A default installation of WordPress does not include any contact form functionality, and while you can create a contacts page for providing your email address and other information, it will not be as straightforward for people to use, and you will likely end up getting inundated with spam by publicising your email address in such a manner. Fortunately, there are various plugins available which allow you to easily add a contact form to your page. By far the most popular plugin used for this purpose, and one of the most popular of all plugins for WordPress, is Contact Form 7. This free plugin allows you to create and manage multiple contact forms complete with CAPTCHA authentication and spam filtering.
- In your administrator dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Add New and search for Contact Form 7. Click “Install Now” below the plugin which appears in the search results. Activate it once the installation is complete.
- A new menu item will appear in the administrator dashboard side panel entitled Contact. Click on it to add and configure contact forms for your website. By default, a single contact form entitled “Contact form 1” will be created.
- Either edit the default contact form by moving the pointer over it and clicking “Edit” or creating a new contact form by opening the “Add New” submenu. Many users will likely find the default included contact form to be adequate in its current state.
- The default contact form provides fields for the user’s name and email address as well as a subject line and the actual text of the message. Add more options, such as fields for people to enter things like telephone numbers or Web addresses by clicking on the “Generate Tag” dropdown box to the right. Customize the tag using the options provided, and once done, copy and paste the code provided into the text box to the left.
- Scroll down to find the “Messages” section if you want to enter custom messages for the various options provided.
- Once you have created or edited your contact form, click “Save” at the top-right of the page.
- To make the contact form appear on your blog, simply return to the Contacts section of the dashboard and copy and paste the provided shortcode into your contacts page. Most blog owners will have a dedicated contacts page for this purpose. If you do not have one already, you can create a static contacts page by navigating to Pages > Add New. Once you have pasted the shortcode, your contacts page should resemble something like what is displayed in the screenshot below:
