Email sucks! That is what I hear ALL of the time or maybe that is just what I am always saying. How do you feel about it?
There is one type of email that is exciting though. It is the one where someone says "hey, can you help me?" or "hey, I really appreciate that podcast episode that you just released." Those are fun emails and then kind that I want.
Bonus: Download a free checklist of the first plugins that I always install on a new WordPress Blog.
It is much easier for people to send us emails if we provide them with a contact form to do it. There are several contact forms to choose from but no matter how many I experiment with, I always wind up using Contact Form 7.
In this tutorial I am going to show you how to setup a basic contact form. I say basic because you can get really crazy in-depth with Contact Form 7.
You can add custom fields and radial button options and sorts of cool stuff. However, the average blogger like me, just doesn't need all of that. If you do, let me know and we can discuss it.
How to create a contact form
Step 1: Log into your WordPress Dashboard
Step 2: Click on Contact
Step 3: Click on Add New
Step 4: Give your Form a Title
Step 5: Select on the Mail Tab
To: Enter an email address that corresponds to your domain name.
Important: To use contact form 7 you must have an email address that associates to your domain name. For example, my email is renee @ iteachblogging.com but info @ or anything of that nature will work fine. It just can't be a gmail or a yahoo email address.
From: Enter your email address in the brackets and make sure it looks like the make below.
Subject: You must provide type a subject like. (See the image below)
Note: If you don't enter a subject line the form will not work. It will give you error warnings when you try and save.
Additional Headers: This field should autofill for you.
Message Body: I leave this at the default.
Scroll down and click Save
How to place the contact form on a page
Step 1: Click on Contact Forms in dashboard
Note: If you are in the form from the steps above just click the back button on your browser.
Step 2: Copy the short code for the form that you want to place on a page.
Step 3: Open up an existing page or create a new page
Step 4: Past the short code in the page (see image below)
Step 5: Preview the page and you should see a functioning contact form.
Conclusion
Contact forms can be as complex or as simple as you need them to be. Personally, I am fan of them being used for initial contact. After that point you can dive into deep conversations that add value.
Do you use contact forms on your blog? If so which one do you prefer?