Once your website scales up, there will be an increase in demand for better communication means between customers and you, or your supporting team. A lot of requests from users have arisen recently asking for a method of uploading files on WordPress websites. It’s because this will enhance the problem-solving process along with diversifying your website’s files in a more convenient way.
Unfortunately, with the WordPress default settings, it’s impossible for users to upload files to your website, especially from the front end. But WordPress has its impressive plugins ecosystem to fulfill whatever the default settings couldn’t do.
In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of having a file upload plugin as well as show you the best WordPress plugins that you should try in order to receive documents, PDFs, images, or any sort of content from visitors effortlessly and effectively.
- Why Should you have a WordPress File Upload Plugin?
- Contact Form 7
- WordPress File Upload
- User Registration
- WP User Frontend
- Gravity Forms
Why Should you have a WordPress File Upload Plugin?
Probably some of you are wondering why you need to accept files from your visitors. Will it mean creating more jobs for you to handle and messing up your data? Well, in fact, several use cases prove that file upload is useful and even benefits your site.
When you allow your users to upload files to your website, you’ve applied another active channel to interact with them. This gives you a chance to understand your customers’ needs and expectations better along with improving your site.
Here are some common situations when both you and your users find it helpful to have the file upload option on your site.
- Assist Customer Support: Whenever having a problem or issue with your website or products, customers can send screenshots of the error. It will help demonstrate the problem more clearly, and also fasten the response process.
- Receive Resumes and Applicants: If you are seeking talents to join your team, letting candidates update their CVs through file upload will increase the chance of reaching more ideal future-colleagues.
- Accept Guest Post: Instead of going through 3, or even 5 emails back and forth with writers about guest post submission, you can filter the high-quality articles through file upload. Writers just need to submit their draft and you are able to decide to use it or not immediately.
- Get Contributions from Users: In case you are providing stock photography or music, you want to show your works to users and create a healthy community for people sharing the same habits. The file upload will help you receive images, audio files from your fans or other experts who are willing to contribute to your website.
The right plugin can handle these things with ease. But among thousands of plugins in the WordPress repository, finding the most suitable one isn’t simple at all. Luckily, we narrow down the list to only 5 best choices for you to have a look. Let’s find out what they can help you with.
Contact Form 7
Almost every WordPress user once heard about this plugin. With over 5 million active installations at the moment, Contact Form 7 is like a reliable and indispensable plugin for most of the websites.
The main purpose of this plugin is to help users create a contact form in the simplest way. Since Contact Form 7 was developed a long time ago, it doesn’t offer a modern drag and drop interface that you might find in other form plugins. Instead, it provides a tag-generator button to enable you to select your desired form-tags.
With the File tag, your form will have a choose file button that allows visitors to upload files from their devices to your website without any hassle. The plugin supports unlimited file types including audio, videos, and image file types.
This open-source plugin works beyond what you can expect. With a straightforward and well-constructed contact form having advanced features such as drop-down menu, radio buttons, acceptance, or quiz, it might bring more unexpected benefits for your website.
WordPress File Upload
WordPress File Upload assists you to upload files to your website from the front end such as from pages, posts or sidebar. By simply inputting the shortcode [wordpress_file_upload] to your content of pages, posts or widgets, the plugin displays in the front end the options for you and users to upload files. If you want to update your content, this tool will shorten the process a lot.
The plugin applies the latest HTML5 technology to make sure the function works smoothly, but it’s still well compatible with old browsers and mobile phones. In addition, WordPress File Upload can capture screenshots or video with your device’s camera and upload them on the website.
Providing the advanced visual editor, the plugin facilitates users to customize the file upload feature effortlessly without any requirements of codes or programming knowledge.
With over 30,000 active installations and rating of 4.5, WordPress File Upload gradually proves its usefulness and effectiveness to WordPress users.
User Registration – Custom Registration Form, Login And User Profile For WordPress
This powerful plugin backs you in creating frontend user registration form and login form. With drag and drop fields, User Registration supports users to arrange the order of different fields and design forms handily.
What’s more, the plugin allows you to create an attractive front profile account page. Users are able to upload profile images for their accounts right in the front end with the plugin. The File Upload feature provided in the registration form helps users upload documents and files to your website faster.
The plugin will send email notifications of successful registers and you can customize the emails. Plus, you might want to extend the functionality of your form with its premium add-ons including LearnDash, WooCommerce, Payments (PayPal) any many more.
WP User Frontend
Known as the best frontend builder plugin for WordPress, WP User Frontend enables you to edit and add frontend dashboard, frontend editor & publishing, and frontend uploader for WordPress user profiles, memberships and submissions.
This plugin lets you generate unlimited post type forms. Users no longer need to login to the backend admin to edit their posts or profiles, because everything can be done right in the frontend.
Thanks to the File and attachment feature, users are able to upload attachments to your website from the frontend straightforwardly. Even writers who wish to submit guest posts can do it with WP User Frontend without registering requirements.
The plugin is updated frequently to make sure it brings the most advanced features and bug-free experience for users.
Gravity Forms
If you want to leverage and upgrade your forms, you should try Gravity Forms. The plugin offers several advanced features that turn your boring and simple form into a more attractive and functional one.
The plugin provides a powerful editor assisting you in customizing forms and adding essential functions to them easily.
Unlike all the above plugins, Gravity Forms isn’t free. But it’s worth your investment. A lot of users use Gravity Forms to create an effective communication tool with visitors as well as to sell their products to customers. If you own an online store, this plugin is a must-have to interact with your customers better.
Bonus Tip – Prevent Direct Access Gold
When allowing visitors or users to upload files to your websites, you need to make sure they are uploaded securely. In fact, the protection of files in your WordPress Media Library needs to be more powerful to avoid all the potential risk such as file piracy or file theft on the Internet.
Prevent Direct Access (PDA) Gold should appear in your Plugins list. This plugin will shield any file types uploaded in your Media from frontend to backend thoroughly. Also, PDA Gold discourages Google from indexing your protected files and lets you assign which specific user roles can access those files. Hence, unauthorized attempts will be redirected to the 404 pages, no matter whether they approach through files’ direct URLs or search engine results.
PDA Gold works beautifully with Contact Form 7 and Gravity Forms, the top 2 form creation plugins. It allows users to auto-protect any files uploaded from the created form without any loopholes for hackers. Even if you sell your products through Gravity Forms, PDA Gold will ensure the products are shielded and only shows them to selected user roles.
Turn Your Website a Two-Way Interaction
If back then, customers could poorly contact you through the support email only, now with the contact form that integrates with several advanced features such as file upload, or guest post submission, the interaction becomes more interesting.
A contact form that encourages users to send attachment files in the frontend will boost your site’s position in the market, compared to other websites still offering old-fashioned and outdated forms
With the recommended 5 plugins above, you are more than welcome to create a tool to permit visitors to upload files without any interruption. Plus, the bonus tip about the file protection plugin, Prevent Direct Access Gold, is a highlight for you. Its compatibility with those file upload plugins facilitates you to protect media files both back end and front end wonderfully.
