WordPress Subscription Plugins (The Best and the Free)

WordPress subscription plugins can be very confusing for new bloggers. Don’t just be a “best” or “free” list dummy, know your form TYPES and CLASSES first before choosing. I’m going to introduce you to every WP form TYPE and CLASS so you can best decide which ones are the right ones and how to integrate them into your WordPress blog. Not only that, we will also talk about WordPress subscription plugins and SECURITY. Just to be clear, this article is not geared toward all plugins, only forms.

3 TYPES of WordPress Form Plugins

Forms are extremely important because without forms you basically don’t have a blog. When choosing to create a form, you first have to determine what type of form you need; there are 3 types:

• CONTACT forms
• SUBSCRIPTION forms
• COMMENT forms

1. CONTACT FORMS

Contact forms allow your viewers to talk to you, the website owner, one-on-one. Unlike other forms this is a one-way portal from the user (visitor) to the owner to ask questions, give feedback, troubleshoot, etc.

For new bloggers you will have to think how you want to integrate these into your blog very carefully, thankfully you can learn from my experience, and mistakes!

Contact forms should always be private and secure!

When a visitor uses your contact form it should send that request to your business email account via a secure server/host and CMS.

Because contact forms have the potential to attract spam and malicious hacking attempts, they should not be connected to your basic Gmail Account, but rather to an email address that you set up via your hosting company.

Bluehost, for example, provides free email accounts with your domain name which would be something like example@yourdomainname.com. Bluehost and WordPress are very good friends and are seamless platforms for any blogger or website owner (non-affiliate links).

Where do you get a WP contact form? Which contact form is the best?

Even if your WordPress theme has a native contact form, the reality is that you will probably still need a PLUGIN. Which plugin you choose should be the result of searching all of the available choices and settling on one that suits your needs.

Again contact forms should be secure. I use “Contact Form” by BestWebSoft because they also have a sister security plugin called “Google Captcha (reCAPTCHA)” which allows me to place Google-generated reCaptcha buttons where ever I like.

I’ve tried like 10 different contact forms and this one, in my opinion, is the best free plugin. Feel free to choose your own, do your own research.

Once you install “Contact Form” by BestWebSoft simply go to their plugin settings page and enter in your information. If you are not using your hosting company’s webmail (i.e., xxxx@yourdomainname.com) as your WordPress user email, you should be.

To check if you are, simply go to the “Users” section of your WordPress blog and see what email contact is listed there – you can also find that under “Settings” > “General” > “Email Address.”

If not, go and create a hosting webmail account – if you’re still confused about that, read about BlueHost webmail as an example (non-affiliate link). It’s simple and secure.

The confusing part for new bloggers is HOW to choose a form plugin! Even if you simply search for a form plugin (“Plugins” > “Add New”) the results you get are NOT 100% form plugins, it’s like a veritable minefield out there with mixed results for subscription forms, plugin forms, free, pro, and a matrix of misleading results.

Although many of these claim to be form plugins, a lot of them aren’t and may not seamlessly integrate into your theme. You may have to do some trial and error before you find the “best” one!

I would recommend downloading form plugins one at a time, see if they do what you need them to do and keep a running list of what works and doesn’t before you finally decide.

Plugins like MailChimp are highly overrated paid subscription plugins to me!

Use “Google Captcha (reCAPTCHA)”

Once you have “Contact Form” by BestWebSoft set up, you should download and activate the “Google Captcha (reCAPTCHA)” plugin. This will allow you to seamlessly integrate Google’s security protocols across your site.

To run this plugin you will need to go and register your site with Google reCaptcha, it only takes a minute.

Caution: other developers have created their own versions of this security protocol, I feel it’s best to go with the big dawgs!

Using Google in this way can also increase your SEO rankings, which is a must for any blog. Having a contact form in general (especially in your sitemap) is a major factor in improving your Google SEO standings.

Once you obtain your API Keys from Google, simply enter them into the plugin settings, choose which version you would like (trust me, stick with “Version 2”), and check where you would like the reCaptcha to appear on your site and you’re ready to rock and roll.

Do some testing by sending yourself a few contact emails to see what the results look like and modify as needed before going live.

2. SUBSCRIPTION FORMS

Your subscription forms allow you to communicate with your audience, the opposite of a contact form. Subscription forms are also called: sign-up, registration, newsletter, email list, opt-in, landing page, squeeze page, pop-up, and lead generation.

