Easy Testimonials also has a shortcode, so you can add reviews to any page or post.
If you are using one of the newer block-based themes, then you can even add reviews to pages you can’t customize using the standard WordPress content editor, like your site’s 404 page template.
If you are not using an SEO plugin like AIOSEO, then Easy Testimonials uses JSON-LD markup, so your testimonials will appear correctly in the search results.
Pros:
Add reviews to any part of your website using the plugin’s widget or a shortcode.
Organize your reviews using categories.
Add ratings, images, and links to your customer testimonials.
Schema.org compliant JSON-LD markup.
Cons:
It doesn’t integrate with third-party review sites such as Trustpilot, so you will need to add each review manually.
You can’t bulk import reviews from an Excel or CSV file using the free plugin.
Why we chose Easy Testimonials: If you allow users to submit reviews using a plugin like WPForms, then Easy Testimonials makes it easy to add those reviews to WordPress. It may not integrate with third-party websites like Yelp and Facebook, but Easy Testimonials is a great choice for manually adding reviews to your website.
Pricing: You can download Easy Testimonials for free from the WordPress repository.
What Is the Best Customer Reviews Plugin for WordPress?
If you want to show customer reviews from all the top third-party websites, then we recommend Smash Balloon Reviews Feed. This single plugin allows you to display reviews from Yelp, Facebook, Google, WordPress.org, Trustpilot, and TripAdvisor.
After placing the review feed on your website, Smash Balloon will fetch new reviews automatically. This makes it the perfect choice for busy business owners who want to save time and create automated workflows in WordPress.
Since it integrates with WordPress.org, it’s also a good option if you have published a theme or plugin and want to show its WordPress.org reviews on your website.
After installing Smash Balloon, we also recommend using All in One SEO (AIOSEO) to optimize your site. AIOSEO may not be designed specifically with customer reviews in mind, but it can help your reviews appear in relevant search results.
You can also add product review schema, which encourages search engines such as Google to display product information in its search results. This includes the product’s star rating and how many reviews it has.
If you’d prefer to use a plugin that integrates directly with WooCommerce, then you can use Customer Reviews for WooCommerce instead.
In this guide, we compared all the most popular customer review plugins. If you still have questions, then here are our answers about choosing the perfect review plugin.
How do I add customer reviews in WordPress?
If you use a plugin like Smash Balloon, then your review feed will update automatically. This can save you a ton of time and effort, as you don’t need to add each new customer review manually.
How do I accept user-submitted reviews on my WordPress website?
The easiest way to accept user-submitted reviews in WordPress is by using WPForms. The plugin has multiple review form templates that allow customers to submit their thoughts and feedback.
Simply choose the review template you want to use and customize it using WPForms’ drag-and-drop editor. You can then add the form to any page, post, or widget-ready area using either the WPForms block or shortcode.
Is there a Google review plugin for WordPress?
Both Smash Balloon Reviews Feed and WP Business Reviews can show reviews from your Google business page.
How do I add customer testimonials in WordPress?
You can add testimonials by manually copying them into your WordPress website content. However, a testimonials plugin lets you easily display reviews in a slider, carousel, grid, and many other beautiful layouts.
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.
Do you want to better understand your website visitors?
By figuring out the intent of your visitors, you can offer what they’re looking for. This helps you create more helpful content, improve your website experience, offer the right products, and more.
In this article, we will show you how to understand WordPress website visitors’ intent and also share helpful tips.
What is Website Visitor Intent?
Website visitor intent simply refers to what a user is trying to do or find on your WordPress website, or why they clicked on your site in search results in the first place.
To better understand what is a visitor or user’s intent, you can break it down into 4 types:
Navigational – When a user searches for your brand name in the search engine to find the website URL or visits your site to find a link to the contact form, then this is called navigational intent. For instance, a visitor might be looking to fill out a contact form and get in touch with you about guest posting.
Informational – This is when people are in the research phase and are looking for information about a product or service. Informational intent allows visitors to gain more knowledge about a topic or solve a problem. For example, a user might be looking for an article to learn more about your software before making a purchase.
Commercial – A user might visit your website to compare different products and services. When this happens, then the visitor intent is said to be commercial. The purpose of the visit is to find out which product or service is better and which they should buy.
