Managing daily website maintenance and administrative tasks can be quite challenging. Tasks such as moderating comments, sending notifications, updating content, and managing user roles can consume a large portion of your time.
By implementing automated workflows, you can streamline these processes and reclaim your time to concentrate on enhancing your website.
We recommend using Uncanny Automator, a robust tool that allows you to connect your website with various apps and plugins seamlessly.
Many of our partner brands utilize this tool for automating tasks and have reported excellent outcomes. They have experienced increased efficiency and smoother workflows, making it a top choice.
In this article, we will guide you through the process of effortlessly creating automated workflows in WordPress using Uncanny Automator.
The Benefits of Creating Automated Workflows in WordPress
Numerous website owners find themselves repeating the same tasks frequently. For instance, you might share your latest blog posts on Facebook or send a coupon to customers after they write a product review.
Automating repetitive tasks in WordPress can significantly reduce your workload and enhance efficiency. This automation not only streamlines your operations but also boosts customer satisfaction by ensuring immediate responses, while also keeping your social media profiles active with automatic content posting.
One challenge with automation in WordPress is that many plugins do not easily integrate with one another. For instance, if you’re using WooCommerce alongside a contact form plugin, these two typically do not communicate without additional setup.
This is where Uncanny Automator becomes essential.
What Is Uncanny Automator?
Uncanny Automator is the leading automation plugin for WordPress, enabling you to set up automated workflows without any coding skills.
It serves as a connector, allowing various WordPress plugins to interact seamlessly. For example, you can automatically add users to your email list whenever they fill out a form.
You can even link two distinct WordPress sites to collaborate effectively. For instance, you might sell products on one site while managing user accounts on another membership platform.
Think of it as the WordPress equivalent of Zapier.
Uncanny Automator seamlessly integrates with Zapier, allowing you to connect WordPress with over 5,000 external applications such as Google Drive, Slack, Asana, Twitter, Instagram, and many others.
Now, let’s explore how to utilize Uncanny Automator to set up automated workflows in WordPress.
How to Create Automated Workflows in WordPress
To get started, install and activate the Uncanny Automator plugin. For detailed instructions, refer to our comprehensive guide on installing a WordPress plugin.
Important Note: There is a free version of the Uncanny Automator plugin that allows you to automate various common tasks and includes 300 automation triggers and actions. However, we will be using Uncanny Automator Pro, as it offers integration with a wider range of plugins and services.
After activation, you will be prompted to install the free version of the Uncanny Automator core. This free plugin has limited features but serves as the foundation for the Pro version.
Next, navigate to the Automator » Settings section in the WordPress dashboard and input your license key.
You can locate this information in your account on the Uncanny Automator website.
Once you’ve entered the key, click on the ‘Activate License’ button.
Start Creating a New Automation Recipe
Once you have added your license, you can start creating automated workflows in WordPress. Uncanny Automator refers to these workflows as ‘recipes.’
To begin, navigate to the Automator » Add New page. You will be prompted to choose between creating a ‘Logged-in’ recipe or an ‘Everyone’ recipe.
Logged-in recipes can only be activated by users who are logged in, while ‘Everyone’ recipes can be triggered by any user.
Select a recipe type based on the workflow you wish to create, then click the ‘Confirm’ button.
In this guide, we will create an ‘Everyone’ recipe using the WPForms plugin, which is the top contact form plugin for WordPress, allowing you to design various forms effortlessly with a simple drag-and-drop interface.
We will set up an automated workflow that generates a new WordPress user account each time someone submits the contact form on our site.
After selecting a recipe type, you can name your recipe by entering it in the ‘Title’ field. This is for your own reference, so feel free to use any name you prefer.
Add Triggers and Actions to Your Automated Workflow
Every recipe in Uncanny Automator consists of two components known as Triggers and Actions.
A trigger is an event that initiates the automated workflow, such as a visitor submitting a form. Actions are the tasks that the recipe will execute, like creating an account for that individual.
To begin, you need to set the trigger by selecting an integration.
Uncanny Automator will display all the integrations available for your WordPress site. In the image below, you can see that it has already identified WPForms.
To proceed, click on ‘WPForms.’
Next, you will need to choose the trigger event. In the dropdown menu, select ‘A form is submitted.’
After that, you can open the dropdown menu to view all the forms you have created using the WPForms plugin for WordPress.
