Want to know the moment someone fills out a form on your WordPress website? You’re not alone. Missing form submissions can mean lost leads, missed opportunities, and frustrated visitors wondering why no one responded to their inquiry.
The good news is that setting up instant notifications when someone submits a form in WordPress is surprisingly simple. In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about getting notified when someone submits a WordPress form, customizing your notification messages, and making sure you never miss an important submission again.
Whether you’re running a contact form, lead generation form, or registration form, you’ll learn how to configure email notifications that work reliably and keep you connected with your website visitors. Let’s get started!
Quick Setup: Get Form Submission Notifications in Minutes
Let’s start with the fastest way to get notified when someone submits a form in WordPress using Ninja Forms. This method takes just a few minutes and requires no coding knowledge.
First, you’ll need to have Ninja Forms installed on your WordPress website. If you haven’t already, you can download now for free. Once installed, create a new form or open an existing form you want to set up notifications for.
Here’s the quick version: Navigate to the Emails & Actions tab in your form builder, click Add new action, and select Email. That’s the foundation. Now let’s configure it properly so you never miss a submission.
Step-by-Step: Configure Email Notifications for Form Submissions
Inside your Ninja Forms builder, click on the Emails & Actions tab at the top of the screen. This is where all the magic happens for sending notifications when someone submits your form.
One helpful tip: You can create multiple email actions for a single form. This means you can send one notification to yourself and a different confirmation email to the person who submitted the form. Just click the gear icon on any email action and select the copy icon to duplicate it.
Configure the Recipient Email Address
The To field is where you specify who receives the notification email when someone submits your form. This is arguably the most important field because if you get this wrong, you won’t receive any notifications at all.
For admin notifications, simply type in the email address where you want to receive form submissions. You can add multiple email addresses separated by commas if you want several people to be notified. For example: sales@yourdomain.com, support@yourdomain.com
If you’re sending a confirmation email to the person who submitted the form, you can use the merge tag button to insert your Email field.
Create a Clear Subject Line
Your email notification subject line should tell you exactly what the email contains at a glance. When you’re scanning through dozens of emails in your inbox, a clear subject line helps you prioritize which notifications need immediate attention.
Here are some examples of effective subject lines:
- New Contact Form Submission – Simple and clear
- New Lead: {field:company_name} – Includes dynamic information
- Registration Received from {field:first_name} – Personalized with submitter’s name
- Support Inquiry: {field:subject} – Includes the inquiry topic
Note: The field merge tags shown above (like {field:company_name}) are demonstration examples to illustrate the concept. Your actual field merge tags will include unique identifiers (like {field:company_name_1759855655337}). Always use the merge tag selector button in Ninja Forms to insert the correct field-specific merge tags rather than typing them manually. Most other non-field merge tags you can just copy/paste.
Notice how these examples use merge tags to pull information directly from the form submission. This personalization makes it easier to identify and prioritize notifications without even opening them. Studies show that personalized subject lines increase email open rates significantly.
To add merge tags to your subject line, click the merge tag button next to the Subject field and select the form field you want to include. Ninja Forms will automatically pull that information from each submission.
Customizing Your Email Notification Messages
The Email Message field is where you craft the content that you or your form submitters will receive. This is your canvas for creating professional, informative, and actionable notifications.
Understanding Default Merge Tags
By default, your email message probably contains the merge tag {fields_table}. This handy merge tag automatically creates a formatted table showing all the form fields that contain data from the submission. It’s clean, organized, and requires zero setup.
If you want to display all form fields, even those that weren’t filled out by the submitter, you can use {all_fields_table} instead. This is useful if you need to see the complete form structure in every notification, including empty fields.
Good to know: System merge tags like {fields_table}, {all_fields_table}, and {wp:admin_email} can be typed or copied directly into your notifications. However, field-specific merge tags (those starting with {field:) contain unique identifiers and must be inserted using the merge tag selector button. For complete information about all available merge tags, check out the Ninja Forms merge tag documentation.
