Welcome to our comprehensive guide packed with expert form-building tips and tricks you can apply when using the Ninja Forms plugin. Feel free to navigate through the points to find exactly what you need assistance with. Let’s dive in!
Table of contents
- Where are the Ninja Forms submissions stored?
- Enable a Developer Mode to unlock additional advanced features
- Remove or translate “Fields marked with *”
- Change the name (title) of your WordPress form
- Use merge tags to pull data from your forms dynamically
- Send a copy of the submission or send an email follow-up
- Limit the total number of form submissions using the Restriction settings
- Capture additional data with the Hidden field
- Form actions: Sending email, redirecting, displaying messages after submission
- Capture the Post or Page information when the form is submitted
- Setup coupon codes in your WordPress form
- GDPR Compliance with Ninja Forms
- Export form submissions
- Create a single-line form with an email address
- Calculate the total price or score with the Calculations feature
- Group a number of fields into a fieldset
- Make sure data is entered into a form field in a pre-defined format using Input Mask
- Avoid spam submissions in WordPress
1. Where are the Ninja Forms submissions stored?
Ninja Forms collects NO user information and no data from your submissions is stored on our servers. The submissions are stored within the wp_posts and wp_postmeta tables of your WordPress database via admin-ajax.php. The records have a post_type of “nf_sub”.
All data collected in your forms exist only on your local server in your WordPress database unless you have set it up to be sent elsewhere, such as through an email action or third-party integration (e.g. Salesforce, Mailchimp, Zapier, etc).
Submitted data by Ninja Forms is stored on your servers in WordPress, under Ninja Forms dashboard > Submissions, if the Record Submission action is enabled.
Learn more about how Ninja Forms handles the WordPress form submission data here.
2. Enable a Developer Mode to unlock additional free Ninja Forms advanced settings
Bet you didn’t know about Developer Mode, huh? This advanced ssetting hides multiple features for your form actions and form fields.
If you’ve been searching for certain settings within your form builder, despite seeing them demonstrated in our tutorials, simply activate Developer Mode, and you’ll unlock access to these hidden functionalities immediately.
You can learn more about the Developer Mode features here: Unlock Advanced Ninja Forms Features in WordPress.
3. Remove or translate “Fields marked with *”
To eliminate the “Required Field Text,” simply insert a space within the “FIELDS MARKED WITH AN * ARE REQUIRED” field found within the Advanced Settings of your form.
Navigate to the form builder > Display Settings > Advanced to access this field, where you can also customize the text to your preference, including renaming it entirely.
If you prefer hiding the “Fields marked with an * are required” text, you can use the following CSS:
To translate the “Fields marked with * field, navigate to your WordPress site to Appearance > Theme Editor and access your theme’s “functions.php” file.
Below is an example of the code that uses the Polish language. No changes in the code are necessary. You place it as it is, and replace only the text part Polja označena * su obavezna with your own translation.
For example, if you want to translate “Fields marked with* field, to French language, you replace “Polja označena * su obavezna” to Les champs marqués d’un astérisque (*) sont obligatoires.
4. Change the name (title) of your WordPress form
Do you want to edit the title of your form or hide the form name from visitors on the front-end? Navigate to the Advanced tab > Form Title and rename the default form name to whatever you like.
Notice how we disabled the “Display Form Title” button. This is because we don’t want to show the name of the form to visitors.
We did not leave the Form Title empty because, if we had, the form would display a blank space under the Title on your Ninja Forms dashboard, making it difficult for you to identify which form you are accessing.
Here is an example of how you would see your form on the list of your Ninja Forms on your dashboard if we were to leave the “Form Title” empty:
Now you understand why this is crucial: always disable the “Display Form Title” if you wish to hide your form name from users. However, avoid removing the name of your form from the Form Title.
5. Use merge tags to pull all form data to an email message
Want to pre-populate an email address from the Email field when sending an email with Ninja Forms? Merge tags will do that and much more. Pass field data from one form to another, pre-populate all submission data from your form in the email message; the list goes on.
