Finding the right electronic signature software for WordPress can significantly improve your workflow. That’s because digital signatures save you time and help you manage official documents and contracts more efficiently.
With so many options available, it can be tough to know which software is the best fit for your needs. But don’t worry, that’s where our expertise comes in.
We’ve researched and tested various e-sign solutions based on key factors like ease of use, customization options, and integration capabilities. Plus, at WPBeginner, we understand this firsthand from our experience creating a free email signature generator.
In this article, we’ll share our hand-picked selections for the top five electronic signature tools for WordPress in 2024. We’ll highlight their features and benefits to help you make an informed choice.
Overview: Best Electronic Signature Software for WordPress
If you’re in a hurry, then you’ll appreciate this quick overview of all the best 5 electronic signature tools for WordPress:
# | e-Signature Software | Best For | Pricing |
🥇 | WPForms | Beginners wanting to collect e-signatures through easy-to-use online forms. | WPForms Pro costs $199.50 per year. |
🥈 | Formidable Forms | Advanced users creating complex e-signature forms and WooCommerce integrations. | Business plan costs $199.50 per year. |
🥉 | pdfFiller | Small businesses that manage and sign documents online. | $10 per month (billed annually). |
4 | USLegalForm | Businesses that need access to legal document templates. | $15 per month. |
5 | Gravity Forms | Advanced users looking to build complex forms with e-signature support. | Elite License costs $259 per year. |
Why Use Electronic Signature Software?
There are lots of reasons why you may need to get someone’s signature. Official documents such as contracts and terms of service agreements often require a signature.
If you run an online store, then some products, services or subscriptions may need the customer’s signature.
You might even need to collect lots of different signatures. For example, if you run a nonprofit organization, then you can use signed petitions to draw attention to a good cause.
However, getting people to sign a physical, printed document can take a lot of time and effort. Depending on where the person is located, you may need to travel to them or post the document. This can slow down important tasks, such as onboarding new employees or selling your small business services.
Electronic signature software allows people to sign a form or document digitally from anywhere in the world. This usually involves drawing with their mouse or touchscreen or typing in their name using their keyboard.
By using the best electronic signature software, you can save time and money since you don’t need to print, scan, fax, or post documents. It’s also better for the environment, as you’re not using any paper or ink. You can simply email a digital copy to anyone in the world and then store the signed document on your computer or in the cloud for extra security.
If you want to collect signatures from the public, then the right software can help you get more signups. For example, you might publish a petition to your WordPress website and then collect signatures from supporters around the world.
How We Test and Review WordPress Electronic Signature Software
When researching electronic signature software for WordPress, we focused on the features that matter most for a smooth user experience: how easy it is to use and navigate. That said, we also considered other supporting factors.
Here are all the factors we took into account when reviewing each e-signature tool to ensure you get the best tool for your business needs:
- Ease of use: Is the software easy to use for beginners or more advanced users? For instance, we found that WPForms is super simple to get started with, while Formidable Forms has more advanced options for those who want to dive deeper.
- Customization and templates: How many templates and customization options are there? Do they offer any cool extra features? For example, Formidable Forms has 170+ templates and can display collected data, which is perfect for petitions.
- Digital signature features: What are the options for collecting signatures? When researching these tools, we discovered that WPForms and Gravity Forms let users sign with a mouse or touchscreen and save signatures as images. Formidable Forms even lets users type in their signatures if they prefer.
- Integration with other tools: Is the tool compatible with popular platforms like WooCommerce, email marketing tools, and payment gateways? Formidable Forms, for example, offers seamless WooCommerce integration.
- Pricing: How much do these tools cost? Some have free versions, while others charge for premium licenses depending on what features you need.
Why Trust WPBeginner?
At WPBeginner, we’re all about bringing you accurate, reliable, and research-based content.
With over 16 years of experience, our team dives deep into every tool we review to ensure our recommendations truly meet your needs. What’s more, some of the tools we’ve recommended are ones we use every day for our own business operations.
We believe in keeping things transparent and consistently updating our reviews to reflect the latest features and trends. When you read our content, you can trust that we’ve got your back with the best information out there.
For more information, you can check out our complete editorial process.
Now, here are our expert picks of the best electronic signature software for WordPress.
1. WPForms
WPForms is hands-down the most beginner-friendly WordPress form builder. You can use it to build any type of form, such as multi-page forms, payment forms, email subscription forms, and more.
At WPBeginner, we use WPForms for our contact forms, annual user surveys, and even forms for free tools like our email signature generator.
For more information, you can check our complete WPForms review.
With over 1900+ ready-made form templates to choose from, this plugin makes it easy to add professionally designed and user-friendly forms to your website. All of these templates are fully customizable, so you can fine-tune them to better suit your needs.