Using the Visual Editor
Ninja Forms includes a powerful Summernote WYSIWYG editor that lets you format your email messages just like you would in Microsoft Word or Google Docs. You can add formatting, links, images, and more without writing any code.
Here’s what you can do with the visual editor:
- Text formatting – Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough
- Headers – Create section headers for better organization
- Lists – Bulleted or numbered lists for clarity
- Links – Add hyperlinks to relevant pages or resources
- Images – Include your logo or other branding elements
- Colors – Match your brand colors for professional appearance
- Alignment – Left, center, right, or justify text
The visual editor makes it easy to create professional-looking email notifications without any technical knowledge. Just click the formatting buttons to style your message exactly how you want it.
Adding Custom HTML for Advanced Formatting
If you’re comfortable with HTML and CSS, you can create even more customized email notifications. Click the < > icon in the editor toolbar to switch to HTML view, where you can paste custom HTML and write your own CSS rules.
This is perfect for creating branded email templates with custom layouts, adding buttons with specific styling, or incorporating advanced formatting that goes beyond what the visual editor offers.
Practical Email Notification Examples
Let’s look at some real-world examples of how you might customize your notification messages for different scenarios.
Important note about these examples: System merge tags like {fields_table}, {all_fields_table}, and {wp:admin_email} can be typed or copied directly into your notifications. However, field-specific merge tags (those starting with {field:) contain unique identifiers and must be inserted using the merge tag selector button. For complete information about all available merge tags, check out the Ninja Forms merge tag documentation.
Example 1: Contact Form Notification
For a simple contact form, you might want a notification that’s quick to scan and shows you the essential information at a glance:
New Contact Form Submission
A visitor has submitted your contact form with the following information:
{fields_table}
Please respond within 24 hours to maintain excellent customer service.
Example 2: Lead Generation Form
If you’re collecting leads, you might want more context and a call to action:
New Lead Alert!
Great news! You have a new potential customer:
Name: {field:first_name} {field:last_name}
Email: {field:email}
Company: {field:company}
Interest: {field:service_interest}
Budget Range: {field:budget}
Timeline: {field:timeline}
ACTION REQUIRED: Reach out within 4 hours for best conversion rates.
Example 3: Order Confirmation for Customer
When sending a confirmation to the person who submitted the form, you want to be welcoming and provide helpful information. For example, if someone places an order or requests a quote, you might send them something like this:
Thank you for your order, {field:first_name}!
We've received your order and are excited to serve you. Here are your order details:
{fields_table}
Your order total: {calc:order_total}
What happens next?
1. We'll process your order within 1 business day
2. You'll receive a confirmation email with tracking information
3. Your order will arrive within 5-7 business days
Questions? Reply to this email or check our FAQ page: [link to FAQ]
Thank you for choosing [Your Company Name]!
Notice how this example includes merge tags for personalization, provides clear next steps, and includes helpful resources. This type of detailed confirmation email reduces customer anxiety and support inquiries.
Including Calculations in Notifications
If your form includes calculations for pricing, totals, or other computed values, you can display those in your email notifications using merge tags. This is perfect for quote forms, order forms, or any form where you’re calculating values based on user selections.
Simply use the merge tag button to insert your calculation, like {calc:total_price}, and it will display the calculated value in your email notification. This feature is available for free with Ninja Forms, making it easy to create professional order receipts and quotes.
Attaching Submission Data
The Attach CSV toggle lets you include a downloadable CSV file of the form submission with your email notification. This is useful if you need to import submission data into other systems or prefer to work with spreadsheets.
If you need to send submissions in PDF format instead, check out the PDF Form Submissions add-on, which creates professionally formatted PDFs of your form submissions.
Advanced Notification Options
Once you have basic notifications working, you can explore more advanced options to create sophisticated notification systems that adapt to different scenarios.
