A web form gives visitors a structured way to send information to a site or service. A simple contact form can collect email addresses, while other forms can request access, accept feedback, support customer-service messages, or gather information such as credit-card details. section 9.10 section 6.0
Forms can support an audience relationship after submission. Collected email addresses can be used for stated marketing purposes, news, special offers, return visits, password resets, order confirmations, shipment notices, and feedback requests. Tell visitors how their email will be used and that it will not be traded or sold. section 9.10
Choose the simplest form tool that fits the job:
- Use Jetpack Form for a bare-bones subscription, access-request, or contact form when the main goal is collecting email addresses. Visitors enter their information, select Submit, and the form is emailed to you. section 5.6
- Use Contact Form 7 when a fuller-featured alternative to the basic Jetpack Form module is needed. section 5.6
- Use WPForms when automatic protection against bad or fake submissions is important; its anti-spam features can include captcha puzzles or math problems before submission. section 9.6.1
Example: a blog access form
A site can ask visitors for an email address before allowing access to a blog or pay-to-view area. This can help build an email database and may reduce spam. For blog comments, require commenters to fill out a name and email through Settings > Discussion. section 9.10 section 5.6
Plan for unwanted submissions whenever a form accepts visitor input. Contact forms are a common spam entrance. CAPTCHA can stop some automated submissions, and Akismet can check potential spam against a global database of known spam. Save changes after editing WordPress discussion settings. section 9.6.1 section 5.1
Forms can also be affected by design choices. A theme may provide functionality beyond styling, and changing themes on a mature site can damage contact forms along with menus, widgets, plugins, or links. Choose a suitable theme early and check form behavior after a change. section 6.0
