GenForm — Drag & Drop Form Builder for WordPress
Build beautiful forms in minutes. No coding. No bloat. Just drag and drop.
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## What is GenForm?
**GenForm** is a modern, lightweight WordPress form plugin. Create contact forms, feedback forms, booking requests, job applications, and more — using an intuitive drag-and-drop builder. No page reloads and absolutely no learning curve.
Packed with features right out of the box — 12 field types, 16+ templates, entry management, email notifications, CSV export, JSON import/export, reCAPTCHA, and more. All free.
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## Why Choose GenForm?
| Pain Point | GenForm's Answer |
|---|---|
| Plugins that feel incomplete out of the box | **Feature-packed** — 12 field types, templates, entries, CSV export, email notifications, reCAPTCHA, and more included |
| Plugins that load scripts on every page | CSS & JS load **only on pages with a form** — zero impact elsewhere |
| Submissions sent to external servers | All data stays in **your WordPress database** — nothing leaves your server |
| Complex dashboards with a steep learning curve | Intuitive **drag-and-drop builder** with live preview — ready in 2 minutes |
| Spam flooding your inbox | **Honeypot + IP rate limiting + reCAPTCHA v2** — layered protection with no friction |
| GDPR compliance headaches | **Per-form consent checkbox** with customizable text, validated client + server |
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## Features
### Drag & Drop Form Builder
- **12 field types:** Text, Email, Textarea, Number, Select, Radio, Checkbox, Date, URL, Phone, Hidden, Password
- Per-field customization: labels, placeholders, help text, required toggle, CSS classes
- **6 column-width options** (25% to 100%) for multi-column layouts
- One-click field cloning with full configuration
- Type-specific controls: textarea rows, number min/max/step, and **text/email/URL/tel min/max character limits**
- Default values and multi-option management for Select, Radio, and Checkbox fields
- Live form preview before publishing
### 16+ Ready-Made Templates
Pre-built templates across **7 categories** — General, Business, Booking, Marketing, Feedback, Education, and Healthcare. Pick one, customize, and publish in seconds.
### Smart Entry Management
- Search, filter by form, and switch between All / Unread / Trash views
- **Star important entries** — flag submissions you want to follow up on; persists across sessions
- Quick-view popup and dedicated detail page with metadata (IP, browser, OS, source URL)
- Unread badge with auto-read marking
- Bulk actions: Mark Read, Mark Unread, Trash, Restore, Delete Permanently
- **One-click CSV export** — per form or all entries, with Excel-compatible formatting
### Email Notifications
- Automatic admin notification email on every new submission
- **Confirmation email to the submitter** — configure subject, body, and which field holds their email, all per form
- Dynamic template tags: `{form_name}`, `{entry_id}`, `{admin_email}`, `{site_title}`, `{all_fields}`, `{field_*}`
- Customizable subject, body, sender name, sender email, and reply-to per form
- Global sender defaults in Settings — configure once, use everywhere
### Form Import & Export
- **Export any form as JSON** — one click from the All Forms page
- **Import a JSON file** — upload a previously exported form from any GenForm install to recreate it instantly
- Move forms between sites without losing a single field or setting
### Anti-Spam & Security
- **Honeypot field** — invisible to real users, catches bots silently
- **IP rate limiting** — capped at 5 submissions per minute per visitor
- **Google reCAPTCHA v2** — add keys in Settings, enable per form with a single checkbox; token verified server-side on every submission
- WordPress nonce verification on every request
- Full input sanitization and output escaping
### Embed Anywhere
- **Gutenberg Block** with form picker
- **Shortcode** `[genform id="X"]` for Classic Editor, widgets, and all page builders (Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder, etc.)
- Per-form typography (font size + weight) and submit button customization (text + alignment)
- Post-submission: success message or redirect to custom URL
- **Enable / disable forms** — toggle any form on or off without deleting it. Inactive forms show nothing to visitors.
