Marketing your business is about finding the best ways to connect and engage with your audience. Most website owners use contact and opt-in forms (sometimes called opt-in boxes) to help them accomplish this. But wait…what’s the difference between contact forms and opt-in boxes? This is a common question I get from students in the Website Creation Workshop™.
Difference Between Contact Forms and Opt-in Boxes
Contact and opt-in forms are valuable tools for marketing your business and forming relationships with potential customers. However, they serve different purposes, so it’s essential to understand the difference between the two.
When you know how contact forms and opt-in forms work, how they gather information, and how they help you engage with your audience, you’ll be able to maximize the value of these tools.
Video About Contact Forms vs. Opt-in Forms
Contact Forms Explained
What’s the Purpose of Contact Forms?
A contact form is where people go when they want to talk to you directly. They’re not signing up for your newsletter or free offer. They may have a specific question or comment they wish to submit. The contact form allows people to fill out their name and email to send an inquiry to you or your business.
Where is the Contact Form on Your Website?
Your contact form is on your “Contact Me” or “Contact Us” page, one of the essential pages every website must have. Most websites link to their “Contact Us” page in the top or footer menu.
A contact form can streamline communication – even if your email, phone, or address is listed on your website. Remember, you should make things easier for your site visitors to take action! Some business owners prefer a contact form because they don’t want to share their email address online.
How Do Contact Forms Work?
Here’s how a contact form works: A website visitor fills out the contact form with a question or a bit of feedback. You get notified about the form submission by email. Then you reply to the person who submitted the form. With a contact form, you can ask the visitor for specific information you might need to help them.
A contact form typically does not add people to your email marketing list the way an opt-in box does.
An Example of a Contact Form
Here’s a screenshot of the contact form from the Website Creation Workshop™. It’s simple and easy to submit. People who contact us through the contact form are not added to our email list. Our customer service team emails them privately with a response.
Top WordPress Contact Form Plugins
While many WordPress contact form plugins are available, here are three popular ones:
1) Gravity Forms
Gravity Forms is my favorite premium (paid) plugin. This plugin lets you easily create different types of forms without any technical know-how. You can customize the forms to match your style and add fields like name, email, and message. The basic license for one website is $59 per year.
2) Ninja Forms
Ninja Forms is a popular free plugin for small business owners who want to add forms to their websites. With Ninja Forms, you can create all sorts of forms, like contact or order forms. It’s easy to use and customize, allowing you to add fields for names, emails, or any other information you need. Ninja Forms is a fantastic alternative if you don’t want to pay for Gravity Forms. Some features are only available as paid add-ons.
3) Contact Forms by WPForms
WPForms is a powerful and user-friendly WordPress plugin designed to simplify creating forms on websites. Its intuitive drag-and-drop interface lets users quickly build contact forms, surveys, feedback forms, and more. The plugin also offers various pre-built templates and advanced features like conditional logic, spam protection, and integration with popular email marketing services.
Opt-In Forms Explained (also called Opt-In Boxes):
What’s the Purpose of an Opt-In Form?
The purpose of an opt-in form is to build your email list. An opt-in page, or a squeeze page, collects the visitor’s email address in exchange for a free gift. It’s the first step of a marketing funnel and allows you to generate leads for email marketing. A person “opts in” to receive whatever you offer in the box.
Types of Opt-In Forms
Your opt-in gift could be all sorts of things: a free e-newsletter subscription, an on-demand webinar, a downloadable report, a document with a checklist or tips, or a video or audio recording.
How Do Opt-In Forms Work?
Here is a typical flow of how the opt-in form works: A website visitor fills out the opt-in form to get the free offer. Their email is added to your database in your email marketing platform, and they start receiving any content that you send out to your email list. Over time, you build a relationship with the visitor, and they become a paying customer.
Important: When sending emails to your list, you must have an unsubscribe link in case someone no longer wants to hear from you.
An Example of an Opt-In Form
Here’s a screenshot of the opt-in form on the Website Creation Workshop™. In this opt-in, we’re offering a free checklist and video when they put in their name and email address.
Where is the Opt-In Form on Your Website?
It’s a good idea to have an opt-in form on every page of your website, either at the bottom or on the side. This way, no matter where someone is on your website, they can quickly sign up for your free offer, which adds them to your email list and helps you stay connected with them.
Website opt-in forms come in a variety of styles. Some popular types include floating bars (sticky bars that stay visible as you scroll), pop-ups (boxes that appear in a separate window or overlay), and inline forms (boxes embedded directly within webpage content). The variety of opt-in forms allows website owners to choose the style that meets their design and user experience needs.
Adding Opt-In Boxes to Your Website
Once you have an opt-in form on your site, you’ll need an email marketing system behind it to actually collect those email addresses and send your subscribers content. There are quite a few good ones out there, and each has its own strengths depending on your budget and how advanced you want your automation to be.
I’ve put together a full breakdown of the email marketing systems I recommend, including AWeber (my personal favorite), Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact, and others, in this article: Email Marketing Systems: How They Differ from Each Other. Take a look and see which one feels like the right fit for you.
Conclusion: Use Both on Your Website!
In conclusion, contact forms and opt-in boxes have different purposes for engaging with people and collecting information. You should have both on your website!
Create a contact form for direct communication on your ‘Contact Us’ page, like sending messages or asking questions. Set up an opt-in box to build your email list and grow your audience. Why is it essential to build your email list? Everyone who subscribes is a lead. Keep in touch with your list regularly to build a strong relationship and provide value, and those leads will become loyal customers!
Contact forms and opt-in boxes allow you to make the most of your online presence, engage with your audience, and collect important information.
(Originally published Feb. 2017; Updated July 2026)
I really understand it now. Thanks for the help.