Many people like the idea of adding forms to their sites as a means of collecting information from site visitors. Anything requiring more time from the web developer will drive the website cost up. The same goes for the additional back and forth between the developer and their client. While forms are an additional expense, many people choose to have them installed on their websites.

That being said, below are forms some options using various form plugins that I’ve found helpful over the years.

Divi Forms

The Divi forms are built right into the Divi theme. Divi is a very full featured theme available from Elegant Themes. Fewer plugins and other add-ons is always better. The fewer that are needed are key to making your website faster, more efficient and more secure.

• With the Divi Forms, I have more design flexibility
• Must format the message using a “message pattern” in the email section
  • Here is an example of an actual message pattern:
    First name: %%First_Name%%
    Middle name: %%Middle_Name%%
    Last name: %%Last_Name%%
    Address: %%Address%%
    (The text in between the %% are the actual field IDs.)
• Should add reCAPTCHA version 3 because forms will get spammed

WPForms

The form available from wpforms is very well documented and easy to set up and use. Its creator touts it as a “Drag & Drop WordPress Form Builder” and I have used it in many websites.

• With WP Forms, the message pattern is configured automatically
• Some limits in design flexibility (such as adding text in between questions, and uploading attachments), unless you spring for the premium version
• Should add reCAPTCHA version 3 because forms will get spammed

Contact Form 7

Another very popular form is Contact Form 7 by Takayuki Miyoshi. It has been around for a long time and has lots of help available at its website.

• Very bare bones style wise, but you can style with CSS.
• You can add the feature to upload attachments
• Can do just about anything without paying for the premium version
• Takes more styling with CSS to get fancier
• Should add reCAPTCHA version 3 because forms will get spammed