Flinkform – GDPR Contact Forms for the Block Editor vs Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements

Flinkform is a form builder that lives entirely inside the WordPress Block Editor. Forms are composed from native blocks (block.json v3), styled through theme.json design tokens, and powered by the Interactivity API — no separate form builder UI, no shortcodes, no jQuery, under 15 KB of frontend JavaScript (gzipped). Built in Germany for GDPR-first websites. Das deutschsprachige Kontaktformular-Plugin für den Block-Editor. Try it before you install it: live demo forms, including multi-step and conditional logic, at https://demo.flinkform.de/ GDPR by design No IP logging, no user-agent logging, no tracking, no external services in the free core. Spam protection runs on a honeypot, a signed timing check and a proof-of-work challenge with a no-JavaScript maths fallback — no reCAPTCHA, no hCaptcha, no Cloudflare Turnstile, and therefore no data transfer to US servers. Includes a consent field, retention periods with automatic deletion and integration with the WordPress privacy tools. Free, not a trial Multi-step forms and conditional logic are in the free core, not behind a paywall: Multi-step forms with progress indicator and per-step validation Conditional logic for fields, steps, skipping steps and gating the submit button 14 field types including a dedicated consent field Submissions dashboard inside WordPress with search, filters and read state Email notifications with merge tags, plus an optional confirmation mail Automatic theme.json styling — forms match your theme without extra CSS Built for accessibility: the rendered markup passes axe-core against WCAG 2.1 A/AA with zero violations Flinkform Pro The optional Pro add-on adds Stripe payments (card, SEPA direct debit, Apple Pay, Google Pay — whichever methods you enable in Stripe), calculation fields, multi-file upload, SMTP delivery, webhooks, newsletter integrations, CSV export and custom CSS. Details and pricing: https://flinkform.de/pro Requirements WordPress 6.5 or newer, PHