How to Convert a WordPress Form to PDF (3 Easy Ways!)

Want to convert a WordPress form to PDF? This post will show you how to do it easily using Formidable Form’s new add-on.

Standard PDF forms are clunky. They’re confusing to fill out on a computer, and sometimes you’re unsure if you’re filling out the right field.

We get it.

What if you were able to create a WordPress form that automatically generates a PDF when the form is submitted?

Well, now you can.

This post will show you how to use a WordPress form to PDF generator for all your needs.

Let’s jump into it.

Why use WordPress to create a PDF from a form?

When running a business, you’re using forms all over your website. You’re using contact forms, survey forms, payment forms, and possibly more.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a way to put the information from those forms into a neat and orderly PDF? The PDF can serve as an easily printable paper trail or something that you can email customers to confirm their order.

But, that’s just one example of what you can do by having WordPress generate a PDF from a form. You can also:

• Send a copy to a customer
• Keep it for your own records
• Create an invoice
• Generate a paper receipt for purchases
• Print out a member profile

You could even have the WordPress Form to PDF email option if you want to send a PDF document.

The visitor submits the form, and you get an email with it compiled into a PDF. You can also have it send the customer an email if you’d like.

How cool is that?
And there’s one plugin that surpasses all the others in this task: Formidable Forms.

How do I create a PDF form in WordPress?

To get started, you must download and install the Formidable Forms plugin. Once you get that activated, we’ll dive in.

There are only two easy steps to create a PDF form in WordPress:

1. Create your form
2. Set up PDF settings

Let’s get into it.

Step 1: Create your form

Inside your WordPress admin, we can create a form. Go to Formidable → Forms and click Add New.

Next, choose Blank Form or select one of our many pre-made templates.

Give your form a name, and a description, then click Create.

Now, let’s add some fields to your form. As we mentioned above, you can drag these into the canvas. It’s a user-friendly way to build forms.

Once finished, click Update to save your form. You’re halfway there.

Step 2: Set up PDF settings

Okay, now that we’ve set up our form to collect entries, how do you convert those forms to PDF?

You have three options here:

• Export the entry as a PDF
• Attach the PDF file to an email
• Insert a shortcode for a download link

Before you do any of this, in your WordPress admin, go to Formidable → Add-Ons and click Install on the WordPress PDFs plugin.

Now, we’ll show you how you can use the PDF.

Export the entry as a PDF

To export a specific entry, go to your form Entries page, then select View or Edit below the entry on its details page.

In the sidebar, under Entry Actions, select Download as PDF.

Pretty easy, right?

Attach the PDF file to an email

Want to attach it to an email? Easy.

Go to your form’s Settings → Actions & Notifications.

Click on the email notification action to edit it, or you can click the Send Email icon to add a new one.

Scroll down to Attach PDF of entry to email and toggle the switch.

That’s it.

Let’s move on to the last method.

Insert a shortcode for a download link

This is an easier way to download the PDF. You paste the shortcode on a page, post, email, or View. When visitors click it, the document will get open, and they can download it.

To do this, simply put a bit of shortcode into the area:

[frm-pdf id=x]

In this shortcode, simply replace the ‘x’ with the ID of the ID you want to show.

You can find the ID on the entry details page.

For example, you can set up the shortcode like this:

[frm-pdf id=x label="Click to download entry as PDF"]

Three easy ways to take your form entries and export them to a PDF. Simplicity is beautiful, and it’s something we prioritize.

Why use Formidable Forms for your web form to PDF in WordPress

Regardless of your industry, the Formidable Forms PDF add-on makes using a WordPress form to generate a PDF simple and fast.

No matter the form you’re using — survey, payment, or contact form — you can design your PDF form to fit the form fields. To be clear, you can convert a WordPress contact form to PDF or literally any form on your site!

It’s almost like having a fillable PDF (we think it’s better)!

So, look no further if you’re searching for a WordPress contact form to PDF plugin.

With Formidable Forms drag-and-drop builder, designing forms is effortless and fast.

This form can serve as your PDF template. With the plugin, you can design a form your customers fill out and generate a PDF using the contact form.

Print this PDF, send it as an email attachment, or display it in our unique Views feature. Or, just display a button where users can click and download a PDF.

No other WordPress plugin has anything like this (not Gravity Forms/Gravity PDF, not the Contact Form 7 plugin, not Caldera Forms, none of them.)

With Views, you can create a dashboard where the admin can add information for each customer, then display it on the admin side or your website.

All you need is the Formidable Business plan to get started!

For everything you get in the Business plan, we think this price is a bit of a steal (but maybe we’re biased).

But, you get far more than just the PDF add-on with the Business plan. Here are some more features:

• Drag-and-drop form builder
• 150+ form templates
• Conversational forms
• Formidable Views
• Many integrations
• Calculators
• And much more

If you’re unsure, give it a try. You have 14 days to try it out and get a refund if you don’t like it. 

But we’re sure you will 😉.

Conclusion

Don’t you love when things are easy? At Formidable Forms, that’s built into everything we do.

This post taught you how to convert a form to PDF with our fantastic new add-on. The add-on is to Formidable Forms, a plugin that provides an easier way to build and display forms and gather data from them.

Don’t stop with just our contact form to PDF WordPress add-on, though. We have many more features than that.

There’s more you can do with WordPress forms to PDF. Fill out your knowledge completely, so you know all the options available.

And one last thing. If you’re on social media, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube to get all our tips and tricks. You don’t want to miss out on these.

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