Contact Form 7 vs WPForms: Comparing Features & Ease of Use

Posted by Josh Blackburn, in Contact Form Plugins

Overview of Contact Form 7 and WPForms

In the realm of WordPress, Contact Form 7 and WPForms have established themselves as prominent plugins for creating contact forms. We’ll explore these tools to identify their core functionalities which are crucial for anyone looking to integrate contact forms on their WordPress sites.

Introduction to WordPress Contact Form Plugins

Within WordPress, contact form plugins are essential tools allowing us to create forms for user engagement and information collection. Contact Form 7 and WPForms are two widely used plugins in this category, each coming with its own set of capabilities that cater to diverse user requirements.

Key Features of Contact Form 7

Contact Form 7 is a staple in the WordPress community, known for its:

• Simplicity: It utilizes shortcodes to embed forms.
• Customization: While it requires a basic understanding of HTML to tailor forms extensively, it offers significant flexibility.
• Cost: It is a free plugin, making it accessible for users on a budget.

Key Features of WPForms

On the other hand, WPForms boasts features like:

• Drag-and-Drop Builder: Enabling easy creation of forms without coding knowledge.
• Pre-built Templates: Accelerating the form creation process.
• Premium Versions: Offering additional functionalities such as payment gateway integration, marketing tools, and advanced form fields.

Ease of Use and User Experience

When we discuss the user experience and ease of use, we’re talking about how intuitive and straightforward the plugins are for users to create forms on a WordPress website. Our focus is on how the user interfaces cater to both beginners and advanced users, and the overall form building experience.

User Interface Comparison

Contact Form 7 presents a more bare-bones approach to form creation. Its user interface lacks a drag-and-drop builder, leaning toward a more traditional form of coding, which might be daunting for some, especially those without HTML knowledge. WPForms, on the other hand, boasts a user-friendly interface that includes a drag-and-drop form builder. This lowers the barrier to entry, making form creation accessible to beginners who are not familiar with code.

• Contact Form 7: Simple interface; may require HTML knowledge.
• WPForms: Visual drag-and-drop interface; no coding required.

The primary difference lies in the user experiences each plugin offers—WPForms is designed to be more beginner-friendly, focusing on ease of use, while Contact Form 7 offers a more hands-on approach that might appeal to users with some degree of technical expertise.

Form Building Experience

Our exploration into the form building experience highlights the distinction between a user-friendly drag-and-drop system and a more manual configuration. With WPForms, the process is straightforward: select a field, drag it to the desired location, drop it in, and customize it—all within a visual builder. This experience is time-efficient and less prone to errors, making it a strong choice for users prioritizing a smooth workflow.

• WPForms: Intuitive drag-and-drop builder; quick visual feedback.
• Contact Form 7: Manual input required; suited for users comfortable with HTML and shortcodes.

While both plugins fulfill their purpose of form creation on a WordPress website, the path each one takes is notably different. Contact Form 7 may offer a sense of familiarity and control for users conversant with HTML, but WPForms caters to a broader audience seeking an ease of use and a more polished user experience.

Template Availability and Customization

When evaluating the template offerings and customization capabilities of Contact Form 7 and WPForms, we find distinct differences in user experience and flexibility. These aspects are crucial as they determine how efficiently we can build forms that serve our unique purposes.

Form Templates and Design

Contact Form 7 offers a minimalist approach with basic templates that serve fundamental form needs. Users generally start with a simple template and can insert fields as needed using HTML code. While this method requires more hands-on work, it provides flexibility to those familiar with code.

• Fields: Insert standard fields such as text, email, URL, and number.
• Design: Customize the appearance using HTML and CSS.
• Integration: Utilize shortcodes to embed forms across your site.

WPForms, on the other hand, boasts a robust library of pre-designed templates for a variety of uses, from simple contact forms to more complex surveys and registration forms.

• Form Builder: Utilize a drag-and-drop interface to design and edit forms with ease.
• Templates: Access over 100 pre-built form templates catered to different niches and purposes.
• Design Customization: Personalize forms with built-in styling options without touching code.

