As a business owner or marketer, you understand the importance of engaging with your audience. One of the most effective ways to do this is through contact forms on your WordPress website. At Tagsom, we’ve helped numerous clients leverage the power of Contact Form 7, a free and versatile plugin, to create user-friendly forms that drive engagement and support business goals. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the process of setting up and customizing contact forms using Contact Form 7, sharing some success stories along the way.

Why Choose Contact Form 7?

Before we dive into the how-to, let’s briefly discuss why Contact Form 7 is our go-to choice for many of our clients:

1. Free and open-source
2. Easy to use and customize
3. It is lightweight and doesn’t slow down your site
4. Integrates well with other WordPress plugins
5. Regularly updated and well-supported

Now, let’s get started with the setup process.

Step 1: Installing Contact Form 7

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard
2. Go to Plugins > Add New
3. Search for “Contact Form 7”
4. Click “Install Now” and then “Activate”

Once activated, you’ll see a new menu item called “Contact” in your WordPress dashboard.

Step 2: Creating Your First Form

1. Click on “Contact” in the dashboard menu
2. You’ll see a default contact form. Click on it to edit or create a new one by clicking “Add New”
3. Give your form a title (e.g., “Main Contact Form”)

The form editor will show you the form template. It includes basic fields like name, email, subject, and message. You can customize this template to suit your needs.

Step 3: Customizing Form Fields

Contact Form 7 uses a simple tag system to create form fields. Here are some common field types:

1. Text field: [text* your-name]
2. Email field: [email* your-email]
3. Telephone field: [tel* your-phone]
4. Text area: [textarea your-message]
5. Dropdown menu: [select menu-name “Option 1” “Option 2”]
6. Checkboxes: [checkbox checkbox-name “Option 1” “Option 2”]
7. Radio buttons: [radio radio-name “Option 1” “Option 2”]

To add a new field, simply insert the appropriate tag into the form template. The asterisk (*) makes a field required.

Real-World Example: Customizing for a Restaurant Client

At Tagsom, we recently worked with a local restaurant to improve their online reservation system. We customized their Contact Form 7 to include:

1. [text* name placeholder “Your Name”]
2. [email* email placeholder “Your Email”]
3. [tel* phone placeholder “Your Phone Number”]
4. [select* party-size “Party Size” “1-2” “3-4” “5-6” “7+”]
5. [date* date placeholder “Preferred Date”]
6. [select* time “Preferred Time” “6:00 PM” “6:30 PM” “7:00 PM” “7:30 PM” “8:00 PM” “8:30 PM”]
7. [textarea special-requests placeholder “Any special requests?”]

This customized form dramatically improved the restaurant’s booking process, leading to a 30% increase in online reservations.

Step 4: Styling Your Form

While Contact Form 7 works with most WordPress themes, you might want to style your form to match your site’s design. You can do this by adding custom CSS. In your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance > Customize > Additional CSS and add your styles. For example:

CSS:

.wpcf7-form input[type=”text”],

.wpcf7-form input[type=”email”],

.wpcf7-form textarea {

    width: 100%;

    padding: 10px;

    border: 1px solid #ccc;

    border-radius: 4px;

}

.wpcf7-form input[type=”submit”] {

    background-color: #4CAF50;

    color: white;

    padding: 12px 20px;

    border: none;

    border-radius: 4px;

    cursor: pointer;

}

.wpcf7-form input[type=”submit”]:hover {

    background-color: #45a049;

}

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Step 5: Adding CAPTCHA for Spam Protection

To protect your form from spam submissions, you can add a CAPTCHA. Contact Form 7 supports reCAPTCHA v3. Here’s how to set it up:

1. Go to the Google reCAPTCHA admin console and register your site
2. You’ll receive a Site Key and Secret Key
3. In WordPress, go to Contact > Integration
4. Scroll down to the reCAPTCHA section
5. Choose reCAPTCHA v3
6. Enter your Site Key and Secret Key
7. Save the changes
8. Add the following tag to your form: [recaptcha]

Step 6: Configuring Form Notifications

By default, form submissions are sent to the admin email address of your WordPress site. To customize this:

1. In the form editor, go to the “Mail” tab
2. Customize the “To,” “From,” “Subject,” and “Additional Headers” fields as needed
3. In the message body, use form field tags (e.g., [your-name]) to include submitted information

You can also set up multiple email notifications or autoresponders by using the “Mail (2)” tab.

Step 7: Displaying Your Form on Your Website

To display your form on a page or post:

1. Copy the shortcode provided in the form editor (e.g.,

Error: Contact form not found.

2. Create or edit a page/post where you want the form to appear

3. Paste the shortcode into the content area

4. Publish or update the page/post

Success Story: Lead Generation for a Tech Startup

We recently helped a tech startup improve its lead generation process using Contact Form 7. We created a multi-step form that qualified leads before passing them to the sales team. The form included:

• Basic contact information
• Company size and industry
• Current challenges and goals
• Budget Range

By implementing this customized form, the startup saw a 50% increase in qualified leads and a 25% improvement in their sales team’s efficiency.

Step 8: Integrating with Email Marketing Tools

You can integrate Contact Form 7 with email marketing tools to make the most of your form submissions. Popular services like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and ActiveCampaign offer integrations through add-on plugins or services like Zapier.

For example, to integrate with Mailchimp:

1. Install and activate the “Contact Form 7 Mailchimp Extension” plugin
2. Configure the plugin with your Mailchimp API key
3. In your form settings, map form fields to Mailchimp list fields
4. Enable the integration for your specific form

This integration allows you to automatically add form submitters to your email list, streamlining your marketing efforts.

Case Study: Event Registration Form

For a client organizing a series of professional development workshops, we created a Contact Form 7 setup that not only collected registrations but also integrated with their email marketing and CRM systems. The form included:

• Personal and professional information
• Workshop selection (multiple checkboxes)
• Dietary requirements
• Payment method selection

By integrating this form with their email marketing tool and CRM, the client was able to:

1. Automatically add registrants to specific email sequences based on their workshop choices
2. Create targeted follow-up campaigns
3. Track attendee engagement across multiple workshops

This integrated approach resulted in a 40% increase in workshop attendance and a 60% improvement in post-event engagement rates.

Conclusion:

Contact Form 7 is a powerful tool that, when used effectively, can significantly enhance your website’s functionality and support your business goals. From simple contact forms to complex, multi-step lead generation forms, the possibilities are vast. At Tagsom, we’ve seen firsthand how customized forms can drive engagement, improve user experience, and contribute to business growth.

Remember, the key to success with Contact Form 7 lies in understanding your specific needs and tailoring the form accordingly. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different field types, layouts, and integrations to find what works best for your audience.

For more information on how to leverage Contact Form 7 or other WordPress plugins to achieve your business objectives, feel free to reach out to us at info@tagsom.com. Our team of experts is always ready to help you make the most of your digital presence and turn your website into a powerful business tool.