How to Create a File Upload Form in WordPress

Adding a file upload form to your WordPress site can streamline processes like collecting job applications, receiving customer feedback, or gathering documents for projects.

This improves user interaction by allowing visitors to submit files directly through your website, making it a key feature for many online businesses and organizations.

Over the years, many of our partner brands have successfully used WPForms to add file upload forms to their websites, and they have consistently reported positive experiences.

They found the plugin easy to use, with simple access to view submitted documents and the ability to connect seamlessly with payment gateways and other integrations.

In this article, we will show you how to easily create a file upload form in WordPress, step by step.

Why Create a WordPress File Upload Form?

A file upload form is a great idea for collecting any kind of file from your users on your WordPress website.

You can let users upload images, PDF files, Word documents, or other types of files.

Using a file upload form makes life easy for you and your users. Instead of emailing back and forth, you can create a form that includes all the fields you need to collect all the information at once.

Also, your form should automatically save the form data in your WordPress database. That way, you can easily find the submissions, even if you miss or delete an email.

That being said, let’s take a look at how to create a file upload form in WordPress. Here’s a quick overview of what we will go over in this article:

How to Create a File Upload Form in WordPress

For this tutorial, we will be using WPForms, which is the best online form builder.

For more information, see our complete WPForms review.

First, you will need to install and activate the WPForms plugin. For more instructions, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, head to the WPForms » Add New page from the WordPress admin sidebar.

This will take you to the ‘Search Template’ page, where you can start by naming your new form. You need to also look for the file upload form template in the search box on the left.

Next, simply click the ‘Use Template’ button under the ‘File Upload Form’ option.

You will now be taken to the WPForms builder, where the File Upload Form will be automatically created for you.

You can use the file upload form template without making any changes, or you can also drag and drop form fields from the ‘Add Fields’ sidebar.

Next, click on the ‘File Upload’ field in the form to open up its settings in the left column.

By default, you can upload different types of files in the form, including:

• Image files: .png, .gif, .jpg
• Documents: .doc, .xls, .ppt, .pdf
• Audio: .wav, .mp3, .mp4
• Video: .mpg, .mov, .wmv

You can accept any file format by typing it into the ‘Allowed File Extensions’ box.

For this tutorial, we are going to allow the image formats .png, .gif, and .jpg. Make sure to separate each file format with a comma.

You can also set a maximum file size limit and a maximum number of files. For our tutorial, we are going to allow people to submit up to 3 photos of up to 50MB each.

If you want to prevent people from submitting the WordPress form without attaching their file(s), you can toggle on the ‘Required’ switch. This means the form can’t be submitted unless at least 1 file has been uploaded.

Next, simply switch to the ‘Advanced’ tab from the top.

By default, the File Upload Field uses a modern format that lets users drag and drop their files.

However, if you have limited space for your form or prefer a classic upload field, you can change this. Simply select the ‘Classic’ option from the ‘Style’ dropdown menu.

Tip: The classic upload field only allows one file to be uploaded. If you want users to be able to submit more than one file, you will need to add multiple File Upload Fields to your form.

You can also choose to store the submitted files in the WordPress Media Library by toggling on the ‘Store file in WordPress Media Library’ switch. This makes it easy for you to add the uploaded files to a post or page.

For instance, if you are running a photography competition, then you may want to include the best photos when you announce the winner.

If you want to edit any of the other fields on your form, you can click on them to open the field’s settings in the left column.

You can also add other fields to your File Upload form from the left column.

For example, you may want to add a Website/URL field to the form so that users can give you the link to their website.

Once you are happy with your form, click the ‘Save’ button in the top right corner of the screen to store your settings.

Setting Up Your File Upload Form’s Notifications

To change the notification settings for the form, you need to open the ‘Settings’ tab in the left corner. Once you are there, simply click on the ‘Notifications’ tab.

By default, the form sends an email notification to {admin_email} upon form submission.

If you created your WordPress site by yourself, then this will be your email address. If not, then you can delete {admin_email} and type your own email address here instead.

However, if you are not sure if {admin_email} is your email address, simply visit the Settings » General page from your WordPress admin dashboard.

Once you are there, look for the Administration Email Address. You can now change the admin email address from here.

Once you are done, don’t forget to click the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your settings.

If you want the submitted files to be sent to more than one person, then you may want to see our tutorial on how to create a contact form with multiple notification recipients.

You can also change the confirmation message that users see after the form is submitted.

To do this, visit the Settings » Confirmations page from the left column. Then, type the message into the ‘Confirmation Message’ box. You can also add formatting like bold and italics.

Finally, don’t forget to save your form once you have made the changes.

You can exit the form builder by clicking the ‘X’ at the top right corner.

Adding the File Upload Form to Your Website

Once you have finished creating your form, you will need to add it to your website.

To do this, you must open an existing or new WordPress page/post from the admin sidebar. For this tutorial, we are going to add the File Upload form to a new page.

Once you are there, click on the Add New Block ‘(+)’ button in the top left corner of the screen and find the WPForms block.

Upon adding the block, you will see a WPForms dropdown menu displayed on the page.

Go ahead and select the File Upload form that you just created.

Finally, click the ‘Publish’ or ‘Update’ button to save your changes. For more details, see our guide on how to embed WordPress forms.

You can now visit your website to see the File Upload form in action.

You can also make changes to your form anytime by visiting the WPForms » All Forms page from the admin sidebar.

From here, simply click on the name of the form or hover your mouse over it and click the ‘Edit’ link to open up the form builder.

When you edit your form, it will be automatically updated on your website, so you don’t need to add it to your page again.

Viewing or Downloading the Uploaded Files

When someone sends a file using your file upload form, you can see it in your email inbox or your WordPress dashboard.

With each form entry, you will get an email like this:

Just click the links to view or download the files themselves.

You can also easily find the files in your WordPress dashboard. Simply go to the WPForms » Entries page and then click on the name of your form.

You can see the uploaded files in the table of WordPress form entries.

Alternatively, you can click the ‘View’ link to see the full details for each form entry.

Bonus: How to Style Your WordPress Forms

Once you have created a file upload form, it is a good idea to customize it according to your brand colors. This can make your form visually appealing and may encourage more users to submit it on your site, ultimately generating leads.

You can easily do this with WPForms. Upon adding your file upload form to a page or post, simply visit the WPForms » Settings page from the WordPress dashboard.

Here, check the ‘Use Modern Markup’ option and click the ‘Save Changes’ button.

Now open the page where you have added your form and take a look at the block panel on the right. Here, you will notice some new settings that you can use to style the file upload form.

You can change the field colors, text colors, and button colors to make your form visually appealing.

Once you are done, just click the ‘Publish’ or ‘Update’ button at the top to store your settings. You have now successfully styled your file upload form.

For details, see our tutorial on how to customize and style your WordPress forms.

Video Tutorial

Prefer video instructions? Check out our complete YouTube tutorial on how to create a file upload form in WordPress:

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We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to create a file upload form in WordPress. You might also want to check out our ultimate guide to WordPress forms and our expert picks for the best WordPress file upload plugins.

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