{"id":41427,"date":"2022-11-19T15:00:31","date_gmt":"2022-11-19T14:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/?p=41427"},"modified":"2022-11-07T17:11:05","modified_gmt":"2022-11-07T16:11:05","slug":"how-to-limit-number-of-form-entries-wordpress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-limit-number-of-form-entries-wordpress\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Limit the Number of Form Entries in WordPress"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Forms are there for your users to submit them to you. That\u2019s generally the point. While we tend to think of forms in terms of <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/innovative-contact-form-design\/\">contact forms<\/a>, and typically welcome any kind of interaction with and feedback from users, there are some instances when you would do better to<strong> limit the number of times a user can submit a form.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]In this article, we will be showing you how to limit the number of form entries on your WordPress website. But before we get stuck in with the how-to, we would like to expand a little on when it might be useful for you to do so. If you are confident that limiting the number of form submissions is just the thing you need, feel free to scroll down to the tutorial section.<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Here\u2019s what we\u2019ll be talking about.<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;22px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#why-limit-the-number-of-form-entries\">Why Limit the Number of Form Entries<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#other-possible-limits-to-form-submission\">Other Possible Limits to Form Submission<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#limit-the-number-of-form-entries-using-contact-form-7\">How to Limit the Number of Form Entries Using Contact Form 7<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;80px&#8221;][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=&#8221;new-top-picks-banner&#8221;][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;80px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"why-limit-the-number-of-form-entries\"><\/a>Why Limit the Number of Form Entries<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;21px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder    \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"970\" height=\"554\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Why-Limit-the-Number-of-Form-Entries.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Why Limit the Number of Form Entries\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Why-Limit-the-Number-of-Form-Entries.jpg 970w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Why-Limit-the-Number-of-Form-Entries-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Why-Limit-the-Number-of-Form-Entries-768x439.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Why-Limit-the-Number-of-Form-Entries-620x354.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 970px) 100vw, 970px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Say you are running a giveaway. You can use <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wordpress-giveaway-plugin\/\">a dedicated giveaway plugin<\/a>, but you could decide to do the same with a modified, limited version of a contact form. All you need to do is set your form up so that it is <strong>only available for a certain amount of time.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Perhaps you are in the micro-publishing business, or are hosting self-submitted art on your website, in which case you might also want to limit the time during which your submission window is open, to <strong>avoid getting flooded by submissions<\/strong> you cannot process. The same feature is similarly useful in case you are a teacher or examiner, and want to <strong>disqualify any late entries<\/strong>.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Finally, you may be<strong> organizing an event<\/strong> to which invitees are expected to send an RSVP in a certain time window. You could, again, use an <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wordpress-rsvp-plugins\/\">RSVP plugin<\/a>, but there is no real need for a specialized event planning plugin if all you\u2019re looking for is to limit the time for form submission.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"other-possible-limits-to-form-submission\"><\/a>Other Possible Limits to Form Submission<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;21px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder    \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"970\" height=\"554\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Other-Possible-Limits-to-Form-Submission.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Other Possible Limits to Form Submission\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Other-Possible-Limits-to-Form-Submission.jpg 970w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Other-Possible-Limits-to-Form-Submission-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Other-Possible-Limits-to-Form-Submission-768x439.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Other-Possible-Limits-to-Form-Submission-620x354.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 970px) 100vw, 970px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Though they go beyond the scope of this article, there are <strong>other limits<\/strong> to form submission you might need to consider.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]In the above example of the giveaway, perhaps you don\u2019t want the entire world to participate. It may be due to shipping costs, legal issues, or for whatever other reason. Perhaps you also want to prevent known spammers from spamming you. In that case, you may want to <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wordpress-block-ip-address\/\">block certain IP addresses<\/a> from submitting.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Depending on the kind of content you are hosting, you might want to limit your visitors from submitting forms on the basis of age. You could add a simple check box to the form, confirming their age, or you could <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wordpress-age-verification\/\">add age verification<\/a> to your entire website.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Now, with that out of the way, let\u2019s take a look at limiting the number of form submissions.