Customizing Form Fields

In the realm of WPForms, customization can be accomplished visually through the drag-and-drop builder, with options to add or modify fields ranging from basic text inputs to more specialized options such as checkboxes, radio buttons, and drop-down menus. Importantly, fields can be tailored to collect precisely the data we need.

• Types of Fields: Choose from a variety of field types like text boxes, checklists, file uploads, and payment options.
• Field Options: Easily adjust field size, placeholders, and labels directly within the builder.

With Contact Form 7, customization leans heavily on manually editing HTML and adding shortcodes for each field. This approach offers a deeper level of customization to those adept in HTML.

• HTML Customization: Directly edit field HTML for detailed control over form elements.
• Shortcode Insertion: Carefully place shortcodes to create complex forms tailor-suited for specific requirements.

In sum, our central discovery is that WPForms offers an expansive and user-friendly templating and customization experience. Alternatively, Contact Form 7 caters to users who prefer or require direct code manipulation to craft their forms.

Functionality and Features

In considering Contact Form 7 and WPForms, we focus on their functionality and features, which include advanced form fields, spam protection, security, and integrations with marketing and payment platforms.

Advanced Form Fields and Functions

WPForms and Contact Form 7 both offer a range of form fields, but WPForms stands out with its drag-and-drop builder, which enhances the user experience. It features rich text fields, dropdowns, and conditional logic that allows forms to show or hide fields based on user responses. Contact Form 7 also supports form fields and file uploads, but without a drag-and-drop interface, it requires more hands-on effort to create multi-step forms.

Spam Protection and Security

Both plugins offer CAPTCHA and reCAPTCHA tools to protect against spam. Contact Form 7 provides simple CAPTCHA solutions, while WPForms integrates with more advanced spam prevention options like reCAPTCHA by Google and hCaptcha. This ensures that our forms remain secure and reduces the risk of unwanted spam submissions.

Marketing and Payment Integrations

When it comes to integrations, WPForms provides a variety of options including email marketing services like MailChimp, AWeber, GetResponse, Campaign Monitor, Drip, and Constant Contact. Payment integrations are also available with WPForms, as it supports transactions through PayPal and Stripe, which are essential for businesses that want to secure payments directly through their forms. Contact Form 7 has fewer native integrations but can connect to several marketing tools through additional plugins.

Support and Documentation

In our experience, the support and documentation for a plugin can significantly shape user experience and satisfaction. Let’s take a closer look at how Contact Form 7 and WPForms approach customer support services and provide educational resources.

Customer Support Services

Contact Form 7 offers support mainly through an extensive support forum. Users can post their queries and issues, which are then addressed by the community and the plugin authors. However, it’s important to note that direct support from the developers might be limited since it’s a free plugin.

On the other hand, WPForms operates a more structured support ticket system for paying customers. Those who invest in their premium plans gain access to priority support, ensuring that any issues can receive personal and direct assistance from their support team.

Educational Resources and Tutorials

Both plugins provide a variety of educational resources to help users learn how to use their features efficiently.

• Contact Form 7:

  • Offers documentation that includes FAQs and detailed articles on how to use the plugin.
  • The plugin’s official website features tutorials for both basic and advanced functionality.

• WPForms:

  • WPForms has a significant advantage in its range of tutorial videos and articles that serve all user levels.
  • Their blog also consistently publishes helpful content, aiding users in making the most out of the plugin’s features.

Whether you opt for Contact Form 7 or WPForms, make sure to leverage the support and educational materials provided to maximize the potential of your chosen contact form solution.

Pricing and Versions

We’ll decipher the nuances of pricing for Contact Form 7 and WPForms, giving you a clear comparison between the free offerings and the more advanced, paid versions.

Comparing Free Versions

Contact Form 7 is a stalwart in the WordPress community, known for its enduring presence as a completely free plugin. There is no premium version, making it an accessible option for those on a tight budget. It offers basic contact form functions and is sufficient for users who seek minimalistic forms without the need for advanced features.

