Form Maker vs Forminator: A Detailed Comparison for Optimal Online Forms

Posted by Josh Blackburn, in Contact Form Plugins

Overview of Form Maker and Forminator

When managing WordPress sites, selecting the right form builder is crucial for our engagement with users. Form Maker and Forminator are two notable plugins in this space.

• Form Maker is a versatile plugin that offers an intuitive interface for creating forms. With a drag-and-drop feature, we can easily design complex forms. Form Maker provides advanced field options and customizable themes, which allows us to tailor our forms to the website’s aesthetic.

• Forminator, on the other hand, is WordPress’s own solution to form building. It’s known for its ease of use and integration capabilities with other business tools. Just like Form Maker, Forminator also includes a drag-and-drop builder, facilitating form creation without coding knowledge.

Here’s how they compare:

Form Maker tends to be appealing for users in need of a simple yet effective tool to design and deploy forms. Meanwhile, Forminator stands out for its straightforward integration with a wide range of business tools, aiding in automation and streamlining data collection processes. Both plugins are equipped to create various types of forms, from simple contact forms to more intricate survey and quiz forms, making them versatile choices for WordPress form builders.

Core Features Comparison

When evaluating Form Maker and Forminator, it’s essential to consider their core features to determine which plugin best fits your WordPress site needs. Let’s compare these two plugins across various functionalities.

Form Customization and Templates

Forminator offers a drag-and-drop interface along with a variety of pre-built form templates, making form creation intuitive and efficient. Form Maker also provides a visual editor and a range of templates, although it may have fewer pre-designed layouts than Forminator.

Types of Forms Available

Both plugins support a variety of form types including contact forms, registration forms, payment forms, order forms, surveys, polls, and quizzes. This array of forms ensures that you can gather a wide range of information from users.

Conditional Logic and Calculations

Forminator and Form Maker allow for conditional logic and calculations within forms, enabling you to create intelligent forms that adapt based on user input.

Integrations and Add-Ons

Integrations with third-party services like MailChimp, Zapier, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, Google Sheets, AWeber, and Slack are available with both plugins. Forminator’s integration is particularly expansive with the inclusion of Stripe, PayPal, and its in-house add-ons.

User Interaction and Experience

Both plugins emphasize a feature-rich, interactive user experience with feedback widgets. Form Maker may offer more simplicity in interface design, whereas Forminator provides a more dynamic interaction.

Multi-Page Forms and File Uploads

Both Form Maker and Forminator support multi-page forms and allow for file uploads, ensuring that complex data collection processes are manageable for users.

Payment and Donation Options

Forminator integrates with Stripe and PayPal, providing secure and flexible payment options, including recurring payments for donations and purchases. Form Maker also offers payment forms but may not support as many payment gateways as Forminator.

Email and Notification Systems

With both plugins, setting up email notifications and email routing is simplified, ensuring that you and your team stay informed about form submissions.

Spam and Security Measures

Both plugins offer spam protection features like CAPTCHA and eSignature fields for form security. Forminator also includes Google reCAPTCHA integration for enhanced security measures.

Advanced User and Access Controls

Form Maker and Forminator provide advanced features for user access control, allowing you to manage who can view and edit form submissions.

Responsiveness and Mobile Compatibility

Both plugins ensure the forms are mobile-friendly with responsive design to maintain a consistent user experience across all devices. This feature is crucial for retaining engagement in our increasingly mobile-first world.

Ease of Use and User Interface

In comparing the ease of use and user interface of Form Maker and Forminator, we focus on aspects such as drag-and-drop functionality and visual editors that influence user experience, as well as the type of support offered to users of these WordPress plugins.

Drag-and-Drop Functionality

Form Maker offers a drag-and-drop interface, which allows us to quickly assemble forms without a steep learning curve. This intuitive feature means we can add, move, and arrange form fields with ease, accelerating the form creation process.

Forminator, developed by WPMu Dev, also boasts a drag-and-drop builder. Its user-friendly design ensures that we can construct complex forms without the need for coding, making it approachable even for WordPress beginners.

