If your organization depends on volunteers, it’s essential to have a user-friendly website that encourages them to get involved.
Unfortunately, many potential volunteers lose interest due to a confusing or lengthy application process that isn’t designed with their needs in mind.
At CanadaCreate, we have collaborated with various nonprofits and community organizations to enhance their volunteer registration experience. Our founder, Syed Balkhi, operates a nonprofit website, giving us valuable insights into attracting and managing the right volunteers.
The key often lies in the application form. An effective volunteer application not only gathers necessary information but also leads applicants seamlessly from expressing interest to taking action, while providing your team with all the required details.
In this guide, we will walk you through the process of creating a custom volunteer application form in WordPress using WPForms, a powerful and user-friendly tool that we highly recommend.
Why Should You Create a Volunteer Application Form in WordPress?
Numerous organizations, particularly charities and nonprofits, depend on volunteers.
However, the back-and-forth communication with potential volunteers via email can be time-consuming. Many nonprofits still utilize paper forms for recruiting new volunteers, which can further delay the processing time.
Integrating a volunteer application form into your nonprofit WordPress website allows you to connect with a wider audience who may be interested in supporting your cause.
A volunteer application form clearly outlines the information you require from visitors, such as their email address, phone number, and any prior volunteer experience. This reduces the need for follow-up emails and calls to gather necessary details from new volunteers.
An effective form builder plugin will organize all collected data within the WordPress dashboard and send email notifications to the appropriate team members for timely follow-up.
In this guide, we will walk you through the process of creating an effective volunteer application form in WordPress, step by step. Here’s a brief overview of the steps we will cover:
- How to Create Your Volunteer Application Form in WordPress
- Configuring Notifications and Confirmation Messages
- Integrating Your Volunteer Application Form into Your Website
- Bonus Tip: How to Export WordPress Form Entries to CSV and Excel
- Bonus Resources: Additional Guides for Nonprofit WordPress Websites
Let’s get started.
How to Create Your Volunteer Application Form in WordPress
Creating an impressive volunteer application form in WordPress is simple with the WPForms plugin.
WPForms is the leading form builder plugin for WordPress, known for its user-friendly interface and trusted by over 6 million websites, including ours. At CanadaCreate, we rely on this drag-and-drop form builder for our contact forms and annual surveys.
To discover more about WPForms, feel free to check out our comprehensive WPForms review.
The first step is to install and activate the WPForms plugin. For detailed instructions, refer to our step-by-step guide on installing a WordPress plugin.
📝 Note:In this guide, we will utilize the WPForms Pro version, which offers over 2,000 pre-designed form templates, including a ready-to-use volunteer application template. If you’re looking for a budget-friendly option, you can also use the free WPForms Lite version.
After activating the plugin, navigate toWPForms » Settingsin your WordPress dashboard to enter your license key. You can find this information in your WPForms account.
If you are using the free version, you can skip this step.
Once you have completed the verification process, you are ready to create your volunteer application form in WordPress.
Begin by navigating to WPForms » Add New.
Next, name your form and choose how you want to create your volunteer application – from scratch, by selecting a template, or using the WPForms AI.
If you opt for the AI builder, simply select a pre-made prompt (if applicable) or write your own brief prompt. The AI will generate the form for you.
For this tutorial, we will use a template.
WPForms offers over 2,000 pre-designed form templates, allowing you to quickly create various forms, such as contact forms and online order forms, with little to no modifications.
To find a volunteer application form, type ‘Volunteer’ into the template search bar. You will see multiple volunteer form templates available.
To use a template, hover over your choice and click ‘Use Template’. Here, we will select the ‘Volunteer Recruitment Form’ template.
WPForms will then take you to the drag-and-drop form builder.
You will find all the tools needed to customize your form in the left panel, while the right panel provides a live preview.
To modify the form, click on the specific field you wish to edit. WPForms will display all the customizable settings for that field.
For instance, if you want to update the text in a form field, simply change the text in the menu on the left.
To edit existing multiple choice options, click on any of the ‘+’ buttons. This allows you to add additional options.
🧑💻 Expert Tip:If you encounter any difficulties, utilize the AI Choices feature. Click ‘Generate Choices,’ enter your prompt, and hit ‘Enter.’ The AI tool will generate a list of options based on your input.
Additionally, you can effortlessly add more questions or options to your volunteer application form by selecting the ‘Add Fields’ tab in the left-hand menu.
This will display all the fields available for addition, including advanced options like the ‘File Upload’ field.
The ‘File Upload’ field is an excellent addition, allowing volunteers to submit their CV or resume with their applications. For more information, refer to our detailed guide on creating a file upload form in WordPress.
Consider making certain fields mandatory, such as the email address field, to ensure that applicants cannot submit the form without providing their email.