Transactional – When someone visits your site to make a purchase, then the intent is transactional. Users are in the final stage of buying a product or service. They can also visit your site or online store to find discount coupons and deals before purchasing.
Why Understand WordPress Website Visitor Intent?
As a website owner or a marketer, trying to understand visitor intent is like reading minds. It uncovers a wealth of information that can help grow your business.
If you have a WordPress blog, then you can find out which content your visitors like. This way, you can create content that your audience prefers and boost your website traffic.
Similarly, understanding visitor intent on a WooCommerce can help you better understand your customer’s needs. You can offer products that people are looking for and get more conversions.
Knowing user intent can also help improve your website experience. You can see the path a user takes on your website before converting. This way, you’ll be able to fix any issues, like making the checkout process straightforward or providing a table of contents in an article for better navigation.
That said, let’s look at how you can better understand website visitor intent. You can click the links below to jump ahead to any tip.
Uncovering the true intention of users and why they’re on your website can be challenging.
However, there are many WordPress plugins and tools that you can use better understand your audience and their behavior.
Here are a few ways you can learn about your website visitor’s intent.
1. Ask Users for a Quick Feedback
The easiest way of understanding your visitors’ intent is by asking them for feedback. You get to know what your audience is looking for on your website and uncover their pain points.
For instance, if you have an online store, then you can run surveys to find out what buyers are actually looking for or where they are satisfied with their purchase.
Similarly, you can also get feedback on your articles and landing pages. This helps you figure out whether the content you’re creating is helpful for users. You can then tweak your content to match the correct intent.
For example, a user might be visiting with informational intent and looking for basic information about your service. However, if you show an article that has a transactional intent, then the user might not be satisfied and would eventually exit your site.
MonsterInsights runs a quick survey and asks its visitors what content it should create. This is really useful in coming up with new content ideas.
The best way of adding collecting feedback from your audience is by using the UserFeedback plugin. It is a free and powerful plugin that lets you launch surveys and get quick feedback in real-time.
The plugin comes with built-in templates and questions that help create a quick feedback survey. There is also a UserFeedback premium version that offers more templates, questions, and customization options.
For example, you can choose templates for website experience, post-purchase review, competitive research, NPS survey, and more.
2. Add Interactive Polls to Understand Visitor Intent
Another way of quickly understanding your WordPress website visitor intent is by adding interactive polls on your site.
While surveys can be open-ended, polls are focused. You can show multiple options for users to choose from, show a rating scale, or show a simple yes/no question. The highest votes for an option will help you uncover the intent behind using your website.
Once you know why people use your website, you can then divide them into different segments. This will help you send targeted push notifications, show personalized campaigns, and display relevant content.
3. Track the User Journey of Your WordPress Forms
If you have different forms on your website, then wouldn’t you want to know how users interact with them and what’s their intent when submitting one?
Forms are a great way to stay connected with your users. They help you get feedback from people, resolve their queries, collect online payments, accept file uploads, gather leads and newsletter subscribers, and more.
However, some users fill out forms while others don’t. By tracking the user journey, you can see the steps people take before submitting a form.
This way, you’ll learn a lot about user behavior and what compels them to fill out forms on your website. Using the insight you get from understanding your visitor’s intent, you can create forms that help gather more leads and grow your business. Plus, you’ll also be able to reduce form abandonment.
The best way to track the user journey of your WordPress forms is by using WPForms. It offers a User Journey addon that shows where a user came from and which pages they visited before submitting a form.
4. Setup Customer Journey Tracking on Your Online Store
You can also track customer journeys on your eCommerce store and learn more about your visitors’ intent. Customer journey tracking will help you see which pages each user visited, how long they stayed there, and what they did before completing a purchase.
This will help you uncover transactional intent and see the reason why people are buying some products but not others. You can then improve your sales funnel and optimize it for more conversions.
Plus, you’ll see how users navigate your website. Using this information, you can uncover the navigational intent of users and make it easier for them to find the right products, smoothen the checkout process, optimize the product pages, and more.
With MonsterInsights, setting up customer journey tracking is very easy. It offers a User Journey addon that automatically works with popular eCommerce plugins like WooCommerce, MemberPress, Easy Digital Downloads, and more.
You can then view a report inside your WordPress dashboard and learn more about the path your customers took.