Even better, the plugin has a Signature addon that lets you collect digital signatures with ease.
When testing out this addon, we found that every time someone submits a form, WPForms will save their electronic signature as an image and attach it to their form submission. Then, you can see all of these signatures simply by logging into your WordPress dashboard.
What’s more, you’ll get access to some ready-made templates that already come with a built-in digital signature field upon activating the addon.
This includes an online petition form, a medical and health history form, and even a cattery booking form, which is perfect for running an animal or pet website.
We also found that WPForms has a standalone ‘Signature’ field you can add to any template.
Simply open the WPForms editor and then drag the ready-made ‘Signature’ field onto any form, and you’re ready to start collecting e-signatures.
Once you’ve added the ‘Signature’ field to a form, you can customize it using the WPForms settings.
For example, we marked it as mandatory so that visitors are required to add their digital signature before submitting the form.
With this powerful plugin, you can use conditional logic. This means that you can hide or show the ‘Signature’ field based on the information the visitor enters into the form.
For example, you might hide the ‘Signature’ field unless the visitor opts in to a service requiring their digital signature. In this way, you can show only relevant fields to visitors, which will help reduce form abandonment in WordPress.
Why we recommend WPForms: WPForms is hands down the best option if you are a beginner and you want to collect e-signatures using simple online forms. We included it on our list because it has everything you need. It offers a Signature add-on as well as a signature field which you can trigger using conditional logic.
Pricing: To use the WPForms plugin and Signature addon, you’ll need to buy WPForms Pro ($199.50 per year) or Elite ($299.50 per year). There is also a free version of WPForms that allows you to create simple forms and collect Stripe payments.
2. Formidable Forms
Formidable Forms is an all-in-one WordPress form builder with a drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy to create advanced forms with signatures. It also includes custom calculators, booking forms, and much more.
For detailed information, you can refer to our complete Formidable Forms review.
When researching this plugin, we found that it also has a Signature addon that allows you to collect digital signatures.
Visitors can sign your forms using their mouse or touchscreen. However, of all the software on this list, Formidable Forms is the only one that allows visitors to type in their signature.
We liked this feature as it can make your forms and documents accessible to people who struggle to sign using the mouse or trackpad.
Our research also shows that every time someone signs your form, the plugin saves the signature as an image that you can view inside your WordPress dashboard.
After installing the addon, you can simply drop the ready-made ‘Signature’ field onto any template where you want to collect digital signatures.
During testing, we saw that Formidable Forms has over 170 templates, so you should have no problems finding one that perfectly suits your needs.
Formidable Forms also comes with a ‘Signature’ category where you’ll find a selection of templates that have the e-sign field built-in.
For example, Formidable Forms has an ‘Esthetician Consent’ template where beauticians can collect clients’ information and get their signed consent.
There are also some other Formidable Forms addons that can help you collect and manage digital signatures.
In particular, we found the ‘Visual Views’ addon to be handy as it lets you display user-submitted information on your website.
For example, if you’ve created a petition, then you can use this addon to show the names of all the people who have already signed. In this way, you can encourage more people to support your petition.
To learn more, you can see our guide on how to display WordPress form entries on your site.
Another feature that stood out the most is that this plugin integrates with WooCommerce, so online store owners can easily collect customer signatures. For example, you may want to record the customer’s written consent to collect recurring payments as part of a subscription.
Formidable Forms also integrates with all the popular email marketing and payment platforms you may already use to get sales.
Why we recommend Formidable Forms: We love Formidable forms as an e-signature plugin because it’s extremely powerful. Like WPForms, it gives you multiple options for creating forms with e-signatures. You can use the Signature addon or the signature field.
That said, it’s important to keep in mind that Formidable Forms targets advanced users and developers, which means it isn’t as user-friendly as WPForms. The good news is that it’s a powerful and flexible solution that’s also very customizable.
Pricing: To use Formidable Forms with the Signature addon, you’ll need to purchase Formidable Forms Business license ($199.50 per year)
3. pdfFiller
pdfFiller is a complete document management solution that allows you to create, edit, and manage documents and forms online. While we don’t use this plugin ourselves, we took the extra mile to sign up for an account and reviewed its features to help you out.
During testing, we discovered that we could simply upload any PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, PPT, PPTX, JPG, PNG, or TXT file, and pdfFiller would turn it into an interactive document. Anyone can then view, edit, and sign the document online using their desktop or mobile device.
The best thing about pdfFiller is that it follows all of the major security laws and guidelines, including GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA. So, if your form handles sensitive information, then pdfFiller can be a good option.
