Formidable Forms

Formidable Forms

  • Features
  • Pricing
  • Resources
    • Docs & Support
    • Blog
    • Community
  • Solutions
    • Web Applications
    • Calculators
    • Surveys
    • Directories
    • Payments
    • Contact forms
  • Login
  • Get Formidable Forms

Njones35 / Last Updated October 17, 2022

How to Verify Email Addresses in WordPress

Do you want users to verify email addresses before submitting a WordPress form? Do you want email verification without user registration?

How to verify email addresses in WordPress
Approximate read-time: 5 minutes

Sometimes you just don't want to invite everyone to the party. Requiring email verification to unlock access to forms is one way to ensure only verified users can see a form.

This isn't something you'd do to all your contact forms, but if you want users to register for an invite-only event, you'd need to make sure that only the invited users can access your registration form.

In many cases, it is essential to ensure form submissions come from legitimate users.

Email verification can be triggered automatically when a new user is registered on your WordPress site. If you create user accounts with your WordPress forms, you can block other forms from logged-out users. Quick and simple.

Formidable Forms is the best WordPress Form Builder plugin. Get it for free!

In this quick guide, we'll show you how you can ensure only valid form entries by verifying email addresses in WordPress. Once the setup is complete, you'll have a WordPress form that can only be completed after an email address has been verified. Let's dive in!

👉  Read more: 7 Best WordPress Email Marketing Plugins

Verify email address without registration

Although this isn't a built-in feature in Formidable Forms, our WordPress form builder is quite dynamic. With a few tweaks, you'll be able to verify user email addresses in any WordPress form you choose!

If you aren't already a Formidable user, you'll be amazed by its powerful WordPress forms features. In order to fully implement this feature, you'll need Formidable Pro.

If you haven't settled on a complete WordPress form building solution for your WordPress site, now is the time! We offer a 14-day money-back guarantee. In theory, you could try out Formidable, follow this guide, and get your money back immediately if you don't like the results.

...no questions asked!

Get Formidable Forms now!

Here are the basic steps we'll take in this how-to guide:

  1. Create the email verification form
  2. Use a View to hide form B (unless email is verified)
  3. Add a verification link in the email message

Formidable Forms pro plans

Step 1: Create the email verification form

First, create a form to request the user's email address. This form can be short and sweet, without extra details. My form asks for an email address with a confirmation field. That's it.

This initial form displays a success message to instruct the user to check their inbox and confirm the email address.
email verification form in WordPress

Step 2: Use a View to hide form B (unless the email is verified)

Form B should only be visible to users who have verified their email address via Form A. To achieve this, place the shortcode for form B inside a View. Use filtering to hide it from non-verified users.

  1. Set the View to show a "Single Entry" from Form A.
  2. I'll keep it simple, with only the shortcode for Form B in the Content box.
  3. Add two filters so the View Content (Form B) will only be visible if both the Entry Key and Email Address match an entry in Form A. Add default=1 to the filters so if the url is tampered with, that filter will not be ignored.filter view to protect form

If the page is loaded directly without clicking on the link in the email, these filters will return "No Entries" and hide the form. The security of this system is greatly increased by combining the random (and not publicly visible) entry key with the email address.

Modify the default "No Entries" message to include the shortcode for Form A or a link to it. This tells visitors who may arrive at the page directly, that they must confirm their email address before proceeding.

email verification form message

Step 3: Add a verification link in the email message

When an email address is submitted in Form A, the verification email is triggered. The email message needs to contain a link to the View created in step 2.

I'm going to create this link using the guide to create a custom search. Pass both the entry key and email address to match the filters included in the View. You can use any form values you'd like as long as you add matching filters in the View.

email verification link settings

When the link in the verification email is clicked, the View matches the data in the URL to an entry in Form A. When it finds a match, the form is visible!

form visible after email verification

So that's it! Three simple steps to create a form that can only be completed after email verification. Have you used similar methods to verify users who aren't logged in? Let us know in the comments below.

For more WordPress tips, guides, and how-to's, keep it locked to the Formidable blog. See you next time!

Read more about WordPress email

  • Email Personalization Examples 3 Email Personalization Examples to Maximize User Engagement
    Read More
    WordPress Mailgun subscribe form How to Create a MailGun Subscribe Form in WordPress
    Read More
    How to Create an Email Signup Form in WordPress How to Create an Email Signup Form (Beginners' Guide)
    Read More
  • How to Create Holiday Out of Office Messages for WordPress Forms How to Create Holiday Out of Office Messages for WordPress Forms
    Read More
    the top 7 email marketing plugins for WordPress 10 Best WordPress Email Marketing Plugins [Free & Paid!]
    Read More
    How to use WP Mail SMTP plugin in WordPress How to Use the WP Mail SMTP Plugin in WordPress
    Read More
  • How to Reduce Email Unsubscribe Rates How to Reduce Email Unsubscribe Rates: 8 Tips
    Read More
    WordPress Not Sending Emails WordPress Not Sending Emails? Here’s How to Fix it
    Read More
    How to Send Confirmation Emails in WordPress How to Send Confirmation Emails in WordPress
    Read More
  • 7 Content Upgrade Examples that will Boost Email Signups 7 Content Upgrade Examples that will Boost Email Signups
    Read More
    How to Create a Winning Email Strategy for Your WordPress Blog How to Create a Winning Email Strategy for Your WordPress Blog
    Read More
    how to create an email list How to Create an Email List for Your WordPress Blog
    Read More
  • Reasons to use contact forms not mailto links Why You Should Replace HTML Email Links with Email Contact Forms
    Read More
    How to Send Emails to Dynamic Recipients from a WordPress Contact Form
    Read More
    6 Ways to Increase Conversions in Your Email Sign Up Form
    Read More


If you haven't experienced the top WordPress form builder plugin, get started with our free plugin or the full-featured premium versions!

