Automation is the future!
If it weren’t for automation, we wouldn’t be here with all the technology we have today.
We humans always want to automate stuff, and it’s a good thing.
Why spend your time doing something multiple times if you can create an automation for it that will deal with the task as many times as you want?
In websites also, there are tons of tasks that require manual attention and often consume a lot of our precious time.
Luckily for WordPress website owners, I have found a lethal combo that can automate many tasks with ease.
Before we dive into the actual process, it’s crucial to know a little bit about the two powerful tools we will use for automation in WordPress.
About WPForms
Founded by Syed Balkhi and Jared Atchison in 2016, WPForms is the most powerful and beginner-friendly drag and drop forms builder plugin for WordPress.
I personally use WPForms on my sites with WP Mail SMTP, which is also founded by the founders of WPForms. WP Mail SMTP is basically a custom SMTP solution for WordPress sites so that form plugins and even WordPress core itself can deliver emails without any hiccups.
WP Mail SMTP also fixes the issue when WordPress doesn’t send emails like verification emails.
Getting back to WPForms, this plugin is more than just a vanilla contact form plugin. Sure, you can create a simple contact form using it. But other than that, it has tons of other powerful features as well.
It lets you create signature forms in WordPress, accept recurring payments, create complex job application forms with ease, and much more.
Now it’s time to know a little bit about Zapier.
About Zapier
Zapier combines the power of multiple apps you use and helps you automate the tasks using those apps. Sounds complex?
Let me explain Zapier in layman’s terms.
Suppose you have a Gmail account where you receive receipts as attachments. You have to download the attachments manually and store them on Dropbox for safekeeping. Then you post in a work’s Slack group that you have received the receipt and stored it on Dropbox successfully.
This looks simple if done once. Suppose you have to do it 100 times a day?
Does it look easy now? I am sure it does not.
Zapier can help you get it done as many times as you want. You create the automation once and leave it on Zapier.
Zapier is basically a kitchen, and all the apps it supports are ingredients. You come up with your own recipes or use the predesigned ones for cooking something interesting.
But it’s not a simple kitchen, it’s a smart one, actually. Because once you provide it with all the ingredients, it’s going to cook for you automatically, as many times as you want.
Now that you know what both WPForms and Zapier are, it’s time to know what their combo with WordPress can do.
What can you do with WPForms and Zapier?
WPForms is a contact form plugin, but clubbing it with Zapier can make a lot of cool stuff happen.
WordPress + WPForms + Zapier = Infinite Possibilites
Zapier Addon for WPForms is required to make both of them work together. Once you have it, below are some of my personal favorite tasks you can establish out of the countless:
- Create a Lead in Salesforce
- Create invoices on FreshBooks
- Create a contact in HubSpot
- Send text messages using Twilio
- Add a Google Contact
- Make a task in Trello or Asana
- Add a customer in QuickBooks
- Get a Slack Notification
These are just a few. Zapier integration with WPForms allows you to combine the powers of WPForms with 2000+ other apps.
You can’t even count how many recipes you can come up with. The number is literally countless.
Now that you know what you can do with WPForms and Zapier together, it’s time to actually do the tasks with full automation.
Automate Tasks in WordPress Using WPForms & Zapier
Below is a simple step-by-step process to automation in WordPress using Zapier and WPForms:
Step 0: Requirements
- A WordPress site (obviously)
- WPForms Basic or higher plan (check the pricing here) because Zapier is a Pro addon
Step 1: Install & Activate WPForms
From your WordPress dashboard sidebar, go to Plugins » Add New
In the top right corner, there is a search plugin bar. Search for “WPForms”
After finding the plugin, install and activate it.
Then go to WPForms » Settings from the WordPress sidebar and paste your WPForms license key.
Press the Connect button, and your WPForms plugin will upgrade to the pro version with all features unlocked for the plan you bought.
Step 2: Activate Zapier Addon
As mentioned above, Zapier is a pro addon and requires paid WPForms plan. But no need to worry, you can get 50% off WPForms using the button given below.
Then go to WPForms » Settings. There you’ll find the Integrations tab. Click on it.
Scroll down to find Zapier addon. Once you find it, click on it to show more details. It will also show your Zapier API key.
Keep this tab open because we will use the Zapier API key in the next step.
Step 3: Create a Zap
Whenever you create a workflow consisting of multiple apps or services that runs with a trigger and results in one or more actions, it’s called a Zap.
We need to create a Zap to integrate WPForms with other app(s) out of 2000+.
First, you’ll need to log into your Zapier account. If you don’t have an account yet, then you can sign up and create an account for free.
Once you’re logged in to your Zapier account, you’ll see a black + button in the upper left corner. Click on it.
It will open a setup prompt for your new zap. Name it whatever you want from the upper left corner of the page.
Then under Choose App & Event search box, search for WPForms.
Click on WPForms to show all the trigger options. It will show multiple triggers under Choose Trigger Event list.
Now you have to select which one you want to use. For instance, we are choosing the New Entry Form trigger.
Then press the Continue button to connect the Zap with WPForms.
It will show you a Sign in to WPForms button. Simply click on it.
It will open an overlay. Here you have to paste your Zapier API key that we found in the WPForms integrations tab in the last step.
Go to that tab again and find that API key. Then copy it and paste it in the Zapier tab along with the website link.
Press Yes, Continue button when all the details are filled.
Zapier will then show you a list of all your sites. Select the site you want to use.
Then it will ask you to select the contact form from the list. After selecting, press the Continue button.
A new Find Data tab will show up. Press the Test & Continue button to go to the next part of the configuration.
Finally, Zapier will ask you to fill the Choose App & Event tab. This is where the fun begins.
You have more than 2000 apps to choose from. You can check the more detailed guide here.
This is how my friends, you create automation in WordPress. There are tons of things you can do with WPForms and Zapier. It all depends on your use case and task.
If you have any doubts about this tutorial, then feel free to ask them in the comments section below. Cheers!