On the other hand, WPForms Lite is the free version of WPForms and stands as a direct competitor, providing an intuitive drag-and-drop builder and template library to ease the form creation process. While also free, WPForms Lite limits certain advanced functionalities which are reserved for the Pro upgrade.

Analysis of Pro Versions

When examining the Pro versions, WPForms offers multiple tiers with escalating features and benefits. The entry-level Pro plan offers a comprehensive suite of tools from payment integrations to marketing support, and the price starts at $39.50 for the first year with subsequent renewals at a higher rate. Each tier above adds more advanced features, catering to growing businesses.

Contrastingly, Contact Form 7 remains steadfast as a free solution and does not feature a Pro version. Hence, any additional functionalities beyond its baseline capabilities would need to be incorporated via separate plugins or custom coding, potentially incurring additional costs without a straightforward pricing structure.

By evaluating the free and Pro versions of both plugins, we can surmise that WPForms offers a more graduated scaling of its features with associated costs, while Contact Form 7 remains a robust, free alternative for those with simpler needs or a preference for the WordPress coding environment.

Integration Capabilities

When comparing the integration capabilities of Contact Form 7 and WPForms, it’s important to focus on how each plugin facilitates connection with various tools and services. We’ll explore how these plugins interact with email marketing tools, payment processors, and CRM/webhooks, ensuring that users can extend their forms’ functionality to enhance their website’s performance.

Email Marketing Tools

Contact Form 7 offers a more manual integration approach with email marketing tools, allowing the use of third-party plugins or direct code snippets like shortcodes to connect to services. Extensions are available for some platforms, but integration may require additional customization.

WPForms, on the other hand, provides built-in integration features for several popular email marketing services. Users can seamlessly connect their forms to their preferred platform using the plugin’s intuitive interface. Here’s how each interacts with email marketing services:

• Contact Form 7: Utilizes extensions and shortcodes for integration.
• WPForms: Offers direct integration modules within the plugin for services such as Mailchimp, AWeber, and more.

Payment Processors

For Contact Form 7, setting up a payment form is possible but typically requires more effort. Users often need to employ additional plugins or custom code to integrate with payment processors, which might not result in the most streamlined process.

With WPForms, users can leverage premade templates and addons for payment processor integration, supporting payment collection through gateways like PayPal and Stripe. WPForms simplifies the creation of payment forms, making it more accessible, especially for users who are not as technically inclined.

• Contact Form 7: May require custom integration or additional plugins.
• WPForms: Provides addons for easy integration with PayPal and Stripe.

CRM and Webhooks

Both Contact Form 7 and WPForms allow for integration with customer relationship management (CRM) systems, albeit in differing manners. Contact Form 7 relies on additional plugins or custom integration using Webhooks.

WPForms provides more direct CRM integration capabilities, particularly with its premium versions, which can integrate with popular CRMs like Salesforce directly out of the box. Zapier support is another key feature of WPForms that expands its integration capabilities with various web applications and services.

• Contact Form 7: Sometimes necessitates extra plugins or custom coding for CRMs and Webhooks.
• WPForms: Connects directly to several CRMs and supports Zapier for extended integrations.

In terms of page builders, WPForms stands out with its integration features for WordPress site builders such as Elementor, Divi, and SeedProd, while Contact Form 7 maintains its functionality through the use of shortcodes, which can be inserted in any page builder that supports them.

Comparative Analysis

In this section, we aim to provide a detailed comparison between Contact Form 7 and WPForms, assessing their performance and reliability, as well as discussing their standing in the market.

Contact Form 7 vs WPForms Overview

Contact Form 7: This is one of the oldest and most popular free WordPress contact form plugins.

• Pro: It is highly customizable and offers basic contact form features.
• Con: It does not natively support advanced features such as conditional logic or multi-step forms.

WPForms: Positioning itself as a Contact Form 7 alternative, WPForms is a user-friendly form builder.

• Pro: Offers drag-and-drop functionality and is designed to be more intuitive.
• Con: Many of its advanced features are accessed through paid upgrades.

Performance and Reliability

Both plugins impact website performance differently:

• Contact Form 7 tends to be lighter on resources, possibly due to its simpler codebase.
• WPForms offers a smoother user experience with features that may require more resources.