Using WordPress and want to get Formidable Forms for free?

Get Formidable Forms Lite Now

This article may contain affiliate links. Once in a while, we earn commissions from those links. But we only recommend products we like, with or without commissions.

Comments

  1. Tejas says

    February 13, 2020 at 3:05 am

    Can elaboarte the steps for creating verification link of Step 3 as custom search guide is bit confusing

    Reply
    • Nathanael Jones says

      February 13, 2020 at 3:27 am

      Can you open a ticket in our helpdesk with this question please?

      Reply
  2. hf says

    June 12, 2020 at 11:16 pm

    Hi Nathanael, thank you for sharing this. This helps a lot.
    I do it without email-filter. I filter with entry-key and userID=current_user.
    This also works fine.

    Reply
  3. Wayne Tilley says

    June 21, 2020 at 3:01 am

    I don't know how to do this.

    Reply
    • Steph Wells says

      June 23, 2020 at 11:48 am

      Hi Wayne. Sorry you're having trouble with this. Can you please open a ticket so we can help you?
      https://formidableforms.com/new-topic/

      Reply
  4. Eroll says

    November 16, 2020 at 12:03 pm

    Hi,
    which package version do I need to create this? The pro version you refer to in the post no longer exists.

    Thanks.

    Reply
    • Nathanael Jones says

      November 16, 2020 at 12:13 pm

      Hi there,

      You would need at the "Plus" license or higher to build this system since it requires Views to work.

      Reply
  5. home based says

    January 8, 2021 at 4:33 pm

    Very superb info can be found on blog.

    Reply
  6. Horatio Aycardo says

    January 24, 2021 at 1:14 am

    Can I use the same email verification form (Form A, in your blog) to verify emails for other forms (e.g. Form B, Form C, etc)? How would you do that so that you know what link to send in the email?

    Reply
    • srwells says

      January 25, 2021 at 4:18 pm

      Hi there,
      Could you please ask your question from our support page so our support team can assist you with this?

      Reply
  7. Bibin PS says

    August 27, 2021 at 1:28 pm

    Nathanael, this is a nice blog about verifying email addresses on FormidableForms. However I would like to point out that this method may still not prevent disposable/temporary email addresses from getting through. I would recommend using Antideo Email Validator in addition to the email verification link for better email validation capabilities. The Antideo plugin is free and works out of the box with FormidableForms. Would be great if you can mention the plugin in you blog if possible, that would be very helpful to the blog visitors

    Reply
  8. NA says

    September 24, 2022 at 2:11 pm

    The instructions are VERY unclear. Cannot understand anything:
    1. What does "Set the View to show a "Single Entry" from Form A." mean? How do you do it?
    2. "I'll keep it simple, with only the shortcode for Form B in the Content box." How do you do it?
    3. "Add two filters so the View Content (Form B) " What does it mean? Where do you add filters? What are the params....

    Very poor artcile!

    Reply
    • srwells says

      September 29, 2022 at 10:31 am

      Hi there, sorry you weren't able to follow this blog post to accomplish what you needed. We try to keep our blog posts fairly high-level and basic, but our documentation goes into details for each of the questions you asked. If you are having trouble, please contact us from our support page so our customer success team can help.

      Reply
  9. Beven says

    October 28, 2022 at 5:38 am

    Hi, I want to use this feature for one site, which package on your pricing page is required for this feature to work? You say PRO, but your packages are not parked as pro, therefore I am unsure?

    Reply
  10. Nathanael says

    October 28, 2022 at 5:43 am

    Hi Beven,
    This would require a Plus level license or above to achieve since it uses our Views add-on.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get Email Updates

Popular Resources

    • How to Create a Searchable Database on a WordPress Site
    • Create a WordPress Custom Calculator: Easy, Powerful Results
    • How to Create a Fitness Tracker in WordPress
    • Formidable Views: The Best WordPress Custom Application Plugin
    • How To Require Email To Download Files in WordPress
    • How to Create Conditional Drop Down Lists in WordPress Forms
    • Best Gravity Forms Alternative for WordPress: Formidable Forms vs. Gravity Forms
    • How to Make a Quiz in WordPress
    • WPForms Alternative: Formidable Forms vs. WPForms Compared

Take on bigger projects Right Now

Get the tools you need to revolutionize your workflow and architect a masterpiece. Build the most advanced WordPress forms and actually use the data you collect in meaningful ways.

Get the most advanced WordPress form plugin and the only form builder with integrated Views.

Get Formidable Forms Now

Resources

  • Community
  • Affiliates
  • Contact
  • Free Online Form Builder

Top Features

  • Application Builder
  • Calculator Forms
  • Surveys & Polls
  • Quiz Maker
  • Form Templates
  • Application Templates
  • Directories
  • Donation Plugin

Company

  • About Us
  • Giving Back
  • Careers
  • Newsletter
  • WP Tasty
  • Nutrifox

Copyright © 2023 Strategy11, LLC. Formidable Forms® is a registered trademark Strategy11, LLC.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Sitemap

Join 300,000+ using Formidable Forms to create form-focused solutions fast. Get Started See User Reviews