Open your page in the WordPress Editor, click the + block inserter, search for "form" and click Form. Pick the Contact Form template, tweak the fields, then click Publish or Save. Running a self-hosted WordPress.org site? You'll need to install the free Jetpack plugin first, because that's what adds the block.
Before you start on your form
A little thinking here saves you going back into the page afterwards.
- A page or post to hold the form, opened in the WordPress Editor.
- The Form block showing in your editor. If it's missing, there's a fix further down this page.
- Every email address that should receive responses, as you can send them to more than one.
- A decision on what visitors get after they submit: a confirmation message, or a redirect to another page.
- A choice of tool. If you'd like to weigh the Form block against other tools first, our roundup of contact form plugins is the place to compare.
Building the form inside the block editor
- Open the page or post in the WordPress Editor.
- Click the + block inserter.
- Search for "form".
- Click Form to add a new Form block.
- Choose a template, select an existing form from the dropdown, or describe the form you want to Ask AI.
- Adjust the form fields and settings.
- Click Publish or Save.
Step 5 is where the choice comes in. For a plain enquiry, Contact Form is the obvious starting layout. Reusing one you've built makes sense when the fields already suit and you want them on another page, so you aren't setting them up twice. The AI route is worth trying when you can explain an unusual set of questions faster than you could assemble them.
Other layouts sit alongside Contact Form, including RSVP Form and Registration Form, so it's worth a glance at the options if an enquiry isn't quite what you're collecting.
Step 6 is where a form can start asking too much. Every field you add is one more thing a visitor has to fill in, so stick to the details you'll need in order to reply.
Putting it somewhere the block editor doesn't reach
Some spots on a site aren't edited with blocks. For those, go to Jetpack then Forms, click the three dots next to the form you want, and choose Copy embed or Copy shortcode. Paste what you've copied into the place the form needs to appear.
What happens once a visitor presses send
Two things happen, and both are yours to control. The visitor sees whatever you set as the after-submission behaviour, which is either a confirmation message on the page or a redirect somewhere else. A short thank-you is fine for most sites. A redirect earns its place if you've got a dedicated page to send people to, such as one with your next step on it.
Your side of it lands in the Forms dashboard, found at Jetpack then Forms. From there you can read and search what's come in, filter it, export it and deal with spam. Don't treat that dashboard as your only alert, though. Set up email notifications so responses reach the right inbox, and add a second address if somebody else handles enquiries.
Once it's live, send a test message through the form yourself. Then check it's appeared in the dashboard and reached each address you added, because a missed enquiry is a rotten way to find out your notifications were wrong.
Would you rather send people a link than embed anything on your site? That's a different job, and sharing a Google Form covers it.
The catch: a Form block that isn't there
You can follow every instruction above and find nothing when you search for "form". The usual reason is that you're on a WordPress.org site, as opposed to WordPress.com, and the block doesn't come with it. Installing the free Jetpack plugin adds the Form block, and the rest of the route is unchanged from that point.
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Responses, embed codes and shortcodes all live under Jetpack then Forms, so that's where you'll head after the form is live.
If the menu labels on your screen don't match the ones here, check your host's help page, since dashboards can differ between setups.
Frequently asked questions
Will I lose an enquiry if a notification email goes astray?
It should still be waiting under Jetpack then Forms, since submissions are kept there as well as being emailed.
Can I edit a form after it's gone live?
Yes, go back to that page, change what you need and save it the same way you did the first time.
Can I have a different form on each page?
Yes, add a new Form block to each page and set its fields up separately. Each form then gets its own three-dot menu under Jetpack then Forms.
Can I add a form to a sidebar or footer?
Areas outside the block editor use the embed or shortcode you copy from Jetpack then Forms. Check your theme's help page for where to paste it.
Can visitors attach a file through the form?
Check the WordPress.com help page for the Form block to see which field types are on offer.
Does the form filter out spam by itself?
You can manage spam in the Forms dashboard. For what's caught automatically, check the Jetpack help page.