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"limit-the-number-of-form-entries-using-contact-form-7\"><\/a>How to Limit the Number of Form Entries Using Contact Form 7<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]We will be showing you how to limit form entries using a <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/contact-form-7\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Contact Form 7<\/a> form. However, you will need one additional plugin: <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/cf7-form-submission-limit-wpappsdev\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CF7 Form Submission Limit<\/a>. Once you have installed and activated both plugins, you will gain access to additional submission limitation options.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]To limit submissions for any form, access that form to edit it. You will find the <strong>Submission Limit<\/strong> tab in the tabs section. Click it to access the limitation controls.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;50px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"969\" height=\"518\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Submission-Limit.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Submission Limit\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Submission-Limit.jpg 969w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Submission-Limit-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Submission-Limit-768x411.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Submission-Limit-620x331.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]In order to enable the submission limit, make sure the <strong>Enable Submission Limit<\/strong> checkbox is checked. The <strong>Submission Limit Type<\/strong> you can select either <em>Depend on total form submit<\/em> or<em> Depend on user total form submit<\/em>. The first option is the default, while the second option means that a user can only submit a form when logged in.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]In the<strong> Total Submission<\/strong> field, enter the number of times you will accept a form.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]The <strong>Disable Displaying Remaining Message<\/strong> checkbox will, when checked, disable the message advising the user on the number of submissions remaining to be accepted.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Select from the <strong>After Successfully Form Submission<\/strong> dropdown menu the action to be performed upon successful form submission: <em>Do nothing, Reload Page<\/em>, or <em>Redirect to specific page<\/em>. The first, default option does nothing, the second reloads the form page, while the last lets you pick a page from the <strong>Redirect Page<\/strong> menu to which the user will be redirected upon submitting a form.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]By default, the plugin will automatically periodically reset the submission limit. You can prevent it from doing so by checking the <strong>Disable Reset Submission Limit<\/strong> checkbox.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]As far as the <strong>Reset Submission Limit<\/strong> section is concerned, this is where you can set up the date and period of the reset. You can set the date for the first reset using the <strong>Start Date<\/strong> control, while the<strong> Reset Interval<\/strong> menus let you control the interval. Finally, the <strong>Reset Limit<\/strong> button lets you instantly reset the submission limit.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;50px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"969\" height=\"700\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Submission-Limit-2.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Submission Limit\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Submission-Limit-2.jpg 969w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Submission-Limit-2-300x217.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Submission-Limit-2-768x555.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Submission-Limit-2-620x448.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]The tag you need to make the limit work will be generated in the upper section of the tab. When you have configured your form, you need to add the tag to your template. Copy the tag and click on the <strong>Form<\/strong> tab.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;50px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"969\" height=\"700\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Form.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Form\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Form.jpg 969w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Form-300x217.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Form-768x555.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Form-620x448.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Paste the tag somewhere in the form template, making sure not to disturb the rest of the code, and then click the <strong>Save<\/strong> button.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;50px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"969\" height=\"672\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Save.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Save\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Save.jpg 969w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Save-300x208.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Save-768x533.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Save-620x430.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]When you next use the shortcode to place the form on a page, as you would with any other form, it will include the form submission counter.<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\">In Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]As you can see, there are a lot of reasons you might have to limit form submissions on your WordPress website. Be it student papers, story submissions, RSVPs, or something else entirely, making a form accessible for a period of time is something a lot of website admins and operators can make use of. And while some premium, specialized plugins offer that as an in-built feature, there is a way to do so quickly and easily using only free software. And now, thanks to us, you, too, know how it\u2019s done.<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Save yourself a lot of time and labor: limit the number of form entries in WordPress. We will show you how it&#8217;s done.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16990,"featured_media":41448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[4,36,13],"class_list":["post-41427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tutorials","tag-tips","tag-ux","tag-wordpress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16990"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}