Unlocking Lead Generation: 7 Pro Tips to Boost Your Business with Free Online Calculators

Many business owners face a common challenge: how to capture leads on WordPress without coming across as overly aggressive.

Through our experience managing various business websites, we’ve discovered that the most effective strategy is straightforward: provide value first, then request contact details. This is precisely what online calculators accomplish.

We have tested this method across various sectors – from fitness trainers utilizing BMI calculators to contractors employing project cost estimators. The outcome is consistently the same: when you offer a valuable tool, individuals are willing to share their information in exchange for something beneficial.

In this guide, we will demonstrate how to increase your lead generation by integrating a free calculator on your website for visitors to use. With robust tools like WPForms and Formidable Forms, creating one is simple – no coding skills required. 🙌

What Makes Online Calculators Excellent Tools for Lead Generation?

Online calculators are engaging tools that assist your visitors in solving specific problems or answering questions. By requesting an email address to access the results, they serve as an outstanding method for generating leads for your business.

Interactive calculators significantly enhance lead capture rates compared to traditional contact forms. Research indicates that interactive content can yield twice the number of leads compared to passive content.

These calculators can be utilized across various industries. For instance, in the healthcare sector, you could implement a BMI calculator and recommend a suitable meal plan.

A calculator that converts metric units to imperial measurements can assist customers in verifying product sizes, ultimately increasing sales. This feature is particularly beneficial for online retailers.

Consider adding a mortgage calculator to your real estate website or a car payment calculator to your dealership’s site.

The opportunities are limitless, making these tools one of the most effective methods for expanding your email subscriber list.

With this in mind, we will guide you on how to create an online calculator to generate leads.

We will discuss two methods, and you can use our links to navigate directly to your preferred method:

• Method 1: Creating Online Calculators with WPForms (Highly Recommended)
  • Step 1: Install and Activate the WPForms Plugin
  • Step 2: Create Your Online Calculator Form
  • Step 3: Modify the Calculations (Optional)
  • Step 4: Configure Contact Options
  • Step 5: Customize the Design of Your Calculator Form
  • Step 6: Customize the Confirmation Message
  • Step 7: Integrate Your New Online Calculator Form into WordPress
  • Step 8: Accessing Form Submissions
• Method 2: Adding a Calculator Using Formidable Forms (Advanced)
  • Step 1: Acquire Formidable Forms Pro
  • Step 2: Select a Calculator Form Template
  • Step 3: Create Your Free Online Calculator
  • Step 4: Modify the Calculations
  • Step 5: Incorporate a Free Online Calculator into WordPress
• Bonus Tip: Increase Your Leads with OptinMonster
• Common Questions About Online Calculators
• Additional Resources: Guides for Using WordPress Forms

Ready to get started? Let’s dive in!

Method 1: Building Online Calculators with WPForms (Recommended)

The simplest and most effective way to create an online calculator for your WordPress site without any coding is by using the WPForms plugin.

WPForms is the leading contact form builder and calculator plugin, boasting over 6 million users, including us! It has been our reliable tool for displaying contact forms and conducting our annual user surveys.

Discover more about why we recommend it in our comprehensive WPForms review.

WPForms enables you to create a variety of forms, such as conversational forms, user registration forms, and more.

Additionally, you have access to numerous ready-to-use calculator form templates, allowing you to build trust and generate leads for your business right away.

Step 1: Install and Activate the WPForms Plugin

After purchasing WPForms Pro, proceed to install and activate the plugin from your WordPress dashboard. For more information, refer to our detailed guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Once activated, you’ll need to install a few addons.

First, navigate to WPForms » Addons and locate the Calculations Addon. Click the ‘Install Addon’ button to enable all the mathematical functions for your calculator.

Since we will be collecting leads, you will also need to find the Lead Forms Addon.

Click on ‘Install Addon’ in the Lead Forms Addon section to get started.

Now, let’s discuss how to create an online calculator that allows users to perform calculations and receive accurate estimates.

Step 2: Build Your Online Calculator Form

First, navigate to WPForms »Add New. This will launch the drag-and-drop form builder, where you can design and personalize your calculator form.

Next, name your new form by entering a title in the provided box.

This will help you identify your calculator form later when you need to edit it or embed it in a page or post.

Below the title, you can choose a template that suits your needs. In the left panel, explore the different categories under the ‘Calculator’ option.

For instance, if you operate a gym website, you might select a template from the ‘fitness’ category.

Conversely, if you run a dealership or work as a realtor, you can opt for the ‘finance’ category to help potential clients assess their eligibility for your offerings.