However, if you do use pdfFiller, then it’s important to mention the platform in your site’s privacy policy. This helps highlight a legal obligation for businesses that use third-party services.
Why we recommend pdfFiller: Overall, we think pdfFiller’s electronic signature software is very powerful. It’s also legally binding in all 50 states, which makes it ideal for small businesses that need signatures on contracts. pdfFiller also has some advanced features you won’t find in other electronic signature plugins, such as the option to capture a signature using a webcam.
Pricing: The basic pdfFiller plan starts at $10 per month when purchased annually.
4. USLegalForms
USLegalForms is an online library of over 80,000 national and state-specific legal documents covering a huge range of different industries and use cases. Although it technically doesn’t give you e-signature functionality, it could be the perfect complement.
On their website, you’ll find form templates covering everything from hiring to business agreements, leases, invoices, bills of sale, and much more.
When exploring this website, we liked that all of these legal documents are organized into categories. This helps you search by state, so you should have no problems finding what you’re looking for.
With a strong focus on legally-binding documentation, USLegalForms is a great option for businesses. We also think that it would be useful for anyone who wants to start legal proceedings without having to pay a professional to draw up documents.
Why we recommend USLegalForms: As mentioned, this platform doesn’t actually give you an e-signature feature. But, it could be just what you are looking for if you need legally binding documents in the United States. If it has the templates you need, you can always use them for in-person business and then you can use WPForms or Formidable Forms alongside it.
Price: You can buy a USLegalForms subscription for $15 per month.
5. Gravity Forms
Gravity Forms is another WordPress plugin that helps you create custom forms with signatures. You can easily arrange different parts of your form, like text boxes or buttons, by dragging and dropping them. After making your form, you can put it on a web page or post.
We did a deep dive into this tool’s features, which you can see in our Gravity Forms review.
To let people e-sign their form submissions, you can use the Gravity Forms Signature Add-On feature.
When trying out the Signature Add-On, we noticed that it lets users sign their names using their fingers on a touchscreen or a computer mouse. The signatures are then saved as image files (PNGs) and kept on your website’s computer.
To get the Signature Add-On for Gravity Forms, you will need the most expensive plan with all the most advanced features. That means you’ll also get the ability to build conversational forms, surveys, user registration forms, and much more.
Why we recommend Gravity Forms: We appreciate that Gravity Forms is user-friendly and offers a straightforward Signature Add-On. That said, since you need the highest tier plan to get it, we think this tool is best for advanced users who can also benefit from its other more complex features.
Like Formidable Forms, it’s compatible with WooCommerce, so it’s also a good option if you want to use it with your WordPress eCommerce site.
Pricing: To use the Signature feature in Gravity Forms, you have to buy the ‘Elite License’ for $259 per year.
What Is the Best Electronic Signature Software?
After evaluating various options, we believe that WPForms is the best electronic signature software for WordPress. If you want specific templates to handle legal matters, we recommend USLegalForms as the most appropriate e-signature software.
There are dozens of other electronic signatures on the market, such as DocuSign, HelloSign (aka Dropbox Sign), PandaDoc, and others, but they are all unnecessarily expensive for small businesses, that’s why we haven’t included them on our list.
Best Electronic Signature Software for WordPress FAQ
Now, let’s look at the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about electronic signatures and WordPress.
How do I add a digital signature to WordPress?
Plugins like WPForms or Formidable Forms offer signature fields. For the more beginner-friendly option, WPForms is your way to go. And if you need WooCommerce integration, then you can consider Formidable Forms.
What is the easiest method for signing documents digitally?
The easiest method for signing documents digitally is using an online e-signature tool or software. Many platforms like pdfFiller offer simple interfaces where you can upload a document, add your signature, and send it for signing with just a few clicks.
Are there any free WordPress e-signature plugins?
While there are some free options available, most of the best and most secure WordPress e-signature plugins are paid. Free plugins may have limited features or lack the necessary security measures for handling sensitive documents. So, investing in a premium plugin often provides better functionality and peace of mind regarding data protection.
How to protect your e-signature?
To protect your e-signature, you should ensure your website uses SSL encryption and choose plugins that store signatures securely. For example, WPForms protects data with encryption and stores signatures in your WordPress database. If you need to make a form that handles very sensitive information, pdfFiller can be a good fit as it follows major laws like HIPAA and CCPA.
How do I add a signature in WooCommerce?
You can use WooCommerce-compatible plugins like Formidable Forms or Gravity Forms to collect signatures during checkout or on other forms.
We hope this article helped you find the best electronic signature software for WordPress. You can also go through our guide on how to create file upload forms in WordPress, or our expert pick of the best business phone services.
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