Simply select a transaction ID to view the entire journey of the customer.
In the screenshot below, you can exactly see on which page the customer arrived, which pages they then visited, and how long they stayed there before buying a product.
Next, you can discover website visitor intent by looking at how they interact with your WordPress site.
For instance, you can see where they click, which pages they visit the most, which files they download, which videos they watch, and more.
You can track all this using MonsterInsights. It is the best Analytics plugin for WordPress and makes it very easy to install Google Analytics in WordPress without editing code.
The plugin automatically sets up advanced tracking in Google Analytics for you. The best part, you can see reports in your WordPress admin panel and better understand your visitors.
For instance, MonsterInsights tracks outbound links and affiliate links on your site. This helps understand user behavior and lets you see where they click.
Similarly, you can uncover your most important pages.
MonsterInsights shows the top pages and posts that people visit on your site. Using this insight, you can uncover content that your audience likes.
If you have videoes embedded in your content, then MonsterInsights can also help see which videos get the most engagement. For instance, if an informational video is getting more plays, then you can create similar videos to attract more visitors.
In the report, you can see the number of plays, average watch time, average percentage watched, and completion rate for each video. To learn more, please see our guide on how to track video analytics in WordPress.
Besides that, you can also use MonsterInsights to better understand your visitors by tracking file downloads, viewing top traffic sources, finding which region your visitors are from, and more.
It even shows which device and browser your visitors use, which marketing campaigns are performing the best, and top referral sources.
6. See What Search Terms People Use on Your Website
Do you have a search feature on your WordPress website? If so, then you can understand user intent by finding out what search terms people use on your site to find products, services, and content.
You can use SearchWP to uncover the search terms people use on your website or eCommerce store. It is the best WordPress search plugin that lets you customize your search on a WordPress site.
You can create custom search engines and algorithms to include custom fields, tables, categories, tags, documents, products, and more in the search process.
With SearchWP, you’ll get to see stats inside your WordPress dashboard. It will display all the queries and the number of times users searched them on your site.
7. Use SEO Tools to See the Search Intent of Keywords
Aside from tracking site searches, you can also look up keywords people use on search engines to find your website. While this may not show user behavior on your website, but it reveals a key part of user intent.
For instance, let’s say a user enters a search term on Google looking for information about your products. Instead, you’re offering them a sales page with transactional intent that has limited details about the product. This will be bad for your WordPress SEO and user experience.
Understanding the search intent of a keyword helps you fulfill your visitor’s needs. You get to see what type of content to create or products to offer.
To start, you will first need to see what keywords people are entering in search engines. You can do that by using Google Search Console. It is a free tool by Google that helps monitor your site’s presence in search results.
Next, Search Console will show all the keywords your site is ranking on. If you’re using MonsterInsights, then you can see the Search Console report inside your WordPress dashboard.
It will show the number of impressions, clicks, click-through rate (CTR), and average position for top 50 Google search terms people use.
After you’ve uncovered the keywords people are searching for, the next step is to perform keyword research and figure out their user intent.
You can do that by using an SEO tool like Semrush. It is a powerful tool used by SEO experts, marketers, and business owners. Simply enter the keyword in the tool, and you’ll see different variations.
It will also show the intent behind each search term. For instance, if the intent is informational, then your users are looking for answers to a specific question or topic. Or if it is transactional, then people are looking complete an action like purchasing a product or service.
You can then use these details to create the right content and satisfy user intent. In turn will help you rank higher on Google, better assist your visitors, and boost conversions.
Alternative Method: To get more keyword ideas for your website, you can use WPBeginner’s Keyword Generator Tool. It will show over 300 search term ideas to target on your site.
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.
Are you looking for an easy way to add a coupon code field to your WordPress forms?
By adding a coupon code field in your forms, you can offer discounts to your customers and increase sales during slow periods.
In this article, we will show you how to easily add a coupon code field in your WordPress forms.
Why Add Coupons to Your WordPress Forms?
Adding a coupon code field to forms on your WordPress website can encourage users to buy from you.
For example, if you have an order form for your restaurant, then adding a coupon code for discounts can help attract new customers and encourage repeat purchases.
You can also use coupons to promote clearance sales or new products in your online store, celebrate events, or reward loyal customers.
