Every time a visitor sends a quick hello or a request for a quote, I hit that little “New email” icon and feel a mix of excitement and dread. Excitement because it could be a new lead. Dread because it might land in a junk folder, get ignored, or you’ll have to sift through dozens of unrelated messages to find the real interest. If your inbox looks like a battlefield, a dedicated business inquiry form can help keep the line of communication straight.
When I first started building forms for my own sites, I was tired of copying and pasting HTML snippets or hunting through plugin documentation for the right field settings. That’s where Divine Smart Forms came in. It lets you drag and drop fields and tweak the look without touching code. The process is straightforward, and the results stay in your WordPress dashboard, not in an external service.
Getting Started with the Visual Builder
Open the Divine Forms section in the admin menu. Click “Add New Form” and you’ll see a panel of fields, Name, Email, Phone, Message, File Upload, and a handful of others. Drag them into the canvas. If you want to learn more about the drag-and-drop interface, check out the Visual Form Builder page. Once you’re happy with the layout, press “Save”. The system will generate a shortcode like
[divismfo_form id="123"]Customizing the Look and Feel
The plugin offers a form style customizer with controls for width, height, alignment, background opacity, input text color, and placeholder color. You can match the form’s appearance to your theme without touching CSS. For example, set the width to 600px and align it center so it sits nicely within a two-column layout. Adjust the placeholder text color to a light gray so it’s visible but not overpowering. Remember, the changes apply only to the form you’re editing; other forms keep their own styles.
Choosing Fields for a Business Inquiry
Most business inquiry forms need Name, Email, Phone, and Message. Add a dedicated Name field, this shows up in the entries list as the primary column. Add an Email field to keep your follow-up fast. Include the international Phone input to capture callers from different countries with a flag selector automatically adding the country code. Finally, a Message field gives the visitor space to explain what they need. If you need to gather documents, add a File Upload field; the plugin saves the file reference and displays the filename in the entry view.
Protecting Against Spam
Spam is a universal problem. Divine Smart Forms gives you a honeypot field and optional CAPTCHA integrations. The Honeypot is enabled by default and doesn’t show any visible field to the user, yet it traps many automated bots. If you prefer a visual challenge, you can enable Google reCAPTCHA v2, hCaptcha, or Cloudflare Turnstile. All of these require you to enter the appropriate keys in the global settings; the form will load the provider’s script only when the feature is active. For more details on how the plugin handles spam protection, see the Spam Protection page.
Sending Submissions to Google Sheets
Once you have a form set up, you might want to keep a spreadsheet record of every inquiry. The plugin lets you connect to a Google Sheet via a service-account credential. In the form settings, enable Google Sheets integration, then paste the JSON key that comes from the Google Cloud console. After you validate the spreadsheet, each new submission is appended as a new row. This is handy for teams that prefer spreadsheet workflows or want to run quick filters and formulas. The official guide on Google Sheets Integration walks through the credential creation and validation steps.
Publishing and Managing Entries
Place the copied shortcode on any page or post. If you’re using Gutenberg, add a Shortcode block and paste the code. In Elementor or other builders, use the shortcode widget. The form submits via AJAX by default, so visitors see a success message without the page reloading. If you want to redirect them to a custom thank-you page, enable the redirect option in the form settings. Once visitors start filling out the form, you’ll see their entries under Divine Forms > All Entries in the admin. From there you can export the data as a CSV for external use or delete entries you no longer need.
Limitations and What You Should Know First
The plugin does not support conditional logic, multi-step flows, or advanced calculations. If you need those features, you’ll have to look elsewhere or build custom JavaScript. The file upload size is limited by the server’s PHP settings; the plugin does not impose its own cap. The spam protection relies on external services unless you use the built-in honeypot. And while submissions are stored in the database and can be exported, the plugin does not automatically back them up beyond what WordPress backups do. If you plan to delete all data when uninstalling, enable the “Delete All Data on Uninstall” setting first; otherwise, the data remains until you remove it manually.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
- Log into WordPress and navigate to Divine Forms > Add New Form.
- Drag the Name, Email, Phone, and Message fields onto the canvas.
- Click the style tab and set the form width to 600px, align center, and choose a placeholder color.
- In the Spam Protection section, toggle the honeypot on and, if desired, enable Google reCAPTCHA v2 and add your keys.
- Under Google Sheets, click “Enable Integration”, paste your service-account JSON, and click “Validate Spreadsheet”. Verify the connection.
- Save the form and copy the shortcode.
- Edit the page where you want the form, paste the shortcode, and publish.
- Test the form: submit a test enquiry, verify the email notification, check the entry list, and confirm the row appears in Google Sheets.
FAQ
How do I add a custom placeholder text to a field?
Open the form editor, click the field you want, and enter the placeholder text in the field settings. The text shows up when the form loads.
Can I use the form on a page built with Elementor?
Yes. Elementor supports shortcodes, so just drop a shortcode widget and paste the [divismfo_form id="123"] code.
What happens if I delete the plugin?
By default, the plugin leaves database tables and uploaded files. If you want to remove everything, enable the “Delete All Data on Uninstall” option before uninstalling.
Is there a way to send emails to the visitor after they submit?
Yes. In the form settings, you can enable a confirmation email and customize the subject and body. The visitor receives it automatically.
Does the plugin support multiple languages?
The plugin itself is not translated; it relies on WordPress’s translation files. If you need multilingual forms, you might need an additional translation plugin.
If you’re curious how the shortcode ends up on a page, watch the quick demo on my YouTube channel. For a deeper dive into the plugin’s settings, check out my profile on LinkedIn. Happy building!