CraftRoq Forms guide

Build a form, put it on a page, and get the answers by email. Step by step, no code.

This guide takes you from installing CraftRoq Forms to a working form on your site, one small step at a time. You do not need to know any code. Read it in order the first time; after that, jump to the chapter you need.

Chapter 1 of 17

Before you start

What the plugin does, and the three things you need.

CraftRoq Forms lets you build a form (a contact form, an order form, a survey, a sign-up) by dragging boxes onto a page. When a visitor fills it in, the answers are saved on your site and emailed to you.

You need:

  • A WordPress site you can log in to as an administrator.
  • WordPress 6.5 or newer and PHP 8.1 or newer. If you are not sure, your hosting company can tell you, or look under ToolsSite HealthInfo.
  • About ten minutes for your first form.

Three words you will meet

A field is one box on a form, such as Name or Email. An entry is one filled-in form that a visitor has sent. A template is a ready-made form you can start from.

Back to the list of chapters

Chapter 2 of 17

Install the plugin

This is done once, from inside WordPress.

  1. Open the Plugins screen

    In the menu on the left of WordPress, go to PluginsAdd New.

  2. Find it

    Type CraftRoq Forms in the search box.

  3. Install and switch it on

    Press Install Now, wait a moment, then press Activate.

What you should see

A new entry called CraftRoq Forms in the menu on the left. Under it are All Forms, Add New, Entries, Settings and Import & Export.

Have a ZIP file instead?

Go to PluginsAdd NewUpload Plugin, choose the ZIP, press Install Now, then Activate.

Back to the list of chapters

Chapter 3 of 17

Make your first form

Start from a template. It is already a working form, so there is very little to do.

  1. Start a new form

    Go to CraftRoq FormsAdd New. You see the Create a form screen.

  2. Give it a name

    Type a name in Form name, for example “Contact us”. Only you see this name. You can leave it empty and the template’s name is used.

  3. Pick a template

    Find Contact form and press Use template. If you would rather begin with nothing, press Start from scratch on the blank form.
    Create a form: a blank form and seven templates to start from.

  4. Look at the builder

    The builder opens. On the left is the list of fields you can add. On the right is your form, exactly as visitors will see it.
    The builder. Left: fields to add. Right: your form.

  5. Save

    Press Save at the top right.

What you should see

The words All changes saved near the form’s name, and a green Active switch at the top. Active means the form will accept answers. Switch it off to pause a form without removing it from your pages.

Back to the list of chapters

Chapter 4 of 17

Add and change fields

A field is one box on your form. You can add, change, move and remove them as often as you like.

Add a field

  1. Open the list of fields

    In the builder, make sure the Add fields tab on the left is chosen. The fields are in four groups: Standard fields, Advanced fields, Pricing & calculations and Layout.

  2. Drag it in

    Hold the mouse button down on a field, for example Phone, drag it onto your form and let go where you want it.

Change a field

  1. Click the field

    Click the field in your form. The left side changes to Field options.

  2. Change what it says

    Under General you can change the Label (the words above the box), add a Description (a hint shown below it), and switch on Required if visitors must fill it in.
    Field options. This one is a product with a price.

  3. Put two fields side by side

    Open Advanced and set Field width to Half on both fields. Other widths are Three quarters, Two thirds, One third and One quarter.

Move, copy or remove a field

  • Move: drag the field up or down in your form.
  • Copy or remove: click the field, then use the small buttons that appear on it.
  • Changed your mind? Press Undo at the top (or Ctrl+Z). Redo puts it back.

Check it on a phone

At the top of the builder are three small screen buttons: Desktop, Tablet and Phone. Press one to see how the form looks at that size.

Back to the list of chapters

Chapter 5 of 17

Put the form on a page

A form does nothing until it is on a page. There are two ways; use whichever your site uses.

In the WordPress editor (most sites)

  1. Open the page

    Go to Pages and open the page you want the form on, or add a new one.

  2. Add the form’s block

    Press the + button where the form should go, type CraftRoq Form and choose it.

  3. Choose your form

    In the block, pick your form from the list.

  4. Publish

    Press Update or Publish, then view the page.

Anywhere else (page builders, widgets)

  1. Copy the form’s short code

    Go to CraftRoq FormsAll Forms. Beside each form is a short piece of text such as [crforms id="1"]. Press the copy button next to it.
    All Forms. The short code is in the middle of each row.

  2. Paste it

    Paste that text where you want the form to appear, and save.

What you should see

Your form on the page. Fill it in once yourself to test it: you should get a thank-you message, and the answer should appear under Entries.

Back to the list of chapters

Chapter 6 of 17

Choose what visitors see after sending

By default they see a short thank-you message. You can change the words, or send them to another page.

  1. Open the form’s settings

    Open the form in the builder and press the Settings tab at the top, then Confirmation.

