How to Check Your Website Form Entries

Categories
Web Design

For many business owners, their website isn’t their business – it’s a means of communication with their current and potential customers. Forms are an important part of any website as they allow customers or users a way to reach out to business owners online. For most, tracking down website form entries can be a real nightmare, especially when you don’t know what to look for or where to go on your website’s backend.

Depending on the type of website you have (WordPress, Wix, etc.), there are a number of excellent plugins available to help track down form entries and keep track of that valuable customer information. For this article, we will focus on form entry management via plugins for WordPress websites.

Popular WordPress Forms Plugins

With the advent of online, open source website creation tools (like WordPress), it has become increasingly easier for anyone to create and manage a website without any kind of formal training in computer science technology. The wonderful thing about WordPress is that there are a number of plugins available that make managing and developing a website incredibly easy and straightforward, especially when it comes to forms.

If you do not currently utilize form plugins on your WordPress site, it would greatly benefit your time to look into one. There are a number of form plugins available in WordPress, but we’ve narrowed down some of the top plugins that make form entry management easy to understand and manage.

As a business owner or operator, it’s important to know how to check your form entries on your website because the entries provide valuable information: clients will submit questions and offer feedback that is pertinent to your business. You want to make sure you’re getting your form submissions in a timely manner and that your form is actually working. Some forms will send an email with each submission, but it’s important to actually check to make sure the entries are being saved and that the form is working properly so you know your site is working and that current and potential customers have a positive user experience.

WordPress Contact Form

While not a plugin, WordPress does provide its own contact form. A user has to create a new page in order to use it, but once it’s been implemented and added to the site, the form entries can be found in the “Feedback” section of the left side navigation menu.

Once in the Feedback section, you’ll be able to view the form submissions which include information from the form fields you choose. The form field types are: Checkbox, Dropdown, Email Address, Name, Radio Button, Text, Text Area and Web Address.

From this page you have the ability to view important information, delete form submissions, select which ones are important for your business, and download them to your computer.

WPForms

Considered one of the best WordPress contact form plugins, WPForms makes it really easy for a user to view all leads in one place. Entries are stored in the WordPress database, and they’re easily accessible inside your dashboard. This plugin also gives a user the option of favoriting specific leads, marking them as read, and deleting those that are not wanted.

To check form entries, you simply go to “WPForms” in your dashboard, select “Entries,” and all of the form entries are listed in a simple layout. If you need to, you have the ability to export the leads into a CSV (comma separated value) file and save them to your computer.

Here’s a handy video about entry management in WPForms:

Gravity Forms

Another popular plugin, Gravity Forms offers professional forms and form management for WordPress websites. Gravity Forms allows a user to review form submissions directly from the WordPress admin dashboard.

When in the admin dashboard, click on “Forms” in the left side navigation.

You’ll see a list of all forms. Hover your cursor over the form name you want to access, and then click on “Entries.”

A list of all form submissions will be listed.

To access the information of an individual form submission, click on the individual entry listed.

Ninja Forms

Gaining popularity, Ninja Forms is a free plugin that offers element control, easy integration, instant updates, and is developer friendly, and it’s simple to learn and use.

To manage form entries with Ninja Forms, click on the “Forms” item in the left side navigation menu. Additional items will appear, and you’ll be able to select “Submissions.”

Once in Submissions, you’ll be able to select the form you want to manage.

Once you’re in the form, you’ll be able to edit or delete submissions, and if you want to export the information, you can either download all submissions or a set of submissions.

Let Intuitive Digital Handle Your Website Management

Tech stuff can be a headache for those that don’t have the training or the background to understand all that goes into website management. With plugins, things are easier and more manageable, especially when it comes to finding form entries on a website’s backend.

Intuitive Digital offers a number of services geared toward business owners, and website maintenance is one of them. If you’d feel more comfortable with a professional team handling your website management, including monitoring your form entries, contact us for more information. We may love website management, but we especially love helping business owners manage their time and online marketing efforts.

About the Author

Nick Footer

Nick Footer is an entrepreneur and founder of Intuitive Digital, a national award-winning digital marketing agency in Portland, Oregon. With over 15 years of experience, he has helped hundreds of businesses improve their online presence through search engine optimization, paid advertising, and website design.

One thought on “How to Check Your Website Form Entries

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Receive expert marketing tips