How to Create a Multi-Part Form in WordPress

Long forms? Use page breaks to quickly split a WordPress form into a user-friendly, multi-part form! Plus, add conditional branching with smart logic for even better results.

It's a fact that long forms kill conversion rates. The longer your form, the fewer users will reach the end. Even if your form is for employees and isn't optional, it can still be a painful process and workplace distractions may prevent completion.

A multi-part form takes out the pain by splitting the form into smaller, easy-to-manage sections. If your users are logged in, a draft is saved on every page turn so they can return and complete the entry later.

If you're not already using multi-part forms, here's a quick guide on how to use them and what they can do for you.

When should I use a multi-part form?

Multi-part forms are an amazing tool to simplify long, complex forms and massively improve the user experience. Most long forms can be divided into natural sections. For example, a travel booking form could be divided into pages for Contact Details, Traveler Information, Additional Requirements, and Payment Details.

Rootlines and progress bars allow users to see how far through the form they are and how many steps remain. Give a little light at the end of the tunnel if your form is extremely long!

How do I split up an existing WordPress form?

It couldn't be simpler. Just go to the form builder page to edit your existing form. Once there, drag and drop the Page Break field elements into the positions where a new page should start. Formidable will do the rest.

Next, enable a rootline or progress bar. To do this, navigate to the settings page for your form. About half-way down you'll see the "Pagination" heading. Select the option that best suits your form here.

Can I simplify a long multi-part form even further?

Yes! Multi-part forms can use conditional branching to skip pages with smart logic based on user input. Conditional page breaks allow you to skip over pages that don't apply to your user. You can setup your form so a single page or multiple pages are skipped conditionally.

For example, if you have a travel booking form and the user selects a room-only package, set your form to skip pages related to meal choices or dietary requirements. Depending on your form, this could drastically reduce the time it takes a user to complete it.

Do you have long, complex forms?

If you're not already taking advantage of multi-part forms, now is the time to make the change! It will take only a few minutes to update your existing forms, but the benefits will last a lifetime.

If you track your form conversion rates, we'd love to hear how switching to a multi-page form benefited you. Let us know in the comments how much your conversion rate improved.