With a wide array of templates available, you’ll find nearly any type of online calculator you need.

In this tutorial, we will focus on the ‘Mortgage Lead Generator Form.’ Simply hover over the template you wish to use and click on ‘Use Template.’

You will then be directed to the ‘Fields’ tab, where you can access the drag-and-drop form builder. All available fields are located in the left panel.

To add a field, just drag it from the left panel to the right side. The right side features an editor that allows you to see a visual representation of the form.

With the Lead Forms Addon, page breaks will appear automatically. Each page break includes a ‘Next’ button, allowing users to proceed to the next page after filling out the required fields.

Users will also notice a progress bar below, which divides the form into manageable sections. This multi-step approach is beneficial as it reduces the feeling of overwhelm for visitors, significantly increasing the likelihood of form completion and lead generation.

The mortgage calculator form includes the following fields:

• Home Value
• Down Payment
• Interest Rate
• Mortgage Term
• Monthly Mortgage Payment
• Annual Payment Amount
• Total Interest Paid
• Total Mortgage Payment

This template is designed for mortgage lenders and includes most of the essential fields you need. You can also customize it by adding or removing fields as necessary.

Consider adding multiple-choice fields to inquire about the ‘Purpose of the Mortgage or Loan’ and the ‘Type of Property’ the user is interested in. This will help you better cater to their requirements.

To add a new field, go to the ‘General’ tab under ‘Field Options’ and modify the details as needed.

To streamline the process, utilize the AI Choices feature to quickly add options.

Simply describe the list you need, and the AI will generate it for you. You can then edit, reorder, or adjust the options as necessary.

Step 3: Modifying Calculations (Optional)

After setting up all your fields, you may want to modify the calculations in this template. The calculation is determined by the ‘Total Mortgage Payment’ field.

To view the calculation settings, click on the field and navigate to the ‘Advanced’ tab. The ‘Enable Calculation’ option should be activated by default. If you prefer to retain the original calculation formula included in the template, you can leave this setting unchanged.

If you want to modify the formula, you can adjust the values in the ‘Formula’ text box.

As users input their details, the form will automatically compute the results based on the provided information.

At the beginning of the ‘Formula’ box, you can incorporate arithmetic functions such as:

• Addition (+)
• Subtraction (-)
• Multiplication (*)
• Division (/)

Whenever you add a formula, it must be enclosed in parentheses, which can be placed at the start of the formula box.

Click ‘Insert Field’ to view a list of codes corresponding to each field.

You can also implement additional rules, such as the ‘if’ and ‘else’ conditions.

For instance, using a formula like ‘Housing Expenses/Gross Monthly Income’ allows you to evaluate the applicant’s risk.

Applying the ‘if/else’ rule enables you to automatically approve or deny applicants based on their risk level.

You can also click on ‘Cheatsheet’ located next to the ‘Formula’ box to view all the available rules and functions you can incorporate.

Once you finish adding the formula, remember to click ‘Validate Formula’ to ensure that the calculations and syntax are accurate.

New Feature:Not confident in creating formulas? No problem! WPForms now includes an AI Calculations feature that simplifies complex math into an easy conversational format.

Just click the ‘Generate Formula’ button next to the formula box and start interacting with the WPForms AI Assistant.

You can express your calculation needs in straightforward English.

For instance, you might say, “Calculate monthly mortgage payments based on home value, down payment, interest rate, and loan term.”

The AI will then automatically generate the ideal formula for you.

Step 4: Configuring Contact Options

In your online calculator lead form, it’s beneficial to inquire how customers prefer to be contacted. This allows you to follow up with leads who have expressed interest in your offerings.

This is an excellent opportunity to incorporate icons as well. Just click on the multiple-choice field, and you will see options to configure the choices.

By toggling the ‘Use icon choices’ button, you can add icons to your form.

You will now notice smiley face icons appearing.

Simply click on the smiley face icon in the left panel to add it to your form.

A pop-up window titled ‘Icon Picker’ will appear, allowing you to choose from over 2,000 icons.

Use the search bar to find the specific icon you need.

You can also modify the ‘Icon Color’ setting in the left panel.

Once you have selected all your icons for the multiple-choice field, this is how it should appear:

Another personal touch you can add to your form is a custom logo or header image at the top of your calculator form.

Simply drag the ‘Content’ field onto the right side of the form editor.

Then, select the ‘Content’ field to access the customization options.

In the ‘General’ tab, click the ‘Add Media’ button to upload your company logo.

Step 5: Customize the Style of Your Calculator Form

Now, it’s time to personalize the design of your lead form to align with your brand and enhance its visual appeal.

