Web forms are your greatest asset for gathering data, soliciting feedback, and enabling user engagement for your customers and site visitors. At times, text form fields like “name” and “email address” are sufficient, but if you need other types of information, you may want to accept file uploads in your forms.
Say you’re hiring a new employee — those candidates will need a way to upload their resumes. Maybe you run an eCommerce shop and want to give customers the option to upload product images when a purchase arrives not as described. Or, perhaps you’re an art blogger holding a contest, and contestants want to submit their creations for consideration.
As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to add file uploading to your WordPress forms. If you’re worried about the technical barrier to entry for adding this functionality, have no fear! It’s fast and easy with Ninja Forms’ File Uploads add-on. Plus, we have a variety of tutorials that walk you through how to make the most of this extension.
File uploads in Ninja Forms
Our file plugin empowers your site visitors to send you various types of documents, images, and more. It’s included in all of our paid membership plans, and it’s also available for purchase as a standalone add-on if you’re using the free core version of Ninja Forms.
The extension’s features include:
- Adding file upload fields to your WordPress forms
- Restricting the allowed file types and amounts (for example, up to four JPEGs or PDFs)
- Limiting submission sizes
- Automatically changing file names upon upload
- Creating custom file directories for uploads
- Uploading files directly to off-site cloud storage services
- Setting notification emails
- Accepting files not supported by WordPress
This extension does it all. And, with the aid of the following articles, it’s never been easier to implement your desired features.
File upload tutorials from Ninja Forms
Ninja Forms is all about the user experience, and we want to make your form creation process a breeze. That’s why we use a simple drag-and-drop interface that requires no coding.
However, navigating add-ons can be intimidating, so we publish many tutorials on our blog. When it comes to File Uploads, these articles offer valuable insight into features and functionality. You can also explore our documentation for further guidance.
Table of Contents
- The complete guide to adding file upload form fields
- Creating a file upload form
- Allowing additional file types
- File security and privacy
- File management through cloud-based storage.
- Video uploads in WordPress
- Sending uploaded files in notification emails
1. The complete guide to adding file upload form fields.
This article is the comprehensive guide to our File Uploads plugin, so it’s the ideal starting point on your learning journey. It discusses installing the add-on, navigating its settings, and protecting your site from security risks.
As for features, the tutorial walks readers through some of the most popular capabilities, including setting file type restrictions, adding email notifications, uploading to cloud-based storage solutions, and more. All the information is concise and beginner-friendly, with helpful screen captures for easy understanding.
It’s a one-stop shop tutorial, so don’t miss it!
2. Creating a file upload form
Get to the meat of the File Uploads plugin with this straightforward tutorial. It covers the installation process before offering simple steps on configuration. From server settings to file types, it makes navigating all the important uploading features fast and understandable.
Once you create your ideal file upload form, this article also explores how to add your new form to your WordPress website. There are three options — shortcode, block, and meta-box — and each one is simple to implement, even if you have no technical experience.
Accepting files doesn’t have to be a headache — especially when you follow step-by-step instructions from tutorials like this one.
3. Allowing additional file types.
WordPress has a relatively standard set of allowed file types, including (but not limited to), .JPEG images, PDF documents, .mp3 for audio, and .mp4 for video. But what happens if your users want to upload files that WordPress doesn’t accept? This situation can cause frustration on the front and back ends.
But don’t worry. The File Uploads plugin solves this pain point by allowing you to accept an expanded list of file types. Our helpful how-to article covers two methods: pasting a code snippet or adding a whitelist filter. If those terms are unfamiliar, that’s okay. The tutorial lays out the steps in an accessible way, simplifying the process.
Of course, security is always top-of-mind when accepting file types, but the blog covers that, too. Learn to minimize risks and protect your server and media library from potentially harmful files.
4. File security and privacy.
Speaking of security, this tutorial digs into this concern more thoroughly. Plus, it discusses another aspect of file upload safety: protecting your customers’ private data. By default, WordPress stores uploads in your server’s wp-content/uploads folder. But if users upload personal information, you may not want everyone with access to your server to see their documents.
This is such a valid concern that we’ve published two tutorials on the topic. How to Secure WordPress File Upload explores restricting file types to block harmful files and sending uploads to more secure, cloud-based storage solutions like Google Drive or Amazon S3.
How to Protect Uploaded Files in WordPress Forms advises on general best practices for WordPress file security, like keeping your site up-to-date, purchasing themes from trustworthy sources, and disabling the default “Save to Server” option.
Between these two articles, you have all the insight you need to protect your server and your customer’s privacy.
5. File management through cloud-based storage.
If you accept many files, organizing and managing them in WordPress’ uploads folder can be a hassle. Not only can store files on WordPress pose security risks, but it may also slow down your site’s performance. Plus, it’s not a very user-friendly way for people in your organization to access and share files.
Thankfully, using our add-on means you can send uploads directly to cloud-based storage services. We have three articles that cover the most popular solutions: Amazon S3, Google Drive, and Dropbox.
The Amazon tutorial covers three essential steps:
- Disabling “Save to Server” and “Save to Media Library”
- Connecting your Amazon S3 account to Ninja Forms
- Enabling external file uploads
The steps are a bit simpler with Google Drive and Dropbox. You’ll just need to toggle on “External File Upload” under “Emails & Actions” before selecting one of the two services.
Regardless of your preferred storage solution, our tutorials deliver all the necessary information.
6. Video uploads in WordPress.
Are you gathering testimonials about your latest product? Asking your film students to create their own commercials? Screening candidates before the official interview? User-uploaded videos are an incredible resource! This feature may sound complicated, but it’s not.
The tutorial proves just how easy it is to add the video file upload field to your forms. In fact, there’s even a short screen recording so you can see the necessary steps in action. The post also discusses allowing additional video file types and accepting large file sizes — features that give your users plenty of flexibility when they upload videos.
Plus, you’ll also learn how to enable front-end video posting, so site visitors can upload their content directly to your site (great for testimonials!). Please note that this functionality requires another plugin called Front-End Posting.
Lastly, the article covers sharing those uploads to sites like YouTube and Vimeo via our Zapier add-on.
7. Sending uploaded files in notification emails
Email notifications are a fantastic solution if you need an instant alert when someone uploads a file to your WordPress site or if you want to easily send the file to another team member. File Uploads offers this feature, and it’s easy to implement — read this article to see for yourself!
Like all the tutorials mentioned above, How to Send an Uploaded File in a Notification Email includes step-by-step instructions with supplementary images. By following this guide, you learn how to insert a file upload field before adding the email notification action. You can even add CC and BCC other email addresses in the notifications.
And voila — you’ll receive new files straight to your inbox! Now that’s convenient.
Install the Ninja Forms File Uploads add-on today!
And there you have it: a treasure trove of resources about one of our most popular plugins. Remember, File Uploads add-on is included in the following membership plans: Plus, Pro, and Elite. It’s also available à la carte as an individual add-on, so you have plenty of flexibility.
Install the add-on today and start receiving files from your customers, students, job candidates, and more!
