Inletform WordPress guide

Build a WordPress inquiry form and check its private inbox

A useful inquiry form needs more than a confirmation screen. Build the fields, send an invented test inquiry, find the stored answers and confirm that the review state survives reopening the inbox.

Inletform is a native WordPress form builder with server validation, a private administrator inbox, CSV entry export and JSON configuration backups. It does not send email. A saved reference means a record was written to your WordPress database; it does not mean someone read it or received a notification.

Try the visitor experience, then choose the native package

The free visitor rehearsal demonstrates browser validation, a local review screen and editing with fictional details. You can also download the offline rehearsal. It sends no requests and stores nothing. It does not install in WordPress or prove that your site can store an inquiry.

The native WordPress package is $29.00 USD, one-time. Applicable taxes calculated at checkout. It includes the installable plugin, editable source, setup documentation and a sample configuration. The free rehearsal is separate from the native builder, storage and inbox. See the current product offer for access and delivery information.

1. Upload the plugin ZIP inside the documentation package

Use a backed-up staging site first. The support targets are WordPress 6.6+ and PHP 8.1+ with mbstring, a working WordPress database and administrator access. Observed QA used WordPress 7.1.3, PHP 8.5.5 and the official SQLite integration. The full MySQL/MariaDB, host, theme and browser compatibility matrix remains unverified.

1. Extract the complete inletform-1.0.0.zip package into a folder.
2. Keep the included dist/inletform-plugin-1.0.0.zip zipped. This is the dedicated installable plugin archive.
3. In WordPress, open Plugins → Add Plugin → Upload Plugin and select that inner ZIP. Upload neither the full documentation ZIP nor the unzipped plugin folder.
4. Install and activate it, then open Inletform in the administrator menu.

Successful activation is the start of the setup check. Continue through a published form, a visitor submission and the saved inbox entry before relying on the installation. The installation and use guide records the package structure and current limits.

2. Create a three-field workshop inquiry

Choose Create form. For an original practice example, set the title to Fern Workshop project inquiry and the button to Save inquiry. Explain that this is an invented setup exercise and ask the tester not to enter real or sensitive information.

Use the field cards to set labels, help text, types and required states. The editor generates stable field keys; no code or JSON is needed for this setup. You can add, remove and reorder fields with its controls. The plugin supports up to 20 fields; single-line answers allow 200 characters, email 254 and long answers 2,000.

Write a confirmation such as Saved in our WordPress inbox. Keep your reference. No email is sent. This describes storage without promising a notification. The stored contact email is an answer for your team to review, not an automatic reply destination.

Replace the example privacy notice with an accurate account of your own storage, access and retention practices before public use. Answers are not encrypted at rest by the plugin. Do not collect medical, payment or other sensitive information using this example. Your site’s administrator controls, database permissions, logs and backups remain part of the operating setup.

3. Publish and embed the actual form ID

Choose Published, then Save form. Copy the shortcode displayed by your saved form, such as [inletform id="ID"], using its actual generated ID. Place it in a WordPress page’s Shortcode block or classic editor and open the page as a visitor.

A draft keeps its existing entries but stops accepting new inquiries. If the embedded page is missing or cannot accept a test, check that the correct form is published and its ID matches the page. Do not infer storage success from a visible form alone.

4. Verify correction, storage and reviewed state

1. Enter the fictional workshop name and a short multiline brief. Enter an invalid email, such as not-an-email, and attempt to submit. The error should leave safe typed answers available for correction.
2. Correct the email using mailbox workshop and domain example.invalid, joined with the usual at-sign, and submit the invented inquiry. Keep the returned reference.
3. As an administrator, open Inletform → Entries, find that reference and open it. Compare all three answers, their labels and the multiline brief with what you entered.
4. Choose Mark reviewed, navigate away, then reopen the entry. Confirm the reviewed state persisted.

Only administrators with manage_options can edit forms, read the inbox or export entries. There is no public submission read API. A confirmation is a storage result; marking an entry reviewed is a separate team action. Neither is evidence of email delivery or a business outcome.

Required fields are checked in the browser and on the server. A changed form schema or expired WordPress nonce requires a reload; copy your answers before doing so. Cached pages can serve expired nonces. Repeated submission of the same unchanged request returns the same reference; changed data on an already-used request is rejected. A new page load creates a new request.

5. Check entry CSV and form JSON as different outputs

CSV contains stored inquiries

Use Export entries CSV for the form. Open the actual downloaded file in your intended spreadsheet application. Confirm the reference, UTC timestamp, review state, field labels and all answers, including quotes or line breaks. A later label change should not rewrite an older entry’s captured labels and answers.

The CSV is UTF-8 with a BOM and exports up to 5,000 entries, newest first. Values beginning with a possible spreadsheet formula character receive an initial apostrophe, including when that character follows whitespace. That deliberate safety prefix is not part of the original stored answer. Compare the CSV with the inbox before treating it as your working record.

JSON contains the form configuration, not submissions

Use Export form JSON to keep the form’s settings, fields, labels and choices. To rehearse recovery, use Import form JSON, inspect the restored field cards and settings, then choose Save form. Import does not save automatically or replace old entries. Reopen and re-export the unchanged configuration to check the result.

The included samples/studio-inquiry.json supplies a separate six-field Alder Studio example. It differs from this three-field walkthrough. Keep field keys stable when editing JSON, and inspect the form rather than assuming an imported filename tells you its contents. A configuration backup cannot restore lost inquiry records; protect the site database and its backups separately.

Plan operation before public use

Each form stops accepting new inquiries at 5,000 stored entries and returns an explicit unsaved error. There is no silent purge, automatic deletion or uninstall cleanup. Deactivation preserves forms and entries. Plan retention and an authorized export/database process with a current backup before collecting real inquiries.

The plugin adds no email, outbound network service, analytics, IP address or user-agent field. Hosting and browser logs are outside its control. Nonces, a honeypot and duplicate protection provide basic friction; they do not replace hosting rate limits or a comprehensive anti-spam service. Use appropriate HTTPS, access protection and abuse controls for your site.

No attachments, payments, external mail integration, webhook, conditional logic or multi-step workflow are included. Choose an integration that fits the actual job you need; a stored inquiry does not create a booking, payment or outgoing message.

Software rights, preview and hosted counts

The complete native plugin is GNU GPL version 2 or later, with corresponding source and the full license included. The $29 package price does not remove recipients’ GPL rights to use, modify and redistribute the plugin, including for a fee, under that license. The remaining documentation and sample terms do not override those software rights. Read the file-specific license scope, native GPL license and third-party notes. The free rehearsal has separate terms.

The offline rehearsal and installed plugin contain no hosted measurement adapter. Nishvault’s hosted pages separately offer optional fixed anonymous action counts, off by default and disabled by Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control. Those counts exclude form answers, email, inquiry details and visitor identifiers. A rehearsal completion is a local demonstration, not a stored native inquiry or a sale.

Setup documentation is included; no hosted service, guaranteed personal support, SLA, update schedule, email delivery or business-result guarantee is included. Test the native workflow in your own supported staging environment before public use.

See Inletform’s native package and free rehearsal