Accessibility and User Support

When it comes to accessibility, both Form Maker and Forminator aim to provide an accessible experience for users who may rely on assistive technologies.

In terms of user support, Forminator has a robust support system backed by the WPMu Dev team. We can access forums, documentation, and live support, ensuring that any issues we encounter are promptly addressed.

Learning Curve and Community Support

Form Maker is designed to be straightforward, reducing the learning curve for new users. The community around Form Maker is active, and we can often find answers to our questions through community forums and resources.

Forminator is similarly user-friendly, with the added benefit of extensive documentation and direct support from WPMu Dev. The community support for Forminator is substantial, as it is a popular plugin with a large user base contributing to forums and discussions.

Visual Editor Comparison

Comparing the visual editors, Form Maker provides a clean and practical visual representation of our forms as we build them. This allows us to see exactly how our forms will appear to users.

With Forminator, the visual editor is not only sleek but also incorporates a live preview feature. This lets us see changes in real-time, which is invaluable in designing forms that align with our website aesthetics and user experience goals.

Pricing and Value for Money

When exploring form plugins for WordPress, the cost of acquisition and the value each plugin provides are pivotal in decision making. We’ll compare the free version capabilities, the premium feature offerings along with their pricing, and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of both Form Maker and Forminator.

Free Version Capabilities

Form Maker offers a basic free version that provides users with a variety of standard form fields and templates suitable for creating simple forms. With it, you can craft contact forms, feedback surveys, and other basic forms without incurring any cost.

Forminator, on the other hand, presents a more robust free version. It grants access to not only standard form fields but also quizzes and polls, enhancing user engagement without any initial investment. The free version is particularly generous and is often deemed cost-effective for users on a budget or those running small websites.

Premium Features and Pricing

Moving onto premium offerings, Form Maker offers advanced features such as conditional logic, file uploads, and integrations with third-party services. Forminator Pro elevates the functionality with even more intricate features like e-commerce integrations, additional form templates, and extensive customization options.

The pricing structure for Forminator Pro is typically part of a bundle with other plugins, providing a comprehensive toolkit beyond just form building. As for Form Maker, users can expect a tiered pricing model based on the number of sites and the breadth of features needed.

Comparing Cost-Effectiveness

In our analysis, we find that Forminator often stands out as the more cost-effective option, especially when leveraging its free version. Its no-cost tier provides a comprehensive set of features that might only be available in the paid tiers of other plugins like Form Maker. When considering premium options, both plugins offer significant value, but Forminator’s inclusion in a package with other useful plugins may present a more valuable deal for users looking to expand their WordPress toolkit.

Integration with Marketing Tools

When comparing Form Maker and Forminator, we must consider how they each integrate with various marketing tools. These integrations are crucial for automating workflows, managing leads, and enhancing overall productivity.

Email Marketing Integration

Form Maker and Forminator offer robust integrations with popular email marketing services. These integrations allow us to synchronize contact information and segment leads based on user responses.

• Mailchimp: Forminator seamlessly connects with Mailchimp, allowing for automated addition of new subscribers to our lists.
• AWeber: Similarly, Forminator integrates with AWeber, facilitating efficient email list management.
• Campaign Monitor & ActiveCampaign: While Forminator supports these services, Form Maker’s integration capabilities with Campaign Monitor and ActiveCampaign are not as well-documented, which may require us to use additional tools or custom solutions.

CRM and Sales Integration

The effectiveness of customer relationship management (CRM) and sales tools directly impacts our lead generation and conversion rates.

• HubSpot: Forminator provides direct integration with HubSpot, permitting us to feed form submissions into the HubSpot CRM and streamline our lead nurturing process.
• Sales Tools: Both plugins should be evaluated based on how they connect with our sales tools to ensure a smooth transition of leads from capture to conversion.

Connection with Productivity Tools

Integrating forms with productivity tools helps us manage projects and communication more effectively.

• Zapier: Forminator’s compatibility with Zapier opens up connections with a wide array of applications, including Trello and Slack, enhancing our workflow automation.
• Google Sheets: With Forminator, we can directly export data to Google Sheets, making data analysis and sharing straightforward.
• Trello & Slack: While the direct integration capability of Form Maker is not explicitly stated for Trello and Slack, its use of Zapier may help bridge that gap, enabling us to connect to these productivity platforms.

