EFE Visual Forms Getting Started Guide

EFE Visual Forms is a drag-and-drop form builder for WordPress. You build the form on a visual canvas inside the dashboard, WordPress renders it on your site, and every submission is saved in your own database. This guide takes you from installation to a working form on a page in about ten minutes.

Install the plugin

From the WordPress dashboard

1. Go to Plugins > Add New.
2. Search for EFE Visual Forms.
3. Click Install Now, then Activate.

Manual installation

1. Download the plugin zip file from https://wordpress.org/plugins/efe-visual-forms/.
2. Go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin, choose the zip and click Install Now.
3. Activate the plugin on the Plugins screen.

After activation a new EFE Visual Forms menu appears with two screens: Forms and Entries.

Create your first form

Step 1: Choose a template or a blank form

Go to EFE Visual Forms > Forms and click Create New Form. The template gallery opens. Filter by category (Contact Form, Newsletter, Register, Wholesale, Warranty, Booking) or search by name, click Preview to look at a template and Use Template to start from it. To start empty, click Start from scratch (Blank form).

Step 2: Add and arrange fields

The builder has three areas:

• Left rail: Entries, Templates, Actions (what happens after submission), Notices (email notifications) and Settings.
• Canvas: the form as visitors will see it. Drag fields to reorder them; use the small toolbar on a selected field to edit, move, duplicate or delete it.
• Right sidebar: Elements (Add Fields and Field Settings), Theme (width, padding, label placement, colors, fonts, inputs, custom CSS) and Layers (the form structure).

Drag a field from Add Fields onto the canvas. Click a label, placeholder or button text on the canvas to edit it in place. For two or more fields side by side, add a Grid Section and drop fields into its columns.

Step 3: Set field options

Click a field to open Field Settings. Under General you set the label, description, placeholder and whether the field is required. Appearance controls the look of that field only. Choice fields (dropdown, radio, checkboxes) also list their options here.

Step 4: Check the preview

Use the device switcher in the top bar to look at the form at desktop and mobile sizes, and Preview to try it without the editing tools.

Step 5: Notifications and confirmation

• Notices: add an email notification for new submissions with recipients, CC/BCC, a subject and a message. Merge tags such as {all_fields}, {form_title}, {entry_id} and {entry_date} are filled in when the email is sent.
• Actions: choose what the visitor sees after submitting: a message, a redirect to a page on your site, a redirect to a custom URL, or a quiz result.

Step 6: Save

Click Save Changes. The form is stored in your database and can be edited at any time.

Embed the form on a page

Every form has a shortcode with its ID:

[wpvfb id="12"]

You can copy it in two places: from the Publish button in the builder (a dialog shows the shortcode with a copy button) or from the shortcode pill next to the form on EFE Visual Forms > Forms.

• Block editor: add a Shortcode block and paste the shortcode.
• Classic editor: paste the shortcode into the content.
• Page builders: use the builder’s Shortcode or Text widget.
• Widgets: use a Shortcode widget in a sidebar or footer.

Open the page on your site to see the form.

Test a submission

Fill in the form on the page and submit it. Then go to EFE Visual Forms > Entries, select the form and check that the entry is there. If you set up a notification, check the inbox as well. If the email does not arrive, see the troubleshooting guide: WordPress sends email through your server or SMTP plugin.

Troubleshooting

The form shows “Please specify a form ID.”

The shortcode is missing the id attribute. Copy the shortcode again from the builder.

The form shows “Form not found.”

The ID does not match an existing form, for example after a form was deleted. Copy the current shortcode from EFE Visual Forms > Forms.

The page shows the shortcode as text

The editor you used does not run shortcodes in that place. In the block editor, use a Shortcode block rather than a Paragraph block.

Next steps

• Field types
• Conditional logic
• Managing entries
• reCAPTCHA setup
• EFE Visual Forms Pro

Related Resources & Official Links