Choosing a WordPress plugin to create forms for your Website?
From looking around to replace an old, and no longer supported, plugin to create forms for one of my websites, I ended up looking at WPForms lite and Contact Form 7, [CF7].
I chose WPForms lite at first, but ended up switching to Contact Form 7, recently, after going a few months with nothing coming through to my email.
I did read some concerning reviews about these two options, but testing CF7 myself, I found it wasn’t as bad as I had read.
One issue mentioned was… “One of it’s biggest drawbacks for people building their own website is that there’s no visual builder.”
It actually does have something… “The CF7 Skins Form tab is where you edit your form using the Visual Editor.”
Another issue mentioned was… “A lot of people end up having the Contact Form 7 not sending email issue.” That was actually my issue with WPForms, and switching to Contact Form 7 fixed that issue for me.
Contact Form 7 is said to not have reCAPTCHA v3. But it has, and very simple to set up.
I also like CF7 for the ability to retain all the submitted data in my WordPress database, with the Flamingo option. Easily accessed on the normal admin panel.
In WPForms this is only available in the Pro option (not free).
I came to the conclusion that… “Things Change“. ie: Reviews on the web, often not dated, might be out of date, as this will probably be in a few years time.
This is an example of the CF7 “Out of the Box” contact form. Nothing changed.
This is a changed version.
WordPress plugins:
Contact Form 7, by Takayuki Miyoshi.
Active installations: 5+ million
Flamingo for CF7, by Takayuki Miyoshi.
Contact Form by WPForms.
Contact Form by WPForms – Drag & Drop Form Builder for WordPress
Active installations: 3+ million
126.1 - 867,989