Customization and Flexibility

When we evaluate form builders like Form Maker and Forminator, it’s essential to consider how they cater to various business needs through customization and flexibility. Both platforms enable the creation of tailored form experiences to match specific use cases and design preferences.

Custom Fields and Form Design

Form Maker provides an array of custom fields that allow us to design forms that fit our specific data collection requirements. We can insert standard fields such as text inputs and checkboxes and more complex elements like file uploads and maps. The design customization tools enable us to modify the HTML and CSS directly, giving us complete control over the look and feel of our forms.

In contrast, Forminator boasts a robust drag-and-drop builder, which simplifies the form creation process. While we can still access and edit the HTML and CSS of forms for greater design control, the intuitive interface allows us to quickly incorporate custom fields without extensive coding knowledge. This combination of ease and flexibility makes Forminator suitable for users who prioritize user-friendly design options without sacrificing customization capabilities.

• Custom Fields:

  • Form Maker: Extensive range; includes file uploads, maps, and more.
  • Forminator: Strong selection; easily added through drag-and-drop.

• Design Control:

  • Form Maker: Full HTML/CSS access for detailed form styling.
  • Forminator: Streamlined design customization with code access available.

Adaptability to Different Use-Cases

Our evaluation of flexibility extends beyond design to how effectively each tool can be adapted to different use cases. Form Maker shines in its adaptability, with a variety of templates that can be tweaked for numerous scenarios from simple contact forms to complex surveys. This makes it an excellent choice for businesses that need a versatile tool capable of handling a wide range of form-related tasks.

Forminator’s feature-rich environment also allows us to address different business needs effectively. With the ability to create quizzes, polls, and even e-commerce forms, Forminator is not just a form builder but a comprehensive solution. The plugin’s flexibility ensures that we can navigate between various use cases, including payment collection and lead generation, seamlessly integrating with our WordPress websites.

• Use Case Coverage:

  • Form Maker: Wide range of templates for diverse business scenarios.
  • Forminator: Multipurpose forms, including quizzes, polls, and e-commerce integration.

• Flexibility:

  • Form Maker: Adaptable across multiple complex use cases.
  • Forminator: Seamless integration with WordPress and varied application.

Technical Support and Resources

When evaluating Form Maker and Forminator, we place a high value on the availability and quality of technical support and resources. Having the right support channels and comprehensive documentation can significantly enhance the user experience and overall functionality of the form builders.

Documentation and Online Resources

Form Maker offers extensive documentation that covers everything from basic setup to advanced features. We can access detailed tutorials and guides that are well-structured and easy to follow. These resources are vital for both new and experienced users to get the most out of the plugin.

Forminator, similarly, provides a rich library of online resources. Documentation for Forminator is thorough and includes step-by-step instructions to ensure we can handle any queries related to form creation and customization.

• Form Maker Documentation:

  • Installation guide
  • Feature explanation
  • FAQs

• Forminator Documentation:

  • Getting started manual
  • Usage cases
  • Troubleshooting

Community and Developer Support

The strength of community and developer support is key for any plugin’s longevity and relevance. Form Maker boasts a dedicated community where we can engage with other users, share knowledge, and receive informal support alongside official customer service channels.

Forminator offers robust developer support with access to a community of developers. This is especially beneficial if we need to extend the plugin’s capabilities or integrate it with other systems. Engaging with the community can lead to innovative solutions and collaborative problem-solving.

• Form Maker Support:

  • Community forums
  • Developer blogs
  • Regular updates

• Forminator Support:

  • Active developer community
  • Extensive API documentation
  • Regular feature updates

Performance and Speed

When assessing form builders like Form Maker and Forminator, two pivotal aspects that influence user experience are performance and speed. These factors are especially crucial for maintaining efficient load times and ensuring seamless functionality in high-traffic conditions.

Form Load Time Impact on Speed

We’ve observed that Form Maker generally offers brisk load times, which is vital because even a slight delay can affect user engagement negatively. It’s optimized to load forms quickly on the front end, contributing to an overall swift performance. This is achieved through the use of lightweight code and efficient scripting.