Each time you add a field to your WordPress form a unique merge tag is generated for that field. These can be accessed on the Fields tab of the merge tag popup when the merge tag icon is clicked:
Additionally, if you are using any paid Ninja Forms add-on, you’ll get access to supplementary merge tags. For comprehensive information on all existing merge tags, refer to our documentation available here.
6. Send a copy of the submission or send an email follow-up
With Ninja Forms free core plugin, you can send an unlimited number of email notifications (multiple autoresponders). This essential feature is a must-have for every form creator.
To notify users about their form submission or to send them an email confirmation with a copy of the submission, you need to set an Email action. This form action can be also duplicated as many times as you like.
Did you know you can do more with your email notification action than add email addresses? Check these 22 Ways to Use WordPress Form Email Notifications in 2022!
7. Limit the total number of form submissions using the Restriction settings
While Ninja Forms, even the free version does not limit the number of entries you can receive on your form, if you want to limit the total number of submissions, you can. Just make sure your developer mode is enabled so you can access the Restrictions tab.
Navigate to the Advanced tab > Restrictions > Limit Submissions > Submission Limit. Here, you can limit form entries to a specific number, and you can also customize the message once the submission limit is reached.
Note that deleted submissions would not count against the submission limit anymore. For example, if you delete five records, this would allow your form to accept five additional submissions.
Learn more about form submissions from our in-depth guide: All You Need to Know About WordPress Form Submissions.
8. Capture additional data with the Hidden field
The Hidden field is invisible to the user on the front end but visible in the form builder by a logged-in administrator. This makes this field an excellent way to collect additional data on your WordPress form.
With the Hidden field, you can add notes to already completed form submissions, apply a discount code or capture the URL of the page your form is submitted.
Explore cool ways to use the Hidden field for your forms by checking the following article: What is a Hidden Field in WordPress Forms? (Practical Examples)
9. Form actions: Sending email, redirecting, displaying messages after submission
The form actions are more powerful than you might think. They trigger specific actions after the form is submitted. This can include actions such as: sending email notifications, collecting payments, saving form submissions, or redirecting users to different websites. You can even expand your form action options when paired with our paid add-ons.
To access form actions, navigate to your form builder and click Emails & Actions. You can add a new action by clicking the blue plus button and duplicate form actions as many times as you like by clicking the gear icon.
Once you open the Emails & Actions tab, you should see the following form actions enabled by default:
Record Submission
Store submissions in your WordPress database. You can access the submitted entries under the Ninja Forms > Submissions.
Email Notification/Email Confirmation
Send email notification or confirmation to yourself, your colleagues, or your website visitors.
Success Message
Enable this action if you want to display a message on your website after the form is submitted.
Learn more about form actions from Ninja Forms in the following blog post: Your Guide to Form Actions in WordPress.
10. Capture the Post or Page information when the form is submitted
Ever seen those website sign-up forms that let you save a recipe by sending it to your email?
Imagine you’ve got a post on your site just like the above. When users click the button to save the recipe, it sends the recipe to their email and then collects their email address.
The good news is, even with the free version of Ninja Forms, you can capture the URL of the page using a simple merge tag: {wp:post_url}.
If you’re ready to set this up for your visitors, all you need to do is create an Email action in Ninja Forms and customize the email message to something like this:
Want to capture additional data on your WordPress form? Check our guide 4 Tricks for Capturing Additional User Data in WordPress Forms.
11. Setup coupon codes in your WordPress form
While Ninja Forms does not generate coupon codes, you can create coupon codes and apply the discount rate only when a coupon code is entered using conditional logic.
You’ll need three form fields:
- Single Line Text field (Coupon code)
- Hidden field to add value for the discount rate
- HTML field to calculate the total
Additionally, you can make single-use coupon codes with Ninja Forms using the Unique Field Validation feature.
For a more detailed, step-by-step guide on setting up a coupon code with Ninja Forms, check the tutorial Master Coupon Codes in WordPress Forms with These Simple Steps.
12. GDPR Compliance with Ninja Forms
Ninja Forms are GDPR compliant.