To achieve this, navigate to Settings » Lead Forms.

By enabling the ‘Advanced Style Settings,’ you can create a stylish container around the fields and form, making it stand out more.

You can also modify the colors of the field borders, container background, and text.

Incorporating icons and customizing the look of your form is an excellent way to maintain a polished and professional appearance.

Step 6: Modifying the Confirmation Message

The final step is to review and adjust the confirmation message. WPForms will automatically generate a message summarizing the fields completed by the user and the results of the calculations.

To do this, let’s go to Settings » Confirmations.

Here, you can choose to display the message directly on the page or redirect the user to a different page. Then, modify the message in the text box.

Utilizing Smart Tags is an effective way to personalize your message based on the information provided by the user.

Once you’re happy with the appearance of your form, simply click the ‘Save’ button.

This ensures that all your modifications are saved.

Step 7: Integrating Your New Online Calculator into WordPress

Next, you will want to integrate your online calculator into one of your WordPress pages or posts.

To do this, open any WordPress page or post, click the ‘+’ button to add a new block, and select the WPForms block.

In the dropdown menu, choose the online calculator form you just created.

The form should automatically display on the page.

If everything appears correct, click ‘Publish’ at the top.

You have now successfully added your online calculator to your WordPress site.

Be sure to preview it before finalizing.

It should resemble something like this:

Once that’s complete, review the form to ensure all fields and calculations function correctly.

For example, here’s how the confirmation message looks after completing this form:

Step 8: Accessing Form Entries

Navigate to WPForms » Entries and select your form name to view all entries from your online calculator form.

Easily manage your entries by viewing, editing, or deleting them. When you view an entry, you and your sales team can access all the lead information you need.

You can export this list and upload it to a marketing automation platform or integrate it with a WordPress automation plugin like Uncanny Automator.

This enables you to follow up with leads after they fill out the online calculator form.

For more details on how to effectively generate leads in WordPress, check out our comprehensive guide.

Method 2: Incorporating a Calculator Using Formidable Forms (Advanced)

Another option for adding online calculators to WordPress is the Formidable Forms plugin. It features an advanced drag-and-drop form builder and is considered one of the top calculator plugins available for WordPress.

We have conducted thorough testing, and you can read our in-depth review of Formidable Forms to discover more about its features!

This plugin is designed to assist users in creating intricate forms that incorporate advanced calculations.

For example, Formidable Forms offers a variety of calculator templates, such as a mortgage calculator suitable for your IDX real estate website and a BMI calculator perfect for health blogs and fitness sites.

Formidable Forms also supports conditional calculations. You can specify which formula the plugin should use based on the user’s answers in the form.

Step 1: Obtain Formidable Forms Pro

To get started, you need to install and activate both the free Formidable Forms Lite and the premium Formidable Forms plugins. For detailed instructions, refer to our guide on installing a WordPress plugin.

Once you’ve completed this, navigate to Formidable » Global Settings and choose ‘Add a license manually.’

To locate your license key, visit the Formidable Forms website.

Log into your account and go to the ‘Downloads’ section.

From there, simply copy your license key and paste it into the designated field on your WordPress site.

Be sure to click the ‘Save License’ button followed by the ‘Update’ button at the top.

After completing these steps, you will see a message confirming that your license has been successfully activated.

Step 2: Select a Calculator Form Template

You are now prepared to create your first calculator. Start by navigating to Formidable » Forms and click on ‘+ Add New.’

On the following screen, you will find a variety of form templates to choose from.

Scroll down and select the ‘Calculator’ category to view all the calculator templates available through Formidable Forms.

To preview a template, simply hover over it and click ‘View Demo.’ When you are ready to proceed, hover over it and click ‘Use Template.’

For this tutorial, we will use the ‘Compound Interest Calculator’ template, but feel free to choose any calculator template you prefer.

You will now see your selected template in the Formidable Forms editor.

Step 3: Customize Your Free Online Calculator

From this point, you can easily customize any field in the form by clicking on it. For instance, if you want to modify the field label or number range for the ‘Initial amount,’ simply select that field.

You can then apply your changes using the settings available in the left-hand menu.

To add additional fields to the calculator, just click on the ‘Add Fields’ tab in the left-hand menu, then drag the desired field onto the calculator template.

To collect email addresses from visitors, add a field for them to input their email. You can easily do this by dragging and dropping an ‘Email’ field onto your calculator template.

Next, click on the ‘Email’ field to modify the ‘Field Options’ settings.