On the other hand, Forminator is designed to balance feature richness with performance. While it incorporates a substantial array of functionalities, attention to performance ensures that the form load time remains competitive. Strategic use of caching and script optimization helps Forminator forms to maintain speed, though the complexity of the form can occasionally introduce variability in load times.

Optimizing for High Traffic Websites

For high-traffic websites, optimization strategies pivot form builder utility from a functional component to a critical performance asset.

• Form Maker excels in environments with a heavy influx of users. It employs:

  • Server-side optimizations to handle multiple requests
  • An option to reduce server load by minimizing resource-intensive operations
  • Efficient database interactions to expedite form submissions and retrievals

• Forminator also contemplates high-traffic conditions with:

  • AJAX-powered form submissions that keep server load to a minimum
  • A scalable architecture that adapts to fluctuating user numbers
  • Compatibility with various caching plugins to enhance performance during peak traffic periods

In both cases, ensuring streamlined performance in high-traffic scenarios is a priority. The right configuration and hosting environment can further enhance the capability of these form builders to deliver speed and reliability under pressure.

Reviews and User Feedback

When evaluating user feedback for Form Maker and Forminator, we consider a range of sources and metrics. Customer reviews often highlight several key aspects of these WordPress form plugins.

For Form Maker, users typically focus on:

• Ease of Use: Many customers find Form Maker intuitive to navigate.
• Functionality: The breadth of features tends to satisfy user needs.
• Support: Feedback varies, with some users reporting positive experiences, while others note delays.

In contrast, Forminator reviews commonly touch on:

• Cost Efficiency: Users appreciate the free version’s robust features.
• Integration: The seamless integration with other WordPress tools is frequently praised.
• Customizability: Although powerful, some users encounter a learning curve.

User Feedback Overview:

Our insights are gleaned from a thorough analysis of user testimonials and ratings. We ensure our information is up-to-date and reflects the current user sentiment, which helps guide potential users towards the form plugin that best fits their requirements.

Pros and Cons

When evaluating Form Maker and Forminator, it’s essential to consider the strengths and limitations of both to make an informed decision. Here’s a detailed comparison of what each plugin excels in and where they might fall short.

Strengths of Form Maker

• Intuitive Interface: We find Form Maker’s interface straightforward, facilitating a hassle-free form creation process.
• Feature Set: The plugin offers a broad range of features, including multi-page forms and conditional logic, that cater to diverse form creation needs.

Strengths of Forminator

• Cost-Effective: Forminator stands out for being feature-rich yet maintains a free version that is quite robust for basic use.
• User-Friendly: Users often appreciate its drag-and-drop builder, which simplifies form creation without necessitating coding skills.

Limitations of Form Maker

• Learning Curve: New users may need to invest time in learning to navigate through advanced features.
• Flexibility: While it has many features, customizing beyond the available options can be restrictive for some users.

Limitations of Forminator

• Integration: While Forminator supports integrations, they may not be as extensive when compared to some other plugins in the market.
• Performance: In some cases, Forminator might impact website loading times, especially on complex forms or when several forms are in use on a site.

Conclusion and Recommendations

When evaluating Form Maker and Forminator, we’ve carefully examined their functionalities, user experience, and support systems. Here’s our distilled guidance:

• User Experience: We find Forminator’s interface to be user-friendly, especially for beginners. If ease of use is a top priority for your decision-making process, Forminator might suit your needs well.

• Functionality: For those requiring advanced features and integrations, Form Maker offers a robust set of tools. Our recommendation leans towards Form Maker if you desire complex form capabilities.

• Support: Considering the importance of reliable support, we’ve noted that Forminator, supported by WPMU DEV, provides excellent assistance through various channels.

Here’s a quick comparison table for clarity:

To wrap up, our recommendation hinges on your specific requirements:

• For simplicity and user support: Choose Forminator.
• For advanced features and customization: Opt for Form Maker.

Remember, the right form builder for your WordPress website significantly impacts user engagement and lead generation. We encourage you to consider these insights as part of your decision-making process.