Written by Admin on 2025-05-06

How to Allow Users to Submit a Form and Download a File in WordPress

If you run a website that offers free resources, you might want to require users to fill out a form before downloading the resource. This way, you collect valuable information about your users. In WordPress, you can create a form with a plugin like Gravity Forms or Ninja Forms and then let users download a file after submitting the form. Here's how:

Step 1: Create a Form

First, you need to create a form using a plugin. We'll use Gravity Forms in this example. After installing and activating the plugin, go to Forms → New Form in the WordPress admin menu. Give your form a name and add fields for each piece of information you want to collect. For example, you might ask for the user's name, email address, and company name.

Step 2: Configure Notifications

Once you've created your form, you need to configure the notifications. Notifications are emails sent to the form submitter and/or the site admin when a form is submitted. In Gravity Forms, go to Settings → Notifications. Click "Add New" to create a new notification. Give it a name, choose the recipient(s), and customize the email content. You can include the form data in the email by using merge tags, which are codes that pull in the data from the form fields.

Step 3: Configure Confirmations

Next, you need to configure the confirmations. Confirmations are messages that are displayed to the user after they submit the form. In Gravity Forms, go to Settings → Confirmations. Click "Add New" to create a new confirmation. Give it a name, choose the type of confirmation (e.g. "Message" or "Page Redirect"), and customize the content. If you choose "Page Redirect," you'll also need to enter the URL of the page to which the user will be redirected.

Step 4: Add a Download Link

Now that your form is set up, you need to add a download link that's only visible to users who have submitted the form. One way to do this is by using the "Download Monitor" plugin. Install and activate the plugin, then go to Downloads → Add New. Give your download a name, choose the file you want to offer for download, and set any other options you want. Under the "Access Control" section, choose "Require a form" and select the Gravity Form you created earlier.

Step 5: Add the Form and Download Link to a Page

Finally, you need to add the form and download link to a page on your site. Create a new page, give it a title, and add the Gravity Form shortcode to the content area. You can find the shortcode by going to Forms → All Forms and clicking the "Embed" link under the form you created. Then, add the download link using the "[download]" shortcode provided by the Download Monitor plugin.

That's it! Users can now fill out the form and download the file while you collect valuable information about them.