In terms of reliability, both plugins are well-maintained but WPForms often receives praise for its modern and reliable user interface.

Contact Form 7 and WPForms in the Market

In the market, ratings and adoption reflect the usability and feature set of these plugins:

• Contact Form 7: It maintains a high number of active installations, likely due to its legacy and no-cost offering.
• WPForms: With its focus on a streamlined design and ease-of-use, it has earned high ratings and is often considered as a strong Contact Form 7 alternative.

When examining market preference, it is evident that users who prioritize advanced functionality without complexity tend to choose WPForms, whereas users who are adept at coding or have simpler needs tend to stick with Contact Form 7.

Additional Features and Add-Ons

When evaluating the additional features and add-ons for Contact Form 7 and WPForms, we see a notable distinction in their approach to enhancing user experience and functionality.

Contact Form 7 offers a range of third-party add-ons that extend its capabilities. However, these add-ons are not centrally managed, meaning users need to source them from various developers. Here are some key add-ons and functionality available:

• File Upload: Allows users to attach files to their form submissions.
• Advanced Forms: Some add-ons enable the creation of more complex forms.
• Third-party Integration: Add-ons are capable of connecting forms with other plugins and services.

WPForms, on the other hand, provides a more streamlined experience with a suite of official add-ons. Let’s delve into some of their additional features:

• Add-ons: WPForms features a variety of premium add-ons, accessible directly through their interface.
• File Upload: Users have an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop file upload feature.
• User Registration: A dedicated add-on allows for user registration and login forms.
• Live Preview: Designing forms is straightforward with live preview capabilities.
• Advanced Forms: WPForms supports complex form types, such as multi-page forms and payment integrations, right out of the box.

Comparison Table:

Our assessment reveals that while both plugins are robust in their functionalities, WPForms leads with a more user-friendly approach to additional features and add-ons, offering a smoother and more cohesive experience.

Community and Third-Party Resources

In our assessment of Contact Form 7 and WPForms, we’ve discovered that both plugins benefit from robust support from developers and user communities. This engagement through various resources enhances the overall experience with both WordPress form builders.

Developer Support

For Contact Form 7, support largely comes from the broader WordPress community, with various third-party developers offering add-ons and extensions that augment its functionality. Plugins for integrating user registration forms, for example, are available and provide increased utility for website administrators. On the other hand, WPForms takes a more structured approach, with a team continually enriching its core offerings and providing a suite of official add-ons for tasks such as user registration, payment collection, and more.

Online Communities and Forums

We observe healthy online communities for both Contact Form 7 and WPForms across several platforms like Reddit, Facebook, and code-oriented hubs such as Stack Overflow. Contact Form 7 has an extensive community on the WordPress.org forums, where users and developers discuss issues and solutions. Additionally, WPForms benefits from a proactive presence on similar forums, with their team frequently contributing to discussions and providing direct support. Third-party tutorials and resources, created by experienced users, offer a wealth of knowledge for both novice and advanced users of these WordPress forms plugins.

Final Thoughts

When weighing the merits of Contact Form 7 against WPForms, we recognize that the choice largely hinges on the specific needs of our website. Contact Form 7, with its longstanding presence since being launched, remains a staple in the WordPress community, offering a sturdy, no-frills solution for those in pursuit of basic form functionality without a financial commitment.

In contrast, WPForms emerges as the more intuitive option, fostering ease of use with its robust drag-and-drop functionality. It’s a particularly appealing choice for users seeking a polished experience, willing to invest in a premium product for enhanced support and features.

Feature Comparison:

We acknowledge that both plugins serve their respective audiences with competence. Enthusiasts of Contact Form 7 appreciate its simplicity and the control it provides, especially when on a tight budget. On the other side, proponents of WPForms value its user-centric design and array of advanced features that tend to streamline the form creation process.

Ultimately, our decision should align with our objectives, technical confidence, and readiness to either embrace the minimalist or invest in a more sophisticated approach. Each plugin publishes updates regularly, ensuring they remain compatible with evolving WordPress standards and user expectations.