Moreover, you can also use a coupon code field to build an email list by offering discount codes to customers who sign up as subscribers.
That being said, let’s see how to easily add a coupon code field in WordPress forms.
How to Add Coupon Code Field in WordPress Forms
You can easily add a coupon code field in a WordPress form using WPForms.
It is the best WordPress contact form plugin on the market that comes with a drag-and-drop builder and makes it super easy to create any kind of form you want.
First, you will need to install and activate the WPForms plugin. For detailed instructions, please see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Note: WPForms also has a free version. However, you will need a paid plan to unlock the Coupons addon.
Upon activation, you need to head over to the WPForms » Settings page from the WordPress admin sidebar and enter your license key.
You can get this information from your account on the WPForms website.
Next, visit the WPForms » Addons page from the WordPress dashboard and search for the Coupons addon.
Once you have done that, just click the ‘Install Addon’ button to download and activate it on your website.
After the addon has been activated, head over to the WPForms » Payments page from the admin area and switch to the ‘Coupons’ tab.
From here, you need to click the ‘+ Add Coupon’ button to continue.
This will take you to the ‘Add New Coupon’ page, where you can start by typing a name for your coupon. Keep in mind that this name won’t be displayed for your users and is just for your reference.
After that, you have to type the code that users will use to get a discount on your website.
If you don’t want to create a custom code, then simply click the ‘Generate Code’ button to let WPForms generate a code for you.
Next, you need to add the percentage or amount of discount that will be given to the customers upon using the coupon in the ‘Amount’ field.
Once you have done that, you can also add a start date and end date for the coupon code. For example, if you want to create a coupon that will only be valid for a week, then you can add those dates into the fields.
After that, you must add the maximum number of times a single user can use the coupon code in the ‘Max Uses’ field.
Now, you have to scroll down to the ‘Allowed Forms’ section on the page. From here, toggle the switch on next to the form where you want to enable the coupon code.
Finally, click the ‘Save Coupon’ button to store your settings.
Add the Coupon Code to a WordPress Form
Now, you need to open the form where you want to add the coupon code field.
To do this, visit the WPForms » All Forms page from the WordPress dashboard and click the ‘Edit’ link under the form where you want to add a coupon field.
This will launch the form in the form builder. For this tutorial, we will be adding a coupon code field to a takeout order form.
Here, you will notice available fields in the left column and a form preview on the right side of the screen. Simply drag and drop the Coupon field into the form.
Once you have done that, you must click on the field to open its settings in the left column.
Next, choose the coupon that you created earlier from the ‘Allowed Coupons’ dropdown menu.
After that, you can add a label or description for the coupon field and also toggle on the ‘Required’ switch.
If you do this, then users won’t be able to submit the form without filling in the coupon code.
Next, switch to the ‘Payments’ tab to configure settings. With WPForms, you can easily accept payments from popular gateways like Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net, and more.
All you have to do is activate the addon for the gateway of your choice and then toggle the switch to enable it from the form builder.
Next, switch back to the ‘Fields’ tab and drag and drop the field for the payment gateway of your choice into the form.
Now, you will be able to accept payments directly from WPForms after the user applies the discount coupon code.
Once you are done, just click the ‘Save’ button at the top to store your settings.
Add the WordPress Form to a Page/Post
Now, it’s time for you to add the Takeout form with the coupon code to a WordPress page or post. Keep in mind that if the form where you added the coupon code field is already published on a page/post of your website, then it will automatically be updated.
However, if you haven’t added the form yet, then open an existing or new page/post from your WordPress dashboard.
From here, click the ‘+’ button to open the block menu and add the WPForms block.
After that, you need to choose the form with the coupon code field from the dropdown menu inside the block.
Next, click the ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ button to store your settings.
Now, you can visit your WordPress site to view the form with a coupon field in action.
Add a Message for Coupon Errors
If you also want to display a message to users who enter the wrong coupon code, then you must visit the WPForms » Settings page from the WordPress dashboard.
From here, switch to the ‘Validation’ tab and scroll down to the ‘Coupon Error’ option. After that, type the sentence that will be displayed to users upon entering the wrong code.
Once you are done, just click the ‘Save Settings’ button to store your changes.
Now, if users enter the incorrect coupon code, then they will see your error message.