Although they belong to different CLASSES (discussed further on), they are all essentially subscription forms.

The major function of a subscription form is to build an audience with whom you can communicate, send newsletters, and eventually work with as a marketing source.

Here’s everything you need to know about subscription forms!

Before you decide on which class of form you need (discussed in the next section), you should consider the following:

• The design of your form
• The confirmation message your subscriber receives
• The database list that subscriber is assigned to
• The notifications you receive
• The ability to send newsletters
• Hidden costs

Like I’ve said, I’ve tried at least 10 different WordPress subscription plugins and to be honest most contact and subscription forms will eventually CHARGE you a crazy monthly fee to unlock their Pro features, leaving you very limited control over your what you can do for free.

If you are a new or novice blogger, trust me on this I did my homework. There really is only one form plugin company that allows you to do everything on that list for free: “Icegram.”

I do not have an affiliate relationship with them, this is my honest opinion as I’ve suffered through literally months of research.

Icegram is the best subscription form for WordPress. It is also a free WordPress subscription plugin.

Icegram has a suite of subscription form plugins called: “Email Subscribers & Newsletters,” “Popups, Welcome Bar, Optins and Lead Generation,” and “Rainmaker Form.” I use all 3 of these.

Companies like MailChimp, OptinMonster, and even Jetpack are basically sales funnels of their own! They may be effective for large-scale sites, but for small blogs their services are confusingly cost prohibitive.

These sites and their plugins only allow you to set maybe 1 or 2 of those items on the list for free. Goobers!

In order to do everything on that list for free, you must install all 3 Icegram plugins. They’re free! Again, you should test any subscription form plugin for yourself and decide which works best for your needs. Icegram allows you to do everything on that list for free.

Subscription forms do not need to be completely secure like contact forms. The trick is to have potential subscribers sign up to your blog as easily as possible and having that extra step of going through a reCaptcha cycle is probably off-putting for most and will most likely result in scaring potential subscribers away.

How do you set up your subscription forms? We will deal with that in the FORM CLASSES section below because you must decide where and how and you want your site visitors to interact with your WordPress subscription plugins first. That’s the fact jack!

3. COMMENT FORMS

Comment forms are pretty simple, the simplest of the bunch. They allow your visitors or subscribers to post comments on articles and increase your social proofing. How should you use a comment form?

Because comment forms are intimately tied to your SEO rankings, making sure your users have an easy and fun experience is crucial. Therefore, unlike your contact forms, you may not want to include a reCaptcha level of security for these WordPress form plugins.

Comment forms and “Google Captcha (reCAPTCHA)”

However, the option is there if you need it via the “Google Captcha (reCAPTCHA)” plugin from BestWebSoft I mentioned in the first section.

This option should integrate into your theme’s native comment feature and also works with Jetpack. Here’s what mine would look like.

Why I like Jetpack

I actually like Jetpack’s comment form and use them on this site. There are several features that make Jetpack an easy WordPress addition:

• Allows visitors to subscribe to follow up posts
• Allows visitors to subscribe to your blog
• Allows visitors to sign in via social media accounts
• Allows visitors to sign in via Gmail
• Allows you to control the comment approval process

All of these can be done in the Jetpack control panel under “Jetpack” > “Settings” > “Discussion.” You can control the comment approval process and security measures via your WordPress settings panel under “Settings” > “Discussion Settings.” Easy peasy!

If you do not want the reCaptcha feature appearing in your comments section then you must manually disable it in the plugin settings under “Google Captcha (reCAPTCHA)” settings > “General.”

2 CLASSES of WordPress Subscription Plugins

How do you make sense of what you need? How do you make sense of all the types of WordPress subscription plugins?

It all boils down to CLASSES. Each of the 3 form types can also be classed by how they appear.

There are 2 classes of forms:

• Widgets – static forms in a set location (contact, subscription, comment)
• Pop-Ups – forms that appear out of nowhere at certain times or locations (contact, subscription, comment)

“Classes” really equal ‘behavior!’ That is, how you want your form to behave. “Classes” also equal ‘interface.’ How do your visitors interact with them. Basically the how and where of the forms meeting your visitors on your site.

Do you want a contact form to be in your footer? Do you want it in your menu? The answer should be yes to at least one of those. Do you want a contact form as a pop-up? Probably not.