  2. Choose what happens

    Under After submission, pick one: Show a message, Go to a page on this site, or Go to a URL (any web address).

  3. Save

    Press Save.

Hide the form afterwards

With Hide the form after a successful submission switched on, the form is replaced by your message, so nobody sends it twice by mistake.

Back to the list of chapters

Chapter 7 of 17

Get an email for every entry

The plugin can email you each time someone fills in the form, and email the visitor a copy too.

  1. Open Notifications

    In the builder press Settings, then Notifications. A new form already has one notification, to the site’s administrator.

  2. Say who gets it

    In Send to, type the email address that should receive entries. For several people, put a comma between the addresses.

  3. Check the subject

    Subject is the email’s title. It starts as “New entry: {form_title}”. The part in curly brackets is filled in for you with the form’s name.
    A notification. The small button at the end of a box inserts a smart tag.

  4. Save

    Press Save.

Send the visitor a copy as well

  1. Add a second notification

    Press Add notification.

  2. Send it to the visitor

    Click in Send to, press the small Insert smart tag button at the end of the box, and choose your form’s Email field.

  3. Write your message and save

    Change the Subject and Message to what you want the visitor to read, then press Save.

What is a smart tag?

A placeholder in curly brackets that is swapped for a real answer when the email is sent. {all_fields} becomes every answer; {field:2} becomes the answer to field number 2.

Not getting the emails?

Many web hosts block or lose email sent the ordinary way. The fix is in the chapter Make sure emails arrive.

Back to the list of chapters

Chapter 8 of 17

Read, search and export entries

Every filled-in form is kept on your own site, even if an email goes missing.

  1. Open Entries

    Go to CraftRoq FormsEntries. A number beside the menu shows how many you have not read yet.
    Entries from all your forms. Use the list at the top to show one form only.

  2. Find one

    Use All, Unread, Starred and Trash to narrow the list, or type in the search box.

  3. Read it

    Click an entry to open it. From there you can Star it, Mark as unread, Print it or Move to Trash.
    One entry, opened.

Save entries as a spreadsheet

  1. Choose one form

    At the top of Entries, choose the form in the list that says All forms.

  2. Export

    Press Export CSV. A file downloads that opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets, with one column for each field.

Only want the email?

In the builder go to SettingsGeneral and switch off Store entries in the database. Answers are then emailed but not kept.

Back to the list of chapters

Chapter 9 of 17

Make sure emails arrive

If notification emails go missing or land in spam, send them through a proper email service. This is called SMTP, and it is set up once for the whole site.

  1. Open the email settings

    Go to CraftRoq FormsSettingsEmail & SMTP.

  2. Switch to SMTP

    Set Send email with to SMTP server.

  3. Choose your email service

    In Provider, choose the one you use: Gmail, Microsoft 365, Yahoo, Zoho, SendGrid, Mailgun, Brevo, Postmark, Amazon SES or MailerSend. The server details fill themselves in. For any other service choose Other SMTP server and type the details it gives you.
    Email & SMTP, with a provider chosen.

  4. Sign in to it

    Type the Username and Password for that service. Its help pages say which to use; some, such as Gmail, ask you to create a separate “app password” for this.

  5. Save, then test

    Press Save settings. Then, under Send a test email, type your own address and press Send test email.

What you should see

Test email sent, and the email in your inbox within a minute. If it fails, the screen shows the mail server’s own replies, which say what is wrong (most often the username or password).

Two things worth knowing

The Email log on the same screen lists the last 50 notifications and whether each was sent. And All site email sends every email your site sends this way, not only form notifications.

Back to the list of chapters

Chapter 10 of 17

Stop spam

Two protections are on from the start. A third, the “I am not a robot” check, is optional.

Every form already has a Honeypot (a hidden box that only automated programs fill in) and Reject instant submissions (a form sent faster than a person could type is refused). You do not need to do anything for these. They are in the builder under SettingsSpam protection if you ever want to look.

Add an “I am not a robot” check (CAPTCHA)

  1. Pick a service

    Go to CraftRoq FormsSettingsSpam protection and choose a CAPTCHA provider: Google reCAPTCHA v2 (checkbox), Google reCAPTCHA v3 (invisible), hCaptcha or Cloudflare Turnstile.
    Spam protection for the whole site.

  2. Get two keys

    Sign up with that service (they are free for ordinary use) and add your website. It gives you a site key and a secret key.

  3. Paste them in

    Paste the two keys into the boxes and press Save settings.

  4. Switch it on for a form

    Open the form in the builder, go to SettingsSpam protection, switch on CAPTCHA and press Save.

Back to the list of chapters

Chapter 11 of 17

Split a long form into steps

Long forms are easier to finish when they are shown a few questions at a time.

