Do you want to learn how to schedule forms in WordPress and set deadlines too? It’s an efficient way to allow your users to fill in and submit a form only within the time frame you’ve set.
If you’re someone new to WordPress or even a professional missing out on this, we can help you. In our article, we’ll be guiding you on how to schedule your forms on specific days and times.
But before we jump into it, let’s briefly understand why you should be scheduling your WordPress forms.
Why Schedule Your Forms in WordPress?
When you schedule your forms in WordPress, you put a time limit on the forms. This means your users won’t be able to fill in and submit a form past the deadline for form submission.
For instance, if you’ve placed a form on your website for users to book seats at an event, you must have a specific date and number of guests in mind.
Hence, you can schedule the form in such a way that it becomes available to users 2 weeks before the event date. Then, set the deadline for a week before the event date. The users must now book their seats within this time frame of 1 week.
The primary reason for scheduling forms like this is to limit the number of responses a specific form receives. You can avoid overwhelming form entries when your form is only available for a specific time period. You’ll relatively receive fewer entries compared to when a form is open infinitely.
In the case above, your event would’ve become overcrowded because of the large number of people who booked their seats through the form. By setting a deadline, you controlled the number of entries, and in turn, the people who will attend the event.
That’s why it’s wise to schedule and set deadlines for your WordPress Forms depending on the type of form and your requirements. Say, event booking forms, volunteer forms, job application forms, and so on.
With that said, let’s move on to our guide on how to set a deadline in a WordPress form.
How to Schedule Forms in WordPress and Set a Deadline?
To schedule and set a deadline on your WordPress forms, you require a feature-rich plugin that supports form scheduling. Everest Forms is the best option for you. It’s an incredible drag & drop WordPress form plugin that offers the Form Restriction add-on. It lets you set the start date and end date for when your form will be available.
Besides that, it offers top-notch features like unlimited form fields, tons of integrations, premium add-ons, and unlimited form entries. And, you can create any form you want, like simple contact forms, online hotel booking forms, and more.
So, we’ll be using Everest Forms in this guide to help you understand how you can schedule and set a deadline on your forms.
Now, let’s go through a detailed step-by-step guide without further wait!
1. Install and Activate the Everest Forms Pro Plugin
Your first step is to install the plugin to use it, so from your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins >> Add New.
Here, search for Everest Forms, click the Install Now button, and Activate the plugin.
Further, you’ll require the Form Restriction add-on to schedule forms which is only available in the pro version of the plugin.
So, you need to purchase the Everest Form’s Professional or Agency plan to use the add-on. After you’ve purchased your plan, log into your WPEverest account.
You can find the Downloads tab here, so you need to download the Everest Form Pro file.
Next, go back to your WordPress dashboard and open the Add New page again. Then, click the Upload Plugin button and upload the file you’ve just downloaded.
Now, click on Install Now, and after installing it, activate it by clicking on the Activate Plugin option.
You’ll stumble upon a notice at the top of the Installed Plugins page asking you to enter your license key.
You can find this key in the License Keys tab in your WPEverest account, so copy it and paste it into the field under Everest Forms (Pro).
2. Install and Activate Form Restriction Add-on
Now, open your WPEverest account, and under the Downloads tab, you can see the Form Restriction add-on.
Next, download the file and go back to your WordPress dashboard. Navigate to Plugins >> Add New >> Upload Plugin and upload the file. Now, simply click on Install Now button.
After the installation process, hit on the Activate Plugin button to activate it on your site.
With these steps completed, you’re ready to use the Form Restriction add-on for your form.
3. Enable and Configure Form Scheduling
Your next step is to create your new form and enable form scheduling. So first, click on Add New under the Everest Forms tab in your WordPress dashboard. This opens the pre-built form templates and an option to “Start From Scratch.”
You can start by naming your form. For instance, here we’ve named it the Registration Form.
Choosing either of the options will open up the form builder with all the Available Fields on the left side.
Now, all you need to do is drag-and-drop fields to create your form.
Next, to enable the form scheduling, go to the Settings tab on the form builder. Here, you can see the Form Restriction option among other options like General, Email, etc.
When you open it, you’ll find different Form Restriction options like Entry Limitation, Form Scheduling, User Restriction, Password Restriction, Form Submission, and Form Restriction by Country.
Now, you need to enable the Form Scheduling option, which allows you to select a date range to allow form submission on your site. You can also schedule your form for different days of the week or the entire week by ticking the checkbox.
After enabling the Form Scheduling, you can configure the Submission Starts setting that allows you to select a date for your start of form submission.
You need to click on the empty field and pick the date from the calendar.
Next, you can see the Submission Ends option to select the date to close the form submission. Similar to the Submission Starts option, you can click on the empty field and choose the date from the calendar to close the form.
You can now edit the message to display before your form submission starts with the Form Waiting Message option. Here, you can include messages indicating when the submission date starts, etc.
Another option is Form Expired Message, which lets you add the message to notify users that the deadline for form submission has already ended.
Besides this, you can see different Form Restriction options we mentioned above, that you can customize as per your requirements and save the changes.
4. Configure General and Email Settings
Apart from the Form Restriction feature configuration, you can configure General and Email Settings under the Settings tab.
Under General Settings, you can add Form Name, Form Description, Form Disabled Message, and Successful Form Submission Message.
You can also enable Automatically Scroll to the Submission, Choose Layout Design, add Form Class, Submit Button, and more.
As with Email Settings, you can manage your email notifications.
Make sure the email settings option is toggled on to manage email notifications. Then, you can start setting admin email notifications.
5. Add Your Form to the Site
Your next step is to add the form to your site to make it visible to your users. From your dashboard, navigate to Posts >> Add New.
Next, click on the Add block (+) button at the top. Now, please search for the Everest Forms block and click on it.
Now, select your form from the dropdown menu and click on the Publish button.
An alternative way to insert your form in your site is to copy the form shortcode of your form and open the page or post on which you want to place the form.
Then, paste it into a Shortcode block, and finally, hit the Publish button!
Wrapping It Up!
So, that’s all for our easy guide on how to schedule and set a deadline on your WordPress form. With Everest Forms’ Form Restriction add-on, you can easily schedule your forms and even limit entry, restrict users and passwords, and restrict forms by country.
Not to mention, Everest Forms Pro offers many other add-ons to help you create specialized forms for your site. You’ll be able to create multi-part forms, create forms with repeatable fields, secure the form with CAPTCHA, and do much more.
If you’re interested, you can learn more about everything Everest Forms from its official blog.
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