Track Coupon Usage With WPForms
With WPForms, you can also track the number of times your coupon was used to get a discount. This can help you see if your coupon codes and discounts are effective in driving sales or not.
To view your coupon usage, just visit the WPForms » Payments page from the WordPress admin sidebar.
You will see a summary chart of coupon usage on your WordPress site in the ‘Overview’ tab.
From here, you can also click on the ‘Total Payments’ tab to view individual payments and see which customers used the coupon code on your site.
This will help you decide if adding the coupon code field has helped you generate more revenue and been a successful campaign or not.
Bonus: More Tips for Using Coupons in WordPress
Coupon marketing is one of the most effective ways to get more sales and grow customer loyalty. Apart from adding coupon fields to your WordPress forms, you can also use coupons to promote a new product, clearance sale, special events, or more.
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Are you looking for the best way to host and manage a virtual event?
Maybe you’d like to hold your next conference online or run a webinar about your products and services. You may be worried that it will be too expensive, or you won’t have the technical knowledge to pull it off.
In this article, we’ll list all of the equipment on online services you’ll need, and teach you everything you need to host a virtual event in WordPress. Plus, if your business doesn’t have a website, then we will cover that too.
Why Host Virtual Events?
Are you looking to host a conference to build your authority in your niche, or invite users to a webinar where you can demonstrate your products and services? You can use your WordPress website as a launchpad for virtual events.
A virtual event is an online gathering where people connect using computers and mobile devices instead of meeting in the same physical location. These events can range from small gatherings to full-scale conferences with thousands of attendees.
They are a good way to generate leads, boost user engagement, and even make money through sponsorship opportunities, selling premium tickets, and offering paid membership.
There are many benefits to running these events online. You won’t need to worry about paying for a venue, and your users won’t have to worry about transport. You also won’t be so affected by time zone differences.
These benefits mean that you’ll likely have a larger attendance at the event. However, virtual events are also more prone to technical problems and difficulties. Organizing an event will always require effort, planning, and the right resources, even when you hold it online.
Are you ready to learn how to host a virtual event using your WordPress website? We’ll walk you through each step.
Here’s a quick outline that you can use to easily browse the article:
If you already have a WordPress website set up, then you can click skip this section. If you like, you can simply use your business website. For big events, you might like to create a landing page on a separate website.
Once your website is set up, the next step is to choose and install an event plugin.
Choosing and Installing a WordPress Event Plugin
You can add the features you need to host an event to your WordPress site by installing a WordPress event plugin. The plugin you choose will depend on your needs, such as whether your users need to purchase a ticket or simply register or RSVP to attend the event.
You should start by deciding whether you want to display an RSVP form, event calendar, or event registration page on your website.
Create an RSVP Form in WordPress
If you simply want your users to RSVP to your event, you can use the free plugin WPForms Lite to create a simple RSVP form on your website.
This will let you keep track of who will be attending and give you an idea of the number of participants you will have.
An event calendar is an easy way to let your users know about the events you are running. Depending on the plugin you choose, you will be able to display your events, let users RSVP to events, sell tickets, add and manage venues, and much more.
For example, The Events Calendar is a feature-rich event management system that makes it easy to add all your event details, including a separate page for venues and organizers.
You have multiple different views for displaying your event calendar on the front end, including day, week, or month. You can even spotlight events to increase engagement on the events you want the most attention on.
Plus, you can add filtering, so your users can find the exact events they’re looking for, and they offer several addons for selling tickets.
Create an Event Registration Page in WordPress
If you decide to sell tickets to your event, you will quickly discover that many third-party event registration and ticketing services will charge a small fee for each ticket you sell.
You can avoid some of these issues by creating your own event registration page in WordPress. This will allow you to collect online payments directly, store attendee information on your website, and use your own brand name when promoting the event.
You can easily create an event registration page using WPForms.
The free Lite version supports Stripe credit card payments, and you can unlock additional payment methods such as PayPal, Square, and Authorize.net by upgrading to the Pro plan.
Now that you have a way that users can let you know they will attend your event, you should create a landing page. This is a carefully designed page that lets your visitors know about your event and encourages them to sign up.
It should contain a clear call to action that is linked to the RSVP form, event calendar, or event registration page that you created.