While the default settings usually work well, to maximize lead generation, it’s advisable to check the ‘Required’ box. This ensures that visitors must enter their email address to view their results.

If necessary, you can further customize your calculator by modifying the existing field values or adding new fields.

Step 4: Modifying the Calculations

Formidable Forms offers pre-designed templates with built-in calculations. However, you have the option to change the formulas or values if needed.

To verify the calculations, click on any field element that the formula will impact. When you do this, an ID number should appear for that field.

In the left-hand panel, navigate to the Advanced Field OptionsIn the ‘Default Value’ section, you can view the formula being utilized.

For instance, ‘Total compound interest’ is assigned the ID number 20.

The formula ‘[18]+[19]’ indicates that ‘Compound interest on principal’ plus ‘Compound interest on deposits’ equals ‘Total compound interest.’

If you’re uncertain about the ID number for a specific field or wish to explore available fields for your formula, simply click the three-dot icon next to ‘Default Value.’

Next, you can choose the desired field from the Field List dropdown menu. Any selected field will be incorporated into the ‘Default Value’ for your formula.

Remember to use standard mathematical symbols, such as:

• + for addition
• – for subtraction
• * for multiplication
• / for division
• () for grouping calculations
• Math.pow() for exponent calculations (for example, calculating ‘5 to the power of 2’).

Here’s an illustrative example.

As mentioned earlier, the [] notation represents ID numbers.

After completing your setup, be sure to preview the form to verify that the calculations function correctly.

Once you’re satisfied with the design of your calculator forms, simply click the ‘Save’ button.

A prompt will appear asking you to name your form.

Choose a name that makes it easy for you to identify the form later, then click the ‘Save’ button.

In a moment, you will see a message confirming that the update was successful.

Step 5: Integrate a Free Online Calculator into Your WordPress Site

You are now set to add the calculator to any page or post on your WordPress site. Navigate to the page or post where you want to include your calculator form.

First, enter a title for your calculator page.

After that, click the ‘+’ icon and select the ‘Formidable Forms’ block. When the appropriate block appears, click on it to add it to your page.

Next, open the ‘Select a form’ dropdown menu and choose the calculator you created earlier.

WordPress will automatically load your custom calculator.

At this stage, you can continue to edit the page by adding text, images, a description of the calculator, categories, tags, and more.

When you’re ready to publish the calculator, click the ‘Publish’ or ‘Update’ button located in the top right corner.

Your new calculator page is now live on your website.

Here’s a preview of how it appeared on our demo site:

Bonus Tip: Increase Your Leads with OptinMonster

After launching your calculator, your next goal is to attract as much traffic as possible. This is where OptinMonster can help.

OptinMonster is the top WordPress plugin for lead generation. It features professionally designed templates and an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor for your campaigns.

At Canada Create™, we utilize OptinMonster to showcase popups and header banners whenever we have special promotions. It has been highly effective for us, and you can check out our detailed OptinMonster review for more information.

OptinMonster offers features such as lightbox popups, slide-in popups, header and footer banners, countdown timers, and more.

These campaign types are ideal for promoting your new online calculator, helping you attract more users and increase conversions.

If you operate an online store, OptinMonster also includes an advanced ‘Exit-Intent’ feature that can turn abandoning visitors into customers and subscribers.

For more information, read our article on how we boosted our email subscribers by 600% using OptinMonster.

Common Questions About Online Calculators

What is the best WordPress plugin for building online calculators?

The ideal plugin for creating online calculators varies based on your specific requirements. For most users, WPForms is the preferred option due to its user-friendly interface and a wide selection of pre-designed calculator templates. For more intricate calculations, Formidable Forms serves as a robust alternative.

Can I build an online calculator without coding experience?

Definitely. Contemporary contact form plugins like WPForms feature a drag-and-drop builder, enabling you to design powerful and customized online calculators without needing any coding skills.

How can I leverage a calculator to generate more leads?

You can configure your calculator to require users to input their email address before accessing the final results. This method effectively generates leads by providing immediate value in exchange for their contact information.

Helpful Resources: Comprehensive Guides for Utilizing WordPress Forms

We hope this article has provided valuable insights on generating more leads using online calculators.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also be interested in our other guides on:

• Top Online Form Builders: Expert Recommendations
• A Guide to Implementing Conditional Logic in WordPress Forms
• How to Display a Confirmation Navigation Popup for Forms in WordPress
• Steps to Add Save & Continue Functionality in WordPress Forms
• Tracking User Journeys on WordPress Lead Forms: A How-To
• Strategies for Creating More Engaging Forms in WordPress to Boost Conversions

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