A Step-by-Step Guide to Adding Dropdown Fields to WordPress Forms
By WordPress Experts |
It's a common scenario: visitors begin completing your contact form only to abandon it before finishing. This frustrating experience can result in lost opportunities for any website owner.
Lengthy forms often overwhelm users and create unnecessary barriers in the conversion process.
Many experienced developers have found that incorporating dropdown fields can significantly improve form completion rates. These compact elements conserve valuable screen space while guiding users to provide precisely the information you need.
This tutorial demonstrates the simplest method for creating WordPress forms with dropdown fields that users will actually complete.
Understanding Dropdown Fields and Their Benefits
A dropdown field allows users to select a single option from a predefined list. Users simply click the field to view all available choices.
Website administrators can implement dropdown fields in various web forms, including contact forms, event registration forms, newsletter signups, and product order forms.
Dropdown fields enhance form effectiveness through several advantages:
- Data Consistency. The predefined option list ensures collected data remains uniform and prevents invalid entries, leading to more accurate data analysis.
- Dynamic Functionality. Dropdown fields simplify conditional logic implementation. The structured option list enables you to display additional fields based on user selections without unnecessary complexity.
- Reduced Visual Clutter. Consolidating multiple options into a compact dropdown menu makes forms appear less intimidating, resulting in improved user experience.
Now let's explore how to create forms with dropdown fields in WordPress. Here's a brief overview of the steps covered in this tutorial:
- Step 1: Installing a Contact Form Plugin
- Step 2: Creating a New Form
- Step 3: Adding the Dropdown Field to Your Form
- Step 4: Configuring Dropdowns with Options and Conditional Logic
- Step 5: Personalizing Your Form Notifications and Confirmations
- Step 6: Embedding Your Form in WordPress
- Step 7: Publishing the New Form on Your WordPress Site
- Bonus Tip: Creative Ways to Use Dropdown Fields
- FAQs: Using Dropdown Fields in WordPress Forms
Let's begin!
Step 1: Installing a Contact Form Plugin
WPForms is a popular contact form plugin for WordPress that includes AI capabilities and over 2,000 templates, enabling rapid form creation.
Many WordPress professionals utilize this plugin for contact forms, surveys, and various data collection needs with excellent results.
To install and activate the WPForms plugin, navigate to Plugins » Add New Plugin from your WordPress dashboard.
On the subsequent screen, use the search function to locate the WPForms plugin. Once found, click 'Install Plugin' followed by 'Activate'.
Step 2: Creating a New Form
After activation, you'll notice a WPForms menu in your WordPress admin area:
You can now access the WPForms builder interface to create forms with dropdown fields.
To initiate a new form, navigate to WPForms » Add New.
The 'Setup' panel within the WPForms form builder will appear. Begin by naming your form in the 'Name Your Form' field.
For instance, you might enter 'Contact Form' or 'Simple Contact Form'.
Next, select your preferred method for building the WordPress form.
WPForms offers three approaches: building from scratch, selecting a pre-made template, or utilizing the AI-powered form builder.
If opting for the AI form builder, simply enter a descriptive prompt. The AI will generate the form within seconds.
For this demonstration, we'll use the 'Simple Contact Form' template.
To employ a form template, hover over your selection and click 'Use Template'.
Step 3: Adding the Dropdown Field to Your Form
After completing the setup process, you'll be directed to the form builder, which displays a field list on the left and a live preview on the right.
Now we'll add a dropdown field to our contact form.
Simply drag the 'Dropdown' field from the left panel and drop it onto the right side of the form.
To the right of the panel, you'll see a dropdown field on your contact form.