In our guide on how to create a landing page with WordPress, we show you how to use the top three solutions for creating landing pages in WordPress. These landing page builders are easy to use, optimized for speed, and affordable for small businesses. You can pick the solution that best fits your needs.
Once you have a landing page for your event, you can start to promote it. You can start by linking to your event landing page in your email newsletter and social media.
Getting the Right Audio and Video Equipment
Unless you’re getting started on a really tight budget, you and the speakers at the event shouldn’t use the built-in webcam and microphone on your computer. Your users will instantly notice the low audio and video quality and may decide not to attend future events.
Your most important choice of equipment will be your microphone. We recommend you choose a USB mic so you can plug it straight into your computer without the need for extra gear. Here are three popular microphone choices:
The Samson C01U is a good entry-level USB microphone.
The Rode NT-USB is a high-quality USB microphone that comes with a desktop mount and pop filter.
The Heil PR-40 is what the pros use. It has the standard XLR connection instead of USB, so you’ll need to buy a 3.5mm to XLR Cable, audio interface, or mixer as well.
Your microphone will sound best if you purchase a few more items, such as a microphone arm, shock mount, and pop filter. For example, if you are using the Rode NT-USB microphone, you will need the Rode SM6 shock mount with a built-in pop filter and Rode PSA1 boom arm.
The Rode Podcaster kit is good value and comes with a mic arm and shock mount, and we use this at WPBeginner.
If you don’t want to buy all of your equipment at once, then you could use your built-in webcam while you get started, but you will likely get better video quality out of your smartphone’s camera.
You will need to mount your phone on a tripod, and the GripTight GorillaPod Stand PRO is a good option for any type of phone. It has adjustable legs that can be attached to any surface.
Eventually, you can upgrade to a 4K webcam like the Logitech BRIO Webcam. This camera is perfect for video conferencing and easily clips onto any computer. It has excellent video quality even in low light.
You’ll also need decent headphones so that the audio from your speakers isn’t picked up by your microphone. Headphones that plug in are more reliable than Bluetooth headphones. A good option is the Sony MDR7506.
Choosing and Integrating a Video Conferencing Service
You will need to choose an online service that allows you to run virtual events. You can check our list of the best webinar software platforms and compare their features so you can choose the best webinar platform to fit your needs and budget.
We believe that GoToWebinar, LiveStorm, and EasyWebinar are good options because they offer all the powerful webinar features that you need with high-quality video streaming and affordable pricing plans.
If you’re just starting out, then we recommend Zoom because it is easy to use, well-known, and mobile-friendly. Zoom lets you schedule meetings in advance and provides a unique link for each event that you can share with the participants and include on your website.
It is also easy to integrate Zoom with WordPress but to do that you need at least the Pro version of Zoom and the Zoom webinar addon. There is a free version, but you’ll need to have a paid account in order to set up the integration.
You will need to set up Zoom correctly and then connect your account with your WordPress website. Once you’ve done that, you can set up a workflow using Uncanny Automator to automatically register your users with Zoom once they sign up or purchase a ticket.
Before you know it, the time will arrive to run your event. If you’ve chosen the right webinar software platform, you will have all of the features you need, along with reliable, high-quality video and audio.
You will be able to feature multiple presenters and hosts and share your screen with the participants for demonstrations.
We recommend that you mute everyone by default. However, using your platform’s built-in chat feature, participants will be able to interact with you and one another during the event.
They will also be able to ask and answer questions, and you can have them fill in polls to provide you with feedback. We recommend UserFeedback by MonsterInsights for this sort of interaction.
Event Follow Up
After the event is finished, you should follow up with your participants as soon as possible, while they are most interested and the event is still fresh in their minds.
Because you have their contact details from when they registered, you can send them a follow-up email. In that email, you can ask for their feedback. You might like to follow our guide on how to create a survey form in WordPress.
You can follow up with further emails to let them know about the events you have coming up and to gauge their interest in different topics by creating an interactive poll.
Most webinar services will allow you to record the event, and some can even create transcripts. This will allow users who couldn’t attend the live event to see the content.
Finally, most webinar services include actionable analytics so you can see what’s working and what’s not. They will show you who attended, gauge the audience’s interest, list the questions that were asked, and more. This will allow you to fine-tune your event in the future for maximum conversions.
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.