Sending Notifications to Multiple Recipients
As mentioned earlier, you can send notifications to multiple email addresses by separating them with commas in the To field: sales@company.com, manager@company.com, support@company.com
However, if different form submissions should go to different people based on the user’s selection, you’ll need conditional logic. For example, if someone selects “Sales Inquiry” from a dropdown, the notification could go to your sales team, while “Support Request” goes to your support team.
This type of smart routing is available with the Conditional Logic add-on, which lets you create rules that determine when and where notifications are sent based on form submissions.
Creating Different Messages for Different Users Based on User Selection
You can also use conditional logic to send different email content based on user choices. For example, if someone indicates they’re a new customer versus a returning customer, they could receive different confirmation messages tailored to their situation.
This level of personalization creates a better user experience and can improve engagement and conversion rates.
Offering Gated Content in Notifications
One creative use of email notifications is delivering gated content to users who subscribe or register through your form. For example, if someone signs up for your newsletter in exchange for a free ebook, you can include the download link directly in their confirmation email.
You can even offer different gated content to different users based on their selections in the form. Want to learn more? Check out our detailed guide on allowing gated content in WordPress forms.
6 Best Practices for Form Notifications
Now that you know how to set up and customize notifications, let’s cover some best practices to ensure your notification system works smoothly and professionally.
1. Respond Quickly
The whole point of instant notifications is enabling fast responses. Studies consistently show that responding to inquiries within the first hour dramatically improves conversion rates. When your phone buzzes or your email pings with a new form submission notification, prioritize responding as quickly as possible.
2. Test Your Forms Regularly
Submit test entries through your forms periodically to ensure notifications are still working. Email deliverability can change over time as hosting environments change, DNS records are updated, or email providers adjust their spam filters. Regular testing helps you catch problems before real submissions are affected.
3. Use Professional Email Addresses
Avoid using personal email addresses like Gmail or Yahoo for form notifications if you’re running a business website. Use email addresses on your domain (like hello@yourdomain.com) to maintain a professional appearance and improve deliverability.
4. Keep Notification Content Relevant
Only include information that’s actually useful in your notifications. If you’re sending yourself admin notifications, you probably need all the details. But if you’re sending confirmations to users, focus on what matters to them: confirmation that you received their submission, what happens next, and how to contact you if needed.
5. Set Expectations in Confirmation Emails
When sending confirmation emails to form submitters, always tell them what to expect next and when. “We’ll respond within 24 hours” or “Your order will ship in 3-5 business days” reduces anxiety and prevents follow-up inquiries.
6. Include Branding in Notifications
Make your confirmation emails recognizable by including your logo, brand colors, and consistent messaging. This reinforces your brand identity and makes your emails look more professional and trustworthy.
Never Miss Another Form Submission
Getting notified when someone submits a form in WordPress is essential for running a responsive, professional website. Whether you’re collecting leads, processing orders, handling support requests, or managing registrations, instant email notifications ensure you can respond quickly and provide excellent service.
With Ninja Forms, setting up form submission notifications takes just a few minutes, but the customization options let you create sophisticated notification systems that adapt to your specific needs. From simple contact form alerts to complex conditional notifications that route to different team members, you have complete control over how and when you’re notified about form submissions.
Remember the key points:
- Configure the To field carefully to ensure notifications reach the right people
- Use clear, descriptive subject lines to identify notifications at a glance
- Customize your email messages to provide relevant, actionable information
- Troubleshoot deliverability issues using WP Mail Logging and consider using a transactional email service
- Explore advanced options like conditional logic and webhooks for more sophisticated notification systems
Ready to set up reliable form notifications on your WordPress website? Download Ninja Forms today and start receiving instant alerts whenever someone submits your forms. With powerful notification features included in the free version, you can create professional form notification systems without spending a dime.
Looking for more functionality? Explore our collection of Ninja Forms add-ons and membership plans for features like conditional logic, multi-part forms, file uploads, and more. Never miss another form submission again!