If you’re operating within the EU, you may be familiar with the concept of signing data privacy agreements with third-party service providers when handling user data. With Ninja Forms, such an agreement is unnecessary because we don’t collect any user information or data.
However, we take GDPR seriously and offer a variety of features that will help make GDPR compliance easier including the following:
- Inform users that a form collects personal data
- Request explicit consent for the collection of personal data
- Delete personal data on request
- Export personal data on request
- Disable the storage of personal data or set it to expire
Learn more about GDPR Compliance in our Comprehensive Guide to WordPress GDPR Compliance.
13. Export form submissions
Even with our core plugin, you can access and export your form submissions for free from the Ninja Forms dashboard. Navigate to Submissions and select the form from which you want to download the submissions from.
Click the ‘Download All Submissions’ button at the bottom of the submissions list. Following that, your submissions will be conveniently packaged into a zip file, ready for download to your computer’s default location.
You can also choose to download your submissions individually, and even attach a copy of the form submission in a CSV file in the email notification.
However, if you prefer more universal document formats to export your entries to, you can explore 4 Ways to Export WordPress Form Submissions. To learn more about Submission Management, check our documentation page.
14. Create a single-line form with an email address
Fewer fields drive conversions and occupy less space. This is where the single-line form comes into play. A single-line, single-row, or horizontal form consists of only one field that requires data, typically an email address. You’ve likely encountered many sign-up forms with this format.
It is not overwhelming, as it doesn’t require any personal information or extra effort from the user to fill out. If you want to create a single-line form collecting an email address, you’ll need the Layout & Styles add-on and the following form fields: an Email field and a Submit button field.
We have a tutorial on How to Make a Single-Line WordPress Forms (Three Steps) that will take you through all the steps. Be sure to check it out!
15. Calculate the total price or score with the Calculations feature
With the Developer Mode enabled, you can access a free Calculations feature that allows you to calculate the score based on the answers on your form.
First, you’ll need to assign a value to each question under the Calc Value so you can calculate the total score. Then you would create the calculation. Here is a full guide: How to Create a Pop Culture Quiz in WordPress (Free).
You can use Calculations to send customers a quote before they make a purchase. Additionally, you can integrate Calculations with payment add-ons to calculate the total price for your services, allowing users to complete the payment.
16. Group a number of fields into a fieldset
Want to place fields within a fieldset to combine multiple fields into a group? Consider using Repeaters. They offer an efficient way to conserve space on your form while remaining user-friendly.
By adding a repeater field to your form, users can easily include additional sets of fields with a simple click of the “Add” button that can be customized.
Learn more about this exciting WordPress form field in our tutorial Add a Repeater Field in WordPress!
17. Make sure data is entered into a form field in a pre-defined format using Input Mask
Most commonly used for collecting phone numbers or date fields, the Input mask feature gives instructions on what data is allowed to be entered into your fields and in which format. It’s like applying restriction rules to your form field. And of course, this feature is included in our free version of Ninja Forms plugin.
To learn about the Input Mask, check out our tutorial on How to Use Input Mask in Your Contact Form and discover the examples where you can implement this feature for your WordPress forms.
18. Avoid spam submissions in WordPress
Spam submissions in WordPress are annoying. There is nothing worse than realizing, upon checking your Submission dashboard, that only a few submissions are from real people, considering the effort you put into building your form.
Luckily, Ninja Forms core plugin offers WordPress spam protection including Honeypot, Anti-Spam field, and Google reCAPTCHA v2 and v3. All are ready to help you win your fight over the never-disappearing spam.
Read our tips for spam-free forms, so you can start receiving real submissions and comments from real people: How to Stop WordPress Form Spam.
Now you’re ready to excel with Ninja Forms contact form builder!
Phew, you made it to the end! This guide may have been a marathon, but now you’re armed with all the know-how to conquer your form-building journey with Ninja Forms. Remember, we also have a full library of tutorials available on our Documentation page.
However, if you’re looking for additional help, you can also explore our Blog posts, where we offer insightful tips, tricks, and solutions to help you build your forms with ease. And don’t forget, our support team is always here for you, ready to lend a helping hand!
