How to Create Conversational Forms in WordPress

Long, intimidating forms can make visitors give up before they even start. Instead of asking visitors to fill out a long list of fields, break the form into one simple question at a time.

That’s the idea behind conversational forms. They turn a traditional form into a more interactive, step-by-step experience that feels easier and more natural to complete.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to create conversational forms on your WordPress site

What Is a Conversational Form & How to Build It?

A conversational form shows visitors one question at a time instead of putting all the fields on one page. It also has its own dedicated URL, so you can share the form directly without embedding it on another page.

To build a conversational form, we recommend using a WordPress form plugin over a hosted form solution, like Typeform, for a few reasons.

• Unmetered billing. You pay a fixed price instead of being charged based on the number of responses your forms receive.
• Your data stays on your own server. Entries live on your WordPress hosting instead of on a third-party form solution.
• Unlimited forms. You can create as many forms as you want without fear of account restrictions.

Create Conversational Forms in WordPress

The easiest way to create conversational forms in WordPress is with WPForms. We use it on WPBeginner to create all kinds of forms, including simple contact forms, lead generation forms, and more.

Here’s what a finished conversational form looks like in action:

If you’d like to learn more about the plugin, you can read our WPForms review.

First, install and activate the WPForms plugin. You will need the ‘Pro’ plan to access the Conversational Forms Addon.

For detailed instructions, please see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you’ll need to visit the WPForms » Settings page to verify your license key. You can find this information in your account area on the WPForms website.

Install the Conversational Forms Addon

Next, you’ll want to go to WPForms » Addons and find the Conversational Forms addon.

On the Addons page, look for the ‘Conversational Forms’ addon and click the ‘Install Addon’ button, and then activate it.

You’ll now see the addon status as ‘Activated.

Create the Conversational Form

For this tutorial, we’ll create a survey form as our example. Surveys are a good fit for the conversational format because they often include several questions that visitors need to answer.

Go to WPForms » Add New Form from your WordPress admin area. Then, you can name your form and pick a template from the available options.

Alternatively, you can skip the survey form template and describe the form you need in plain language, and WPForms AI will build the fields for you.

To start with WPForms AI, click the ‘Generate With AI’ template. If you haven’t enabled the ‘WPForms AI’ addon yet, it will prompt you to enable the addon.

This will direct you to the WPForms AI form generation page. On this page, you can describe your form in plain English and AI will build the form for you automatically.

Once the form exists, you can keep refining it inside the builder, asking it to add a field, reorder questions, or change the wording. Whichever route you take, you can fine-tune the form manually using WPForms’ drag-and-drop interface. Simply drag fields from the left panel into the form editor on the right.

Here’s what a sample WPForms survey form looks like:

For more details, feel free to see our step-by-step guide on how to create a survey in WordPress.

Turn on Conversational Form Mode

Once you’ve added your survey questions, go to the Settings » Conversational Forms tab in the left panel and turn on ‘Enable Conversational Form Mode.’

Once you enable conversational mode, you’ll see a few settings for customizing the form, including its title, welcome message, and permalink.

• Conversational Form Title. Give your form a short, descriptive title, such as “Please, Take Our Survey!”
• Message. Add a short message encouraging visitors to complete the form.
• Permalink. This is the unique URL for your standalone form page. WPForms creates one automatically based on your title, but you can edit it the way you want.

You can preview your changes anytime by clicking the blue ‘Preview Conversational Form’ button.

Changing the Design of the Conversational Form

Below the title, message, and permalink fields, you’ll find four more options for customizing how the form’s landing page looks:

• Header logo. Click ‘Upload Image’ to add your logo.
• Hide WPForms branding. Check this box if you don’t want the “Powered by WPForms” message to appear on the landing page.
• Color scheme. Choose the color for the ‘Submit’ button and page background. You can choose from a predefined color scheme or use the color picker to select your own colors.
• Progress bar. Choose between ‘Percentage’ and ‘Proportion’ styles. Percentage shows the user’s progress as a percentage, while Proportion shows the number of completed questions out of the total, such as “3 of 8.”

Publishing the Conversational Form

Once you save your settings, remember that your conversational form lives on its own page rather than inside an existing page on your site. It has its own permalink, so you’ll need to share the link or add it somewhere visitors can find it.

You can add the link to your navigation menu, a relevant post or page, or share it directly in your email newsletter.

Here’s how a finished conversational form page looks once it’s live:

Video Tutorial: Create Conversational Forms in WordPress

If you’d rather watch video instructions, here is the video

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Frequently Asked Questions About Conversational Forms

Here are a few frequently asked questions about building conversational forms in WordPress.

What types of forms work well as conversational forms?

Conversational forms can be useful for surveys, event registrations, user registrations, lead generation forms, feedback forms, and other forms that contain several questions.

How do I make sure form notification emails reach my inbox?

By default, WPForms sends notification emails using your web host’s standard PHP mail() function, which can cause emails not to be sent at all. We recommend WP Mail SMTP, which routes your notifications through an authenticated SMTP provider. See our guide on how to fix WordPress not sending email issue for more details.

Are conversational forms better than traditional forms?

It depends on the type of form. Conversational forms can work particularly well for longer forms with multiple questions, while traditional forms may be better for short forms that only require a few fields.

We hope this article helped you learn how to easily create conversational forms in WordPress. You may also want to check out our best WordPress contact form plugins and how to style a WordPress form.

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