  1. Add a break

    In the builder, drag a Page Break field (in the Layout group) to the place where the next step should begin. Add one for each new step.

  2. Name the steps

    Click a page break. In Title of the next step, type a short name such as “Your address”. You can also change the words on the Next and Previous buttons.

  3. Choose how progress is shown

    Go to SettingsGeneral and set Multi-step progress to Progress bar, Step titles or None. Give the first step a name in Title of the first step.

  4. Save

    Press Save.
A form in three steps. Each step is checked before the next one opens.

Quicker still

The template Multi-step registration is already set up this way.

Back to the list of chapters

Chapter 12 of 17

Take orders and work out totals

A form can list things to buy, let visitors choose how many, and add it all up.

  1. Add something to buy

    Drag a Product / Price field into the form. Type its name in Label and its Price.

  2. Choose how it is priced

    Under Pricing pick one: One item with a fixed price, Choose one option (buttons), Choose one option (dropdown), or Visitor enters the amount.

  3. Let them choose how many

    Switch on Let visitors choose a quantity, and set a Maximum quantity if you want a limit.

  4. Add the total

    Drag an Order Total field to the end of the form. It adds up everything above it.

  5. Set your currency

    Go to CraftRoq FormsSettingsGeneral and choose your Currency.
What visitors see. The total changes as they choose.

This does not take the money

The form works out the total and sends you the order, which suits quotes, bookings and orders you invoice later. To take payment on the form itself you need CraftRoq Forms Pro.

Your own sums

A Calculation field works out a number from other fields. Type a Formula and click a field’s tag below the box to put that field into it. For example, one field multiplied by another.

Back to the list of chapters

Chapter 13 of 17

Let people send you files

For a CV, a photo or a document.

  1. Add the field

    Drag a File Upload field into the form (it is under Advanced fields).

  2. Say what is allowed

    In its options, set Allowed file types (for example pdf, jpg) and Maximum file size (MB).

  3. More than one file?

    Switch on Allow several files and set the Maximum number of files.

  4. Get the file by email

    Switch on Attach files to notification emails if you want it attached to the email, as well as kept with the entry.

A file is refused as too large

Your web host sets an upper limit for uploads, and the plugin cannot go above it. Ask your host to raise it if you need bigger files.

Back to the list of chapters

Chapter 14 of 17

Privacy and tidying up

You decide what is kept, and for how long.

Go to CraftRoq FormsSettingsPrivacy & data.

  • IP addresses and Browser details: choose whether these are saved with each entry.
  • Delete entries after (days): type a number and older entries are removed for you.
  • Uninstall: if you switch this on, deleting the plugin also deletes all its forms and entries. Leave it off to keep them.

When someone asks for their data

CraftRoq Forms works with WordPress’s own tools under ToolsExport Personal Data and ToolsErase Personal Data.

Back to the list of chapters

Chapter 15 of 17

Copy forms to another site

Useful when you build on a test site first, or look after several sites.

  1. Export from the first site

    Go to CraftRoq FormsImport & Export. Under Export forms, tick the forms you want and press Download export file.

  2. Import on the second site

    On the other site, open the same screen. Under Import forms, drop the file onto the box (or click it to browse) and press Import.

Entries are not included

The file holds the forms and their settings. To take entries with you, use Export CSV on the Entries screen.

Back to the list of chapters

Chapter 16 of 17

If something goes wrong

The most common problems, and where to look.

Emails do not arrive
Follow Make sure emails arrive and send yourself a test email. Then check the Email log on the same screen.
The form is not on the page
Open CraftRoq FormsAll Forms and check the form’s switch says Active. If you pasted a short code, check its number matches the form.
Too much spam
Add a CAPTCHA: see Stop spam.
A file will not upload
It is larger than your web host allows, or not one of the Allowed file types. See Let people send you files.
My site uses page caching
That is fine. The forms are built to keep working on cached pages.
I changed something by mistake
Press Undo in the builder. Nothing is final until you press Save.

Still stuck?

Tell us what you were doing and what happened. For free plugins we help when we can.

Back to the list of chapters

Chapter 17 of 17

Words used in this guide

Block
One piece of a page in the WordPress editor: a paragraph, a picture, or your form.
Builder
The screen where you make and change a form.
CAPTCHA
A check that the visitor is a person, not an automated program.
CSV
A simple spreadsheet file that Excel, Numbers and Google Sheets can open.
Entry
One filled-in form sent by a visitor.
Field
One box or question on a form.
Notification
An email the plugin sends when a form is filled in.
Short code
A short piece of text in square brackets that WordPress swaps for your form. WordPress calls it a “shortcode”.
Smart tag
A placeholder in curly brackets that becomes a real answer when an email is sent.
SMTP
Sending email through a proper email service instead of the web server, so it arrives.
Template
A ready-made form to start from.

Back to the list of chapters