---
title: How to connect a form you already use
description: Keep your form in Fluent Forms, WPForms, Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms or Elementor and add every person who sends it to Hive Mail in four steps.
url: "https://hiveplugins.com/docs/hive-mail-connect-a-form-you-already-use/"
updated: "2026-10-28"
category: Hive Mail
---

# How to connect a form you already use

Connect a form you already built in another plugin, and every person who sends it becomes a contact in Hive Mail, with the lists, tags and emails you choose. Your form is not changed.

| Plugin | Needs | When Hive Mail hears the form |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fluent Forms | Plugin active | When a submission is saved |
| WPForms | Plugin active | When the form is processed and complete |
| Contact Form 7 | Plugin active | After the form's mail is sent; if that mail fails, nothing reaches Hive Mail |
| Gravity Forms | Plugin active | After a submission |
| Elementor forms | Elementor Pro | When Elementor Pro records a new form entry |

Before you start, one of these plugins must be active and contain your form (otherwise step 1 says "We didn't find a form plugin"; you can [build a signup form](/docs/hive-mail-signup-forms/) instead). For welcome and follow-up emails, your site must be able to send.

Open the guide from **Audience** > **Forms** > **New form** > **Connect a form from another plugin**, or press **Connect a form** on the Forms screen or Dashboard. A progress card shows "Step N of 4"; nothing is made until the last step.

## Step 1: Pick the form

1. Under **Which form plugin is it?**, choose a card. A card marked "Not installed" is greyed out.
2. Under **Which form?**, choose your form (use **Search your forms…** with more than 8). **Read the list again** refreshes it.
3. For Elementor forms, type the name you gave the form in **The form's name**, spelled the same way.
4. Press **Continue**. A form already connected shows **Already connected** and **Open its steps**.

![Step 1 with five plugin cards, one marked Not installed, and a list of forms below.](https://hiveplugins.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hivemail-connect-step1-pick-01.webp)

## Step 2: Check the fields

Under **What we save from this form**, check the rows **Email *** (required, chip **Matched**, **Your choice** or **Choose a field**), **First name**, **Last name** and **Phone**. A single "Name" field is split at the first space. Choose **Do not save** to skip a row.

1. Check that **Email** shows the right field.
2. Under **Permission to email**, choose the **Consent box** if your form has a tick box (**My form has one** picks it by hand). Then answer **What about people who do not tick it?**
   - **Only add people who tick it**: the others are saved as contacts but never emailed.
   - **Add everyone, ask them to confirm by email**: people who tick are subscribed at once; the others get a confirmation email.
3. Under **Other fields in this form**, tick **Save as a custom field** for any extra answer to keep (**Show N more** reveals more).
4. Press **Continue**.

For Elementor forms, or if reading fails, press **Wait for a test entry** and send your form once; Hive Mail checks every 3 seconds for ten minutes and keeps only field names and the first two letters of each answer. Or press **Map the fields by hand** and type each field name exactly as the form sends it. For other plugins, **Check with a test entry** confirms what the plugin sends.

![Step 2 with four rows matched, the consent box section and the other fields list.](https://hiveplugins.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hivemail-connect-step2-fields-02.webp)

Password, file upload, payment, signature, CAPTCHA, honeypot, step and section fields are never listed.

## Step 3: What should happen

1. Under **What is this form for?**, pick a card to fill in the choices below (you can change any): **A newsletter box**, **A contact or enquiry form**, **A free download**, **An event or webinar sign-up**, **A quote or booking request**, **A survey or feedback form** or **Something else**.
2. Under **Who they join**, choose **Add them to a list (optional)** and **Give them a tag (optional)**, or **Create a new list**. Missing lists and tags are made when you turn the form on.
3. Under **What we send**, set the switches:
   - **Ask them to confirm by email**: subscribed only after pressing the button. The safest choice for a newsletter.
   - **Tell my team**: an email to the site administrator address.
   - **Send a welcome email**: choose the email, the **Subject line**, and **Who gets it** ("Everyone who sends the form" or "Only people who are subscribed").
   - **Send a follow-up email later**: choose the email, **Send it after** (1 to 60 days, default 3) and the **Subject line**.
4. In the email chooser, pick a starter (**Start from this email**) or one of your own (**Use this email**). A starter is copied first, as "
5. Press **Continue**.

| Use case | List | Tag | Confirm | Tell my team | Welcome | Follow-up |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Newsletter box | Newsletter | Website | on | off | none | none |
| Contact or enquiry | none | Enquiry | off | on | on | none |
| Free download | none | Downloaded: | on | off | on | on, after 3 days |
| Event or webinar | Event: | none | off | off | on | on, after 5 days |
| Quote or booking | none | Quote request | off | on | on | on, after 7 days |
| Survey or feedback | none | Survey: | off | off | none | none |
| Something else | none | none | on | off | none | none |

Newsletter and event let each person in once; the others run every time the form is sent. A welcome email sent to "Everyone who sends the form" is a service email with no unsubscribe link, so keep it free of promotions.

![Step 3 with seven use-case cards, the Who they join section and the What we send switches.](https://hiveplugins.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hivemail-connect-step3-what-03.webp)

## Step 4: Review and turn on

1. Read **Here is what will happen**. Press **Back** if something is wrong.
2. Switch on **Connect "**. Nothing happens until you do.
3. Under **Try it now**, send your form once from your site. Hive Mail checks every 5 seconds for 2 minutes and shows " was added just now".
4. Press **Done**. It opens the Connected forms tab.

![Step 4 with the review sentence, the switch turned on and the Try it now countdown.](https://hiveplugins.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hivemail-connect-step4-review-04.webp)

Turning it on creates the missing lists and tags, copies the starter emails into Templates, and saves and switches on an automation called **Form:** (trigger ": a form is submitted"). Only people who send the form from now on are added.

## How a submission is handled

The contact's source is `fluentforms`, `wpforms`, `cf7`, `gravityforms` or `elementor`. A new contact is Subscribed only if the consent box was ticked; otherwise Pending, and asked to confirm when that switch is on. An existing contact's status never changes, except a Pending contact who now ticks the box becomes Subscribed. Unsubscribed, bounced and complained contacts are never subscribed again, and a suppressed address creates no contact.

> **Warning:** Tick a consent box only if the form really shows one. Subscribing people without their agreement is your legal risk. Use **Try it now** every time.

This is information, not legal advice.

Next: [Manage connected forms](/docs/hive-mail-manage-connected-forms/), [A connected form does not add people](/docs/hive-mail-connected-form-does-not-add-people/).