Simply select the form that will activate the recipe and then click on ‘Save.’
Now, you can navigate to the ‘Actions’ section and click the ‘Add Actions’ button.
Uncanny Automator will now present all the different integrations you can utilize for the action.
You may encounter different options depending on whether you are creating a recipe for logged-in users or for all users.
In the ‘Actions’ section, choose ‘Automator’ as the integration.
Then, Uncanny Automator will prompt you to select an action.
Select ‘Call a custom function/method’ from the dropdown menu.
Next, enter a name for the custom function you will use in this recipe. Since this function will create a new user account, you might name it ‘create_contact.’
Then, click on ‘Add Variable.’
Utilize Variables to Extract Data From a Form
We aim to extract data from the WPForms contact form to create a new user account for the individual who submitted the form.
To proceed, click on the ‘*’ icon next to the empty field. In the dropdown menu, locate ‘Triggers’ and select the contact form.
You will now see all the various fields that comprise the form.
To use data from a specific field, click on it. This action will convert the field into a variable that you can utilize in the recipe.
You can add additional variables by repeating the process outlined above.
For instance, in the image below, we are extracting the individual’s name and email address from the contact form to include that information in the user profile.
After adding all the desired variables, click on ‘Save.’
Automatically Create a New User Account
Next, click the ‘Add action’ button and select the integration you wish to use, which in this case is WordPress.
Following that, Uncanny Automator will display all the actions available with this integration.
Select ‘Add a new role to the user’s roles’ from the dropdown menu.
A popup will appear requesting access to user data.
Simply click the ‘Set user data’ button.
Since we are creating a recipe for ‘Everyone,’ you can choose to apply this action to either an ‘Existing user’ or a ‘New user.’
We will select ‘New user’ to avoid creating accounts for individuals already registered on our WordPress blog or website.
Uncanny Automator will now prompt you to select the data to use for the new account.
You can map some of these fields to the variables from the contact form. For instance, click the ‘*’ button next to ‘First name’ and select the contact form as your trigger.
Then, choose the ‘Name’ variable from the dropdown list.
For other fields, consider using a mix of tokens and plain text. For example, you could create a random username by combining the person’s name with a series of numbers or another token, such as today’s date.
By default, Uncanny Automator assigns the ‘subscriber’ role to new users.
To modify this setting, open the ‘Role’ dropdown menu and select a different role from the available options.
If an account is already associated with the email address or username, we want to avoid creating a duplicate account.
Therefore, ensure you select ‘Do nothing’ in the section titled ‘What to do if the user already exists.’
Publish Your Automated WordPress Workflow
Once you have completed your changes, remember to click the ‘Save’ button to apply them.
After saving, you can proceed to publish the workflow. In the ‘Recipe’ box, toggle the ‘Draft’ switch to ‘Live.’
Your recipe is now live, and Uncanny Automator will automatically create a new account each time someone submits your site’s contact form.
Accessing Your Automation Logs in WordPress
After setting up some automated workflows, you’ll want an efficient way to monitor all the tasks running in the background.
To view all the recipes, triggers, and actions executed by Uncanny Automator, simply navigate to the Automator » Logs page from your WordPress dashboard.
Utilize the dropdown menus to filter data by actions, users, and more.
This guide offers just a glimpse into the immense capabilities of the Uncanny Automator plugin. It allows you to integrate with WooCommerce, Formidable Forms, GiveWP, and many other WordPress plugins, making it worthwhile to explore the various automated workflows you can develop.
Bonus: Integrate Uncanny Automator with ChatGPT for AI-Powered Content Creation
Uncanny Automator also enables you to build workflows that incorporate ChatGPT through OpenAI integration.
This feature allows you to seamlessly add AI-generated content into your workflows in numerous ways. For example, you can automatically generate a new blog post with AI content each time a form is submitted.
You can also set up an AI-driven workflow that provides automatic responses to forum inquiries, creates images from prompts, or even develops a WhatsApp chatbot.
Uncanny Automator can connect AI with other WordPress plugins like OptinMonster, allowing you to create impressive workflows without any coding required.
For more information, check out our top recommendations for WordPress plugins that leverage Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
We trust this guide has assisted you in developing automated workflows in WordPress using Uncanny Automator. Additionally, explore our top recommendations for the best electronic signature software for WordPress and our comprehensive tutorial on importing Google Docs into WordPress effortlessly.
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