### GDPR & Privacy Compliance
- Per-form consent checkbox with fully customizable text
- Consent validated on both browser and server — cannot be bypassed
- All data stays in your WordPress database — nothing sent to third parties
- Clean uninstall removes all plugin data when deleted
### Admin Experience
- Modern card-based dashboard with custom brand color
- **Dashboard widget** — total forms, total entries, and 5 most recent submissions at a glance
- **Admin Bar shortcuts** to All Forms and Entries from any page
- Form duplication, JSON export, status toggle, and one-click shortcode copy on the All Forms page
- Tabbed form builder: Fields → Settings → Notifications — everything in one place
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## Quick Start
```
1. Install & activate GenForm from Plugins → Add New
2. Go to GenForm → Add New
3. Choose "Start Blank" or pick a template
4. Drag fields → click to customize
5. Settings tab → submit button, success message, reCAPTCHA, GDPR
6. Notifications tab → admin alerts + optional confirmation email to submitter
7. Save Form → embed via block or [genform id="X"] shortcode
```
**Your form is live in 2 minutes.**
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## Compatibility
GenForm works seamlessly with:
- Gutenberg (Block Editor)
- Classic Editor
- Elementor
- Divi Builder
- Beaver Builder
- Any WordPress Theme
- WordPress Multisite
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## Installation
### From WordPress Dashboard
1. Go to **Plugins → Add New**
2. Search for **GenForm**
3. Click **Install Now** → **Activate**
### Manual Upload
1. Download the `.zip` from [WordPress.org](https://wordpress.org/plugins/genform/)
2. **Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin**
3. Upload, install, and activate
---
## Changelog
### 1.3.0 — 2026-04-21
- **Fix:** reCAPTCHA keys saved in Settings are now fully enforced — the widget renders on the form and the token is verified server-side on every submission
- **New:** Form active/inactive toggle — enable or disable any form from the All Forms list without deleting it. Inactive forms display nothing to visitors
- **New:** Confirmation email to submitter — configure per-form auto-response with custom subject, body, and dynamic template tags
- **New:** Text/Textarea/Email/URL/Tel fields now support min/max character length validation via dedicated builder inputs
- **New:** Form JSON export — download any form's complete structure as a portable `.json` file
- **New:** Form JSON import — upload a previously exported JSON to recreate a form on any GenForm install
- **New:** Entry starring — flag important submissions with a star icon; starred state persists across sessions
- **Enhancement:** Database indexes added on `form_id` and `status` columns in the entries table for improved query performance at scale
- **Enhancement:** reCAPTCHA enable/disable toggle added to the form builder Settings tab (only shown when global keys are configured)
- **Enhancement:** `starred` column added to the entries table via non-destructive `dbDelta` upgrade
### 1.2.0 — 2026-02-20
- **New:** Templates Library — 16+ pre-built form templates with one-click import
- **New:** Add New Form chooser modal (blank form or template library)
- **New:** Hidden and Password field types
- **New:** Help text setting for any field
- **New:** One-click field duplication
- **New:** Type-specific settings (textarea rows, number min/max/step)
- **Enhancement:** Improved plugin compatibility and stability with other themes and plugins
- **Enhancement:** Upgraded the form builder engine for a faster and more reliable drag-and-drop experience
- **Enhancement:** 6-option column width selector with multi-column frontend layout
- **Enhancement:** Submit button loading spinner and message fade-in animations
- **Enhancement:** Field settings panel displays field type icon as header
- **Enhancement:** Upgraded empty canvas with illustration and welcoming copy
- **Update:** Full i18n coverage — all builder and frontend JS strings are now translatable
### 1.1.0 — 2026-02-17
- **New:** Form Preview — preview any saved form from the builder or All Forms page before publishing
- **New:** GDPR / Consent Checkbox — per-form toggle with customizable consent text validated on both client and server
- **New:** Entry Detail Page — dedicated full-page view with two-column layout and auto-read marking
- **Enhancement:** Preview button added to the form builder toolbar
- **Enhancement:** GDPR / Consent settings card added to the form builder Settings tab
- **Enhancement:** Frontend GDPR consent validation in JavaScript with visual error feedback
### 1.0.0 — 2026-01-15
- Initial release with drag-and-drop builder, Gutenberg block, shortcode, AJAX submissions, entry management, CSV export, email notifications, honeypot anti-spam, rate limiting, dashboard widget, and global settings.
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## License
GenForm is free software released under the [GNU General Public License v3.0](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html).
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## Contributing
Contributions, bug reports, and feature requests are welcome. Open an issue or submit a pull request on [GitHub](https://github.com/arifrahman1/genform).
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