Wufoo Form Builder Review
This is my personal review of the Wufoo.com free form builder based on using it for clients over the last 4 years. I personally have upgraded to a paid version and plan to review that soon.
The Wufoo Free Form Builder makes creating forms very quick and easy. For small businesses that need a simple online form that will send them a notification for each form submission, this is a good choice.
Wufoo Form Builder Pros and Cons
Pros
The free Wufoo account has some nice perks that will be a good fit for the average small business. Here are primary features for you to consider.
1. 3 Free Web Forms
I think its great that Wufoo decided to give up to 3 free web forms with their Gratis Plan. While most small businesses will probably only use 1 form for their contact us page, its helpful to have 2 additional forms for something like collecting testimonials from customers or an opt-in form that connects to MailChimp. Its more than most businesses will need but its better to have too much than not enough.
2. 100 Form Submissions a Month
Since most web forms are primarily created to work on a contact us page, 100 form submissions is plenty for a small business. Unfortunately, a lot of forms submitted on websites are spam but, Wufoo has a built in CAPTCHA form field which can automatically trigger if it detects a spam submission. So, Wufoo has you covered and there is no need to worry that your 100 submission limit will be eaten up with spam. If you're fortunate enough to have 100 or more legitimate form submissions, there is always the paid plan!
3. Email Notifications
This one should be no surprise but, it is nice to be able to choose who gets notified when a form is submitted. You're even able to make some small customizations the notification email you recieve.
4. 3rd Pary integrations
Wufoo has some free integrations with 3rd party applications that can be set up with a few clicks. Some of the more notable applications includes Twitter, MailChimp, Dropbox, Salesforce, and Campaign Monitor.
5. Easy website integration
Once a webform is finished, Wufoo provides several copy and paste form code that is easy to post to a webpage. The best option is probably the Javascript form code as it is most reliable and has a few spots that can be customized. If your website is built with WordPress, there is a shortcode version that works in tangent with the Wufoo plugin to easily display the webform.
Cons
As good as some of those features are, there are some limitations that can only be unlocked with a paid account. Below are the top 5 limitations to the free Wufoo account.
1. No URL Redirects After Form Submission
I think of all the cons of the free Wufoo form, this one is the worst. No one should have to pay for an account just to unlock the ability to set up a custom URL to a thank you page after form submission. While it could be argued that keeping the user on the same page and displaying a customized thanks message improves the experience, I believe this limitation affects more than just what the user sees after submitting the form. It affects the ability to track conversions in Google Analytics because without a thank you URL of some type, goals can't be set up that allow an accurate depiction of how many visitors filled out the form. Without accurate tracking, its harder for a small businesses to assess if their conversion rates are improving or be able to see if something is preventing conversions all together.
2. No Online Payments
I can understand this limitation being set. Wufoo is a business and they wouldn't make any money if they offered all of their features with the free accounts. The only irritating part is that unless you upgrade to the $29.95 a month plan, you can't accept online payments.
3. No Uploads Allowed
Again, I guess I could see why they would limit this to only paid plans, but I think some type of ability to upload a file with a form submission should be in place.
4. Limit of Only 10 Form Fields
While most small businesses will never utilize the 10 form fields on their website, I have encountered instances where it would have been great to have more than 10 fields. Businesses that want to use Wufoo for appointment forms or want to get more infomation out of the person contacting them may find they need more than 10 fields to get the information needed.
5. Limited Integrations
The limitation on what 3rd party applications you can integrate with exists no matter what plan you're using. In the last few years I've been using Wufoo, I haven't seen a lot of integrations added. They recommend another service called Zapier which can connect Wufoo to a lot of other 3rd party apps. However, there are limits on the free account with Zapier and it will cost a fee to have certain integrations.
6. No Custom Messages Anymore
Up until August 31st, 2015, Wufoo will allow custom thanks messages for all forms submitted. However, after that date, they will only allow their standard message to show when someone fills out a Wufoo form. If you already have a custom message, it will be wiped out and replaced by the standard message. You can read the update below to see the exact message they sent out to their users.
Final Thoughts
Wufoo was my go to form builder for several years and was great for me and my clients. The interface is easy to use and the amount of features offered in the free version will be good for most small businesses. However, Wufoo hasn’t done much to offer new features or make some of their premium features available on the free version.
Update on 8-5-2015
I just received this saddening message from Wufoo in my email today:
We’re working on restructuring our plans and feature offerings, and wanted to let you know that starting August 31, you’ll no longer be able to customize a form’s confirmation message on the Gratis plan. Additionally, your existing custom messages will be reverted to the default text. All of your other Gratis features will remain the same.
We’re always looking for ways to improve the Wufoo experience, and as a way to say thanks for your support, we’re offering an exclusive 50% off your first month* when you upgrade to a monthly paid plan! You’ll get access to our most powerful features, including file uploading, account creation, online payment processing, and more.
Simply use coupon code UPGRADEMYWUFOO when upgrading to take advantage of this exclusive offer, and thanks again for being a loyal Wufoo customer!
No, Wufoo I’m not going to take advantage of your generous 50% off 1 MONTH on an upgraded account. 3 months of payments for your decent plan would equal a whole year of an annual paid plan with Jotform. You coulda been a contender Wufoo but instead of increasing the value of your free plan you have taken something so basic away it boggles my mind.
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