Form classes is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak, in terms of user experience.

This is something you need to thoroughly think through BEFORE choosing the right type of form for your blog because not all WordPress subscription plugins allow you to do both.

Why are classes important?

Well, say you install MailChimp to handle your subscription forms only to find out that you can only use it as a widget but not as a pop-up.

You also find out that it cannot do contact forms for free and is very expensive. Do you ditch MailChimp and install another plugin?

You now find yourself going through a maze of unfamiliar plugins to try and handle your WordPress forms on your site. Now you end up with 8 different plugins to try and handle 3 simple tasks – you’ve just wasted your time and made your website extremely inefficient! Time to rethink this mess!

In all honesty you want the best subscription plugin and one that is also a free WordPress plugin for your forms.

1. The WIDGET Class Subscription Plugins

The Widget class is the most common type. These are simply forms (contact, subscription, and comment) that appear in a fixed location on your blog.

They can be in-line in an article, in a footer, in a header, in a menu, in a sidebar, or on its own dedicated page.

Widgets can be easily added by using the “Appearance” > “Customize” > “Widgets” path on your WordPress dashboard. You can also add widgets into your article text by selecting the “Widgets” tool and slap in your plugin’s shortcode. Bam! Simple stuff MacDuff!

Any TYPE of form can be used as a Widget; however, not all types look and operate the same which is why choosing the plugins that suit your needs requires a bit of research.

For example, while Icegram has a top-flight suite of 3 plugins that work amazingly together, I would never use “Rainmaker Forms” just on its own. Quite honestly, it’s very limited and kinda ugly. But, when integrated into the “Pop-ups” plugin, it works like magic!

You would never just eat a whole mound of salt as a meal; however, when integrated into a fine cooking dish, salt brings other ingredients to life. Likewise are the flavors of your WordPress plugins.

2. The POP-UP Class Subscription Plugins

The choice of using pop-ups as a lead generation class is very much a personal one. Actually, it’s a business one. Having a dialogue box appear while a visitor is on your site asking him or her to fill out a form (subscription or contact) will in some way effect their experience.

I think pop-up forms allow your site visitors access to benefits they would not have know about if it weren’t for that pop-up. They only take a second to fill out yet produce added benefits for both the reader and the blog owner. Leave a comment below if you agree or disagree.

Setting up your Plugins

The trick with pop-ups is to have that plugin be linked to a supporting subscription plugin that catalogues and maintains a secure database of your “audience.” Your audience is your life and the people that you serve as a blogger.

In order to use a pop-up widget that integrates seamlessly with another subscription plugin such as Icegram, you will need to have first set up and tested your subscription plugin.

For Icegram’s “Email Subscribers & Newsletter” plugin you will need to go into “Settings” > “General” to set up the display messages your new subscribers will see upon successfully filling out your form.

You will also need to go into “Settings” > “Notifications” to carefully craft the email responses that your new blog subscribers will receive, as well as their confirmation email links.

Wording these is extremely important and should be self-tested multiple times (sent to your own email address) to achieve the right ‘feel’ for your blog or website. Do not leave this to chance! Treat your audience with loving care.

The cool thing about Icegram is that you can do all this for free!

Testing your plugins

Now that your subscription form is set up, it’s time to deck out your pop-up form. Thankfully Icegram has a whole heap of free pre-designed templates that you can modify in their own plugin Gallery.

To make this Icegram pop-up plugin rock you’re going to have to start by creating a new Campaign. After you do that and name it appropriately, you fill out the “Messages” and “Display Rules” sections.

These should also be self-tested multiple times to achieve the correct feel for your blog.

In order to test your new pop-up make sure you set the timer to “1 second” for the purpose of testing it for edits. You will have to change that value after testing is complete to the time interval you choose for your actual campaign setting.

Under the “Messages” area you can select the “Rainmaker” form that you would like to use. Your new pop-up will automatically use that form and then add the new subscribers to your “Email Subscribers” list. They will also be emailed a welcome message that you set up in that plugin. It’s a plugin party, baby!

That’s everything you need to know about WordPress subscription plugins. By treating them as TYPES and CLASSES you can build your #blog as a professional brand. #blogger.

A “best list dummy” is someone who mindlessly reads a list-based article and makes uninformed choices. You will now never be one of those! For new #bloggers you will always be able to navigate the gray area and overlap between the many #WordPress options to take your site to the next level.