Core Forms
A lightweight WordPress form plugin that gives you full HTML control. No bloat. No upsells. Write your own form markup, handle submissions with AJAX, store entries, and connect to external services via webhooks. Built for developers who don't want a drag-and-drop builder dictating their HTML, but also built for users who prefer drag and drop.
WordPress Forms Without the Bloat
Core Forms – WordPress Form Builder Plugin
A lightweight WordPress form plugin that gives you full HTML control. No bloat. No upsells. Write your own form markup, handle submissions with AJAX, store entries, and connect to external services via webhooks. Built for developers who don’t want a drag-and-drop builder dictating their HTML, but also built for users who prefer drag and drop. The cleanest HTML in any form plugin.
$59 ⁜ one-time payment ⁜ Lifetime Updates
The Problem With Most Form Plugins
You know the drill. Install a form plugin. Get a drag-and-drop builder you didn’t ask for. Watch it generate 47 nested divs, inline styles, and class names that look like someone mashed their keyboard.
Then comes the upsell dance. Want file uploads? That’s a Pro feature. Need to store submissions in your database? Premium add-on. Webhooks to connect with external services? Another $49/year.
By the time you’ve assembled the features you actually need, you’re paying $150/year for a contact form. A contact form.
Core Forms exists because this is ridiculous.
A Different Approach
Core Forms assumes you can write HTML. Maybe you’re a developer. Maybe you’ve copied enough form markup over the years to know what you’re doing. Either way, you don’t need a visual builder generating code you’ll spend an hour overriding with CSS.
You write the form. Core Forms handles the rest: AJAX submission, email notifications, spam protection, database storage, file uploads, webhooks. The boring infrastructure stuff that takes time to build properly.
The result? Forms that look exactly how you want them to look, work exactly how you expect them to work, and don’t load 200KB of JavaScript for a five-field contact form.
Everything Included. Not Everything Upsold.
Other plugins call these “premium features” and charge extra. We just call them features.
Full HTML Control
Write your own form markup. Use your own class names. Structure it however you want. No generated code, no fighting the plugin’s opinions about how forms should look.
AJAX Submissions
Forms submit without page refresh. Users see instant feedback. You control the success and error messages. Works out of the box with zero configuration.
Submission Storage
Every form submission gets saved to your database. View, search, and manage entries from the WordPress admin. Export to CSV whenever you need the data elsewhere.
File Uploads
Let users attach files to their submissions. Set allowed file types and size limits. Files get stored securely and linked to the submission record.
Email Notifications
Send customizable emails when forms are submitted. Use data variables to include form field values. Route notifications to different addresses based on form content.
Webhooks
Push form data to external services and APIs. Connect to Zapier, Make, n8n, or any service that accepts webhook payloads. Build automations without writing integration code.
Spam Protection
Built-in support for Google reCAPTCHA v3 and hCaptcha. Invisible protection that doesn’t annoy legitimate users with puzzle challenges.
Mailchimp Integration
Connect forms to your Mailchimp lists through MC4WP. Collect subscribers without redirecting to external signup pages.
Submission Limits
Cap the number of submissions a form accepts. Useful for limited offers, event registrations, or preventing abuse on public forms.
Login Required
Restrict forms to logged-in users only. Automatically capture user data. Prevent anonymous submissions when you need accountability.
Data Variables
Insert dynamic content into forms and email notifications. Pull user data, site info, or submission values wherever you need them.
Gutenberg Block
Insert forms anywhere using the block editor. Select your form from a dropdown. No shortcode memorization required (though shortcodes work too).
Performance That Actually Matters
Every kilobyte counts. Especially when you’re trying to pass Core Web Vitals and your form plugin is loading a quarter-megabyte of JavaScript for features you don’t use.
Core Forms loads fast because it does less. No visual builder JavaScript. No live preview engine. No complex state management for features you’re not using. Just the code needed to submit your form and handle the response.
Built for Developers
If you’re building client sites or maintaining your own projects, you’ll appreciate what’s under the hood.
- Namespaced codebase using
Core_Formsto avoid conflicts - Consistent function prefixes with
cf_*for all public functions - PSR-4 autoloading for clean class organization
- Extensive hooks for customizing form behavior, validation, and processing
- Well-documented code with inline comments explaining the why, not just the what
Need to modify how submissions are stored? There’s a filter for that. Want to add custom validation? Hook into the processing flow. Building a custom integration? The action hooks give you access to form data at every stage.
Core Forms is forked from HTML Forms, a plugin known for its clean architecture and performance focus. We’ve expanded it with features that were previously sold as premium add-ons, but the philosophy remains: do one thing well, and make it easy for developers to extend.
Who Should Use Core Forms
This Is For You If:
- You’re comfortable writing HTML form markup
- You want full control over your form’s structure and styling
- You care about page speed and Core Web Vitals
- You’re tired of paying annual subscriptions for basic form features
- You need webhooks, file uploads, or submission limits without add-on fatigue
- You’re building client sites and want a reliable, lightweight solution
This Is Not For You If:
- You need a visual drag-and-drop form builder
- You want pre-made form templates to start from
- You’re not comfortable editing HTML
- You need advanced conditional logic between fields
- You want payment processing built into your forms
No judgment on either camp. If you need a visual builder with templates, Fluent Forms or WPForms will serve you better. Core Forms is specifically for people who know what they want their forms to look like and just need solid infrastructure to make them work.
How It Works
Create Your Form
Go to Core Forms in your WordPress admin. Click Add New. Write your form HTML in the editor. Use standard form elements: inputs, textareas, selects, checkboxes. Add your own classes for styling.
Configure Actions
Set up what happens when someone submits the form. Send email notifications. Store submissions in the database. Trigger webhooks. Add to Mailchimp. Enable or disable each action as needed.
Add to Your Site
Insert the form using the Gutenberg block or the shortcode . Style it with your theme’s CSS. The form inherits your site’s typography and spacing automatically.
Manage Submissions
View incoming submissions in the WordPress admin. Search and filter entries. Export to CSV for reporting or backup. Delete old submissions when you no longer need them.
Requirements
- WordPress 6.0 or higher
- PHP 7.4 or higher
- For Mailchimp integration: MC4WP plugin
That’s it. No special server configurations. No external dependencies. Works on any standard WordPress hosting.
One Plugin. All Features. No Subscription.
Core Forms includes everything you need to build professional forms without annual fees, premium tiers, or add-on purchases. Download it, install it, and start building forms that work exactly how you want them to.