WordPress has several Contact Form plugins but the most popular among them are the Gravity Forms and Contact Form 7. This article looks extensively at both forms and provides key highlights for each of them to enable you to make an informed decision when selecting a plugin to use.
What are Gravity Forms?
These are contact form plugin built for WordPress. It comes with various advanced tools and features that users can explore. One of the advantages of the Gravity Forms is that they are user-friendly. You do not need any major training to be able to use the form for your web design.
It allows you to build your form from the scratch and add it to your site. Suffice to mention that it does not come with a predefined form, so you have to build it afresh. Another advantage of this plugin is that you can also use it to complete other tasks apart from creating contact forms. It uses a drag and drop system and it features different add-ons that let you create quizzes, web directories, and surveys, among others. Apart from its add-ons, it also supports add-ons from other third-party providers, including Constant Contact and Mailchimp. It should be noted that some add-ons require that you upgrade to the Pro version, which is higher-priced. It is essential to mention that Gravity Forms does not have a free version. However, the benefits significantly outweigh the cost.
What is Contact Form 7?
With more than 120 million downloads, Contact Form 7 remains one of the most popular plugins in WordPress. It is often the first option for many web designers. It is an HTML form builder that enables users to build their forms with a simple markup built on tags. Contact Form 7 is used as a contact form for different purposes and it is possible to customize it to fit your preference.
The plugin supports CAPTCHAs and Ajax-powered submitting. It also has an anti-spam filter, which makes it a very useful tool. Contact Form 7 also supports various third-party plugins and add-ons and can integrate seamlessly with Stripe, PayPal, and MailChimp, among others.
Differences between Gravity Forms and Contact Form 7
When it comes to the speed of adding a contact form to your site after activating the plugin, Contact Form 7 can be said to be the fastest. For a start, it is a WordPress plugin and it takes a few clicks to install and activate it on your dashboard. It is also free, which means you do not need any subscription to use it. After activation, you can explore its functionality through the Contact section of your dashboard. It has all the basic fields required to create and insert a contact form into your webpage or web section. Gravity Forms, on the other hand, takes a while to install. First, you have to purchase the plugin and then upload the archive to your WordPress site before activating it. This does not mean it takes hours to install and activate. It takes only minutes to complete the activation process and get it ready for use.
What are the Features of Gravity Forms?
• It is open source but it is not free to use • It supports file uploads, email notifications, and reCAPTCHA, among others • It supports conditional logic for specific form fields • It comes with thirty form fields that are ready to be included on your forms • It features a drag and drops form builder, which is very easy to use • It comes with customization form styling with CSS.
What are the Features of Contact Form 7?
• It is open-source and free, with millions of active installations • You can easily embed a form into a page or post with shortcodes • It supports file uploads, CAPTCHA, and quizzes, among others • It has anti-spam features and has a plethora of good reviews from users • It supports advanced form creation with custom fields • It features an active support forum and extensive documentation for reference Both forms have great and similar features and are suitable for any contact form needs. The major difference between the two is that Contact Form 7 is free while Gravity Forms is a paid-for plugin.
Customization and Ease-of-Use
How easy it is to create and use a contact form plugin and the customization features are some of the important things to consider when making a choice. In this part, we will look at both forms in terms of customization and ease of use.
Gravity Forms
Gravity Forms offer a simple user interface. It is easy to understand and users can quickly decipher what they should add to the form they are developing. The plugin has some pre-built fields and elements that make creating a contact form very seamless.
The downside to the built-in elements is that they are somewhat outdated and do not have additional styling. However, it offers an exceptional drag and drop system, which means you can complete the design of your form without any glitch. The setting tab lets you modify your form design and you can adjust the layout of the form from the settings tab. You can also adjust the sub-label placement. With Gravity Forms, you can save precious time when you configure forms. It is easy to activate and the highly visual process of the activation makes it a breeze.
Contact Form 7
One great thing about Contact Form 7 from WordPress is that it can easily create advanced HTML forms. All you have to do is edit the default form and include some new features and placeholders to customize it. When it comes to the user interface, Contact Form 7 is very simple and uncomplicated.
It allows you to use auto-generated code snippets when building forms. It also comes with pre-built snippets that you can include in your form. However, there are only a few of the pre-built snippets and if you want a more advanced design, you would need to write the code by yourself.
Pricing: Gravity Forms vs. Contact Form 7
As mentioned earlier, Contact Form 7 is free to use. You do not have to pay anything to install, activate, and use it to build your forms. Now, there is a catch to Contact Form 7. Although it is free to use, a lot of its add-ons are not free. You have to upgrade to the premium version before you can access these useful add-ons. Gravity Forms is only available in paid versions and the versions have many add-ons included in them, based on their prices. There are three Gravity Forms packages and each has its set of features. The pricing for the three packages are highlighted below: • Basic License: $59 • Pro License: $159 • Elite License: $259
How to Add Gravity Forms in WordPress
Adding a form with Gravity Forms requires some skills. Unlike Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms does not display the shortcode. The fact is that Gravity Forms does not encourage using shortcodes for simple form addition. It rather recommends the use of a block. When you click on the installed plugin from your dashboard, you will be shown different options, click the “Select a Form” menu and follow the prompting.
However, if you want to embed a form with Classic editor, you have to make your shortcodes and create the needed parameters.
For this reason, many people view Gravity Forms as technical and less convenient when compared to Contact Form 7 and other popular form building plugins. If you are conversant with writing codes, you will enjoy using this plugin but if you are a beginner, you should stick to Contact Form 7.
How to Add Contact Form 7 in WordPress
You can add forms with Contact Form 7 in two different ways. First, the plugin allows you to use a shortcode and the best part is that it is easy to locate the shortcode.
You can see it in the form list. Second, you can add a form with a block. This is very basic and easy but it does not display the form preview in the block editor.
Conclusion
Both Gravity Forms and Contact Form 7 have similar features. You can add contact forms and other types of forms to your WordPress site with either of the two. The major difference between the two is that one is free while the other requires purchasing a license. Although Contact Form 7 is a free plugin, you can only use its basic features. If you want more advanced features, you have to purchase them as add-ons. This article has looked at the major differences between the two and how each of them works.
Which of Gravity Forms and Contact Form 7 is best in WordPress?
If you are new to WordPress, Contact Form 7 is the best choice because it gives you the basic features you need to get started with embedding forms on your WordPress site. If you are also looking for a free tool, Contact Form 7 is surely the best choice. However, if you are a professional web designer looking for more advanced features, Gravity Forms would be the best option but you should be aware that it comes at a starting cost of $59.
Is Contact Form 7 free?
Yes, it is free to install, activate and use.
Is Gravity Forms free?
Now, it is not free. To use the plugin, you have to choose one of the three paid versions available.
How can I create a custom Contact Form 7?
Go to your admin panel and click “Contact Style” on the left-hand side. Select the “Add new” option and follow the prompting. You can watch the detailed demo video on how to style a form on the Contact Form 7 Style plugin page. You can customize the background color, button color, border color, and more.
