Gravity Forms, a robust plugin for WordPress sites, has become a quintessential tool for webmasters looking to create sophisticated forms with ease. It facilitates the integration of form-related features into websites without the need for extensive coding knowledge. The plugin offers a diverse range of form styles and themes, which webmasters can utilize to maintain consistency with their site’s branding and aesthetics. Among its offerings, Gravity Forms has incorporated solutions for those who appreciate the conversational style of form engagement, reminiscent of Typeform’s approach to form design.
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This conversational style emphasizes a one-question-at-a-time layout, which is known to simplify the user experience and potentially increase form completion rates. By reducing distractions and focusing the user’s attention on single questions, a conversation-like interaction is created. Gravity Forms achieves this through its addons, such as Gravity Conversational Form, that alter the layout to emulate a full-page, step-by-step interaction.
The versatility of Gravity Forms is further enhanced through its compatibility with popular page builders, allowing for seamless integration within custom layouts and designs. Webmasters have the creative freedom to adjust form themes using WordPress Customizer, providing immediate visual feedback and ensuring every form aligns perfectly with the overall design of the site. Gravity Forms continues to expand its capabilities, ensuring that it remains a top choice for WordPress users looking to implement interactive, style-conscious forms on their websites.
Designing Gravity Forms for User Experience
Good form design is crucial for user experience. Efficient customization of layout and styles in Gravity Forms can lead to higher engagement and better completion rates.
Customizing Form Layout and Styles
To start, Gravity Forms’ editor allows users to structure forms effectively. One can employ multi-column form layouts to organize field labels, list items, checkboxes, and radio buttons, thereby enhancing readability and ease of navigation. The use of section breaks helps segment the form, which is particularly useful for longer forms.
Furthermore, the default form stylesheet can be altered to better suit the site’s design. Background color, font size, border, and padding adjustments contribute to a cohesive look and feel. The editor simplifies the customization process through a custom CSS class option, where users can assign CSS class names to specific form fields.
Advanced Styling with CSS
For those needing fine-grained control, custom CSS provides unlimited styling options. Utilizing CSS selectors, styles can be targeted specifically to input, label, button, and description elements within the form. This includes text styling and controlling the width and inline positioning of elements.
CSS ready classes, available in Gravity Forms, are pre-made classes that can be applied for common style scenarios, such as creating two-column or three-column layouts. For brand-specific styling, users may add their own custom styles by writing CSS and pasting it into the theme’s or child theme’s stylesheet, or by using the custom CSS area within the form settings.
Incorporating well-crafted, custom CSS into Gravity Forms not only enhances the user experience but also reinforces brand identity through consistent visual elements across the site, including Divi or other themes. The comprehensive form editor and styling options empower users to design and create forms resembling those of Typeform, with a focus on user engagement and aesthetics.
Enhancing Form Functionality
To create forms that not only capture information but also engage users, web designers can enhance form functionality using specific styles and tools.
Improving Form Interactivity
Interactivity in forms is pivotal for user engagement and data collection effectiveness. Gravity Forms allows for the easy implementation of interactive elements through the:
- Field ID: Assigning unique field IDs enables tailored interactivity for each form component.
- Form Label Position Settings: Adjusting label positions improves form navigation and the overall user experience.
- Confirmation Message: Crafting clear confirmation messages reassures users upon submission.
- Progress Bar: Implementing a progress bar guides users through multi-step forms, enhancing their completion rate.
Moreover, utilizing the Orbital Form Theme introduced in Gravity Forms 2.7 enhances interactivity with advanced alternative layouts and entices with style. Elements like submission buttons can be placed in harmony with the form’s overall aesthetic.
Integrating with Web Pages
Seamless web page integration is essential for a coherent user journey. Here’s how Gravity Forms achieves this:
- Shortcode/Embed: Insert forms into pages and posts with a shortcode or through direct embedding.
- WordPress Customizer: Modify forms within your theme using the WordPress Customizer for a consistent look.
- Preview: Before going live, preview changes to ensure they align with the web page’s style.
- Form Wrapper: A form wrapper can encapsulate the Gravity Form, providing unique styling opportunities like adding a scroll bar or changing the list height.
The Orbital theme, through the WordPress block editor, simplifies applying descriptive styles, borders, and visibility settings, ensuring that the form’s appearance is both functional and appealing. Integration with Essential Addons extends functionality further, offering designers additional elements like section break fields, which can be styled to contain banner messages or modulate border aesthetics.