Best Contact Forms Plugins for Your New Web Build

In this post-COVID world, it’s undeniable that businesses need to be present for their customers online. Even if you aren’t selling products online, you’re selling yourself as a trustworthy business. Part of that business strategy is keeping a line of communication between you and your customers, especially for new web builds.

Luckily, contact forms plugins make that possible 24/7. Users can fill out a form to get in touch with you, and you can qualify that lead. 

Be warned: not all contact forms are made equally. Not only is providing a contact form to your users opening a line of communication, but it’s also adding a vulnerability to your website build.

So, make sure you choose a trusted contact form plugin as well as add extra spam security for your site and customers’ safety. Below are some suggestions.

Best Contact Forms Plugins for Your New Web Build

Consider one of these contact forms plugins as you put together your new website:

#1: Gravity Forms

This beast of a drag-and-drop contact form builder has many add-ons that make it arguably the best contact form plugin. It pairs easily with many email services if you are creating newsletter subscriptions or if you’re working with an e-commerce platform and need to take payment information. (It even partners with the top payment platforms, including PayPal and Stripe.)

There are multiple add-on features for Gravity Forms, allowing you to create multi-page forms, cognitive logic structures, polls, and so much more. Not to mention, it comes with the added benefit that on every plan for Gravity Forms, you have built-in form security features, such as honeypot and Akismet.

Each form comes with built-in notifications for you and provides a confirmation message to your users, making building your first form as easy as 1,2,3.

Since Gravity Forms is a high-end contact form costing a minimum of $59 annually, the support services are outstanding, from chats to calls and email support for your new web build.

#2: WPForms

WPForms is definitely a crowd pleaser and considered one of the best WordPress form plugins, featuring all the amazing services Gravity Forms offers, but you can start out at zero dollars. Some of the top features include multi-page forms, email subscription forms, cognitive logic, and order forms.

While the free price tag is appealing, many of the powerful features that website developers expect from contact forms come at a price, requiring you to upgrade to the Basic account at $79 annually.

#3: Ninja Forms

Finally, if you want a simple contact form builder at no extra cost, Ninja Forms is the plugin you need. It comes with helpful support if this is your first website build, and it’s completely free.

While many people consider it the best free contact form plugin for WordPress, the downside to this simple plugin is that it doesn’t offer any of the bells and whistles that the other plugins do, such as built-in anti-spam, cognitive login, and payment processing.

Bonus Tips: Whatever you do, don’t use Contact Form 7.

Trusting the top-downloaded free contact form is a rookie mistake. Just because it’s the most downloaded form doesn’t make it the best. This is the dinosaur of contact form plugins. It’s been here since the beginning of time.

It was once a great tool, but it did not keep up with the times, making it an outdated user interface, not comparable to other drag-and-drop form builders. It also often requires custom styling with HTML. Avoid this one.

Pro Tip: Remember to download WP Mail Logging, as WordPress doesn’t log any emails it sends through contact forms. This will keep a record for you in the future if you ever need to troubleshoot your contact form notifications. 

For example, if users tell you they’ve submitted a form, but it’s not getting to your email box, this plugin will help you find that message. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Upload this when you choose your contact form plugin for your web build.

Conclusion

There are many powerful contact forms plugins out on the market, and we have only scratched the surface. Before you purchase a form builder plugin, make sure to list all the features you expect to use over time before falling for the cheapest price tag.

It’s always easier to start with a basic plan and upgrade in the future than rebuild your forms for every new plugin. Have questions about the best tools for your website build? Contact BrandCraft today.