To set a field as required, simply click on that field. Then, in the left-hand menu, toggle the ‘Required’ slider to activate it.
Both you and your volunteers will easily identify required fields, as they will display a small red asterisk next to the field label.
Once you are satisfied with the appearance of your volunteer application form, it’s time to adjust the settings. Click on ‘Settings’ in the left-hand menu to proceed.
In the ‘General’ settings tab, you can modify various form-related options, including the text for the submit button, spam protection settings, and more.
As a top choice for WordPress form creation, WPForms includes robust anti-spam features designed to minimize spam registrations.
By default, the ‘Enable anti-spam protection’ option is automatically activated. Unless you plan to use an alternative spam prevention method, we recommend keeping this feature enabled.
For more information on how WPForms can help safeguard your site from spam, please refer to our comprehensive guide on blocking contact form spam in WordPress.
Configuring Notifications and Confirmation Messages
Whenever a visitor submits a form on your website, you will receive an email with all the details they provided.
You can also view all submitted form entries directly from your WordPress dashboard.
We recommend sending an email to the volunteer to confirm that their application has been received. For more information, check our guide on sending confirmation emails after a WordPress form submission.
Even if you send a notification email, it’s beneficial to display an on-screen confirmation each time someone successfully submits a form.
There are several ways to achieve this. WPForms allows you to either display a confirmation message on the same page or redirect the user to a custom ‘Thank You’ page on your website.
You can adjust these settings by navigating to the ‘Confirmation’ tab in the Settings panel and selecting from the available ‘Confirmation Type’ options.
Most organizations typically use the default message, but it’s advisable to redirect visitors to your events calendar so they can learn about your upcoming fundraising activities.
Once you are satisfied with your confirmation message setup, click the ‘Save’ button to apply your changes.
💡 Expert Tip:WPForms seamlessly integrates with top email marketing services. If you run an email newsletter, WPForms simplifies the process of adding new volunteers to your mailing list.
Integrating Your Volunteer Application Form into Your Website
You are now set to incorporate your form into your WordPress site, allowing individuals to start applying to volunteer.
With WPForms, adding your form to any page, post, or widget area on your site is a straightforward process.
Typically, you’ll want to display your form on a page or post. You can either create a new page or post or edit an existing one using the WordPress editor.
In the WordPress block editor, click the + button to add a new block. In the popup, type ‘WPForms’ to locate the correct block.
Then, click on the ‘WPForms’ block to insert it into your page.
Next, open the dropdown menu within the WPForms block.
You will see a list of all the forms you’ve created. Simply click on the volunteer application form to include it on your page.
If you are satisfied with the form’s appearance, you can publish or update the page. Now, visit your website to view your live volunteer application form.
💡 Expert Tip:WPForms allows you to customize the appearance of your forms. For detailed instructions, refer to our guide on styling and personalizing your WordPress forms.
It’s essential to test your form to ensure it functions correctly. You can do this by completing and submitting the form.
After submission, check for a confirmation message. Additionally, you should receive an email notification confirming that the form has been submitted.
If you do not receive an email, there may be an issue with your email settings in WordPress. For assistance, please consult our guide on resolving the WordPress email sending issue.
Once your form is published, navigate to WPForms » Entriesto view all of your volunteer applications.
Entries marked as ‘Abandoned’ indicate that a visitor started filling out the form but did not complete the submission. For more details, check our guide on tracking and minimizing form abandonment in WordPress.
Bonus Tip: How to Export WordPress Form Entries to CSV and Excel
Exporting your volunteer application entries to CSV or Excel is crucial for maintaining organization.
This feature allows you to efficiently organize all relevant information, including names, contact information, and availability. This makes it much easier to identify the right volunteers for various tasks.
Additionally, storing the data in a spreadsheet enables better collaboration with your team, ensuring everyone has access to the same information. It also serves as an excellent method for backing up your data, protecting important details from being lost.
For comprehensive step-by-step guidance, feel free to check out our tutorial on how to export form entries to CSV or Excel.
Additional Resources: More Guides for Nonprofit WordPress Websites
We hope this article has helped you understand how to create an effective volunteer application form in WordPress. You may also want to explore our guides on:
- How to Add a PayPal Donate Button in WordPress
- How to Create a Recurring Donation Form in WordPress
- Best Practices for Donation Forms to Increase Contributions in WordPress
- How to Raise Funds Through Crowdfunding
- Top Crowdfunding Plugins for WordPress
- How to Set Up Peer-to-Peer Fundraising in WordPress
- How to Create a Marketplace Similar to Teachers Pay Teachers Using WordPress
- Best WordPress Plugins for Nonprofit Organizations
If you enjoyed this article, we invite you to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for informative WordPress video tutorials. Connect with us on Twitter and Facebook for more updates.
