Looking to use WordPress to fill PDF forms? Here’s the best (and easiest) way to use a PDF form filler in WordPress.
Approximate read time: 5.5 minutes
It’s frustrating, isn’t it? You just want a simple way to put a PDF filler for WordPress on your website.
It doesn’t seem difficult. You create and then embed a fillable PDF in WordPress. It’s so straightforward you can’t believe you’re even searching for it.
We understand. Sometimes simple things are tricky for no reason.
But, it turns out there is a fillable PDF form WordPress plugin that can do what you want.
In this post, we’ll show you how to make a fillable PDF using a WordPress plugin for fillable PDF forms. But do you need a fillable PDF for your WordPress site?
We’ll answer that question in a bit. First, let’s show you how to make your PDF.
How do I make a fillable PDF in WordPress?
So, there are a few steps to get this to work:
- Get a WordPress PDF filler plugin
- Get a form builder plugin
- Create your form
- Create your PDF template
- Add a shortcode to your site for download/viewing
Let’s check it out.
Step 1. Get a WordPress PDF filler plugin
For this to work, you’ll need two plugins: a WordPress PDF filler plugin and a form builder plugin.
In the meantime, a great option to use in this situation is E2PDF. This plugin has been around for a while and excels at making PDFs from form entries.
To start, install and activate E2PDF.
Step 2. Get a form builder plugin
Now that we have our PDF plugin, we need a form builder. The form builder will simply create the form fields for visitors.
And, for E2PDF, the best option is Formidable Forms. As great as E2PDF is, it still needs Formidable Forms to reach its full potential.
Other forms plugins, like Caldera Forms, Gravity Forms/Gravity PDF, and others, aren’t compatible with E2PDF.
Plus, with Formidable Forms, you can easily make a button to download a PDF in WordPress.
So, you can use the Formidable Forms free version for this form. Let’s get that installed and activated also.
Step 3. Create your form
Once you’ve installed and activated Formidable Forms, go to Formidable → Forms and click Add New.
Choose Blank Form, then give it a name and description. Once you’re done, click Create.
Next, use our simple drag-and-drop form builder to build your form. You can use Name, Email, Phone, and more.
We’re using a form builder in this situation because a fillable PDF often isn’t necessary.
Fillable forms are only necessary for:
- Tax forms
- Immigration forms
- Official documents
Along with other official or government documents.
In most cases, a simple form builder and PDF plugin will do. No fillable PDF needed.
👉 Want to build and customize PDFs with Formidable?: How To Use a PDF Editor in WordPress [Design Your PDFs!]
You can also use Formidable to sign PDFs on WordPress. Cool, right?
Step 4. Create your PDF template
Next, we’ll want to create a template for our PDF. So go to E2PDF → Templates and click Add New.
This editor gives your template a name, size, and font. Then, under Extension, choose Formidable Forms.
Next, select the form you created in the previous step for Item.
Last, you can click Auto PDF, and the plugin will automatically map the fields.
This will open your PDF editor so you can continue customizing your form and changing the mapped fields. Otherwise, you can click Save and move on to the next step.
Step 5. Add a shortcode to your site for download/viewing
Now that we’ve set that up, you may ask, “How do I embed a PDF in WordPress, though?”.
To do this, go to E2PDF → Export and choose the template you created. Next, select the dataset you want to export (given you have form entries).
Once you’ve selected that, under Shortcodes, you’ll see the option of Download or View. Select Download, then copy the shortcode.
Now, you’re free to do whatever you want with this shortcode. You can attach it to a form so a visitor can download it after form submission. The choice is yours.
But this seems a bit complicated, right? So, if you want something simpler, keep reading 👇.
? Did you know?
You can easily push your form entries to a PDF! With Formidable's PDF add-on, converting form entries to PDF is as easy as making a cup of coffee!
Why you don’t need a fillable PDF WordPress plugin ?
Let’s look at why you want to create a fillable PDF. Besides tax forms and other official documents, you can create your PDF without a fillable PDF form.
Think about it.
You use Adobe to create a fillable PDF form, but then how do your website visitors fill it out?
We covered the method above, but it isn’t simple or straightforward.
There is another option, though.
You can use a form builder by itself. Create a form with the exact form fields you want, then convert the entries to a PDF.
Seems much simpler, right? You cut out the middleman and make it much more straightforward.
But what form builder does that?
Let us introduce you to some other things Formidable Forms can do.
Automatically convert form entries to PDF
This is why you came to Google in the first place, right? You want to have a way to fill out PDF forms.
Our simple drag-and-drop builder provides a great user experience. So, you don’t have to worry about learning new software. It’s easy to pick up and use.
Create a form for visitors to fill out when they visit your website. Customize it exactly the way you want. Colors, sizes, form fields, it’s yours to design.
Then, using our simple PDF add-on, have those form entries automatically converted to a PDF document. So, you don’t actually need WordPress fillable PDF forms. You just need a powerful form builder.
And this works for any form: order, survey, contact forms, and many more.
Last, you can choose what you do with the PDF form data.
You can download the PDF file. Attach it to email messages. Or display it as a link for visitors to click and download.
Or, you can use our unique Views feature.
Display your PDFs to visitors
Looking for a way to embed a PDF viewer? Look no further than our Views feature.
Once you receive your PDF from your form, you can display it on the front or backend of your website.
This is one extra power you have in your tool belt. But, you may be wondering how this can benefit you.
Display the PDF for easy reference for yourself or employees in an employee portal. Or show it to the visitor on your website for confirmation.
Either way, your power over your PDF forms is limitless with Views.
Upload files to forms quickly and easily
Want to allow your visitors to attach a file to the form as well?
No problem.
Inside our drag-and-drop editor, you can place a File Upload field on your form. Attach documents, sheets, or items from their media library in one fantastic form.
It’s easy to create your ultimate WordPress file upload form!
Create forms quickly with templates
We have 175+ templates with Formidable Forms. For example, it's easy if you're a business and want an order form to convert to a PDF.
Our template is ready to get you started quickly, so you can customize only what you need. And it's not just for order forms.
Contact, payment, survey, and many more forms are available for you to convert to PDF. We aim to meet every need and think we did that here.
Generate custom PDFs
Formidable doesn't stop at just helping you create your forms.
That would be too simple. No, Formidable helps you design and generate your PDF also! That way your form looks stylish, and your PDFs look even better!
Plus, Formidable has pre-built PDF templates ready for you to use with one click!
It's almost too easy.
Conclusion
There are many ways to get a WordPress form filler; some are easier than others. You could upload a fillable PDF to WordPress for your visitors to download. Or, you can pair a form builder with a PDF plugin and create one that way.
But these ways are all complicated.
This post showed you how to use a WordPress PDF form filler. We also showed you a simpler way to get your web form entries to a PDF.
And that’s with one plugin — Formidable Forms.
So, check our complete list of features. We think you'll be impressed ☺️.
We hope you enjoyed this guide. If you're on social media, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube!
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E2PDF is amazing and very powerful. You can create templates and insert one field or all the fields from your formidable form. It is totally customisable and you can use conditional logic to show/remove parts of the template depending on the information entered on your formidable form. Being a non-techy I found it a bit tricky to use to begin with as the documentation assumes a certain level of knowledge but it isn't very difficult. The formidable forms add on sounds great but it only allows for a very simple pdf formation and is very basic compared to what E2PDF can do.
You are correct, the E2PDF add-on is awesome and very affordable. This is one reason why we felt that we didn't need to build in all the features they offer. Our system offers a very fast and simple way to start adding PDFs to emails, for customization and advanced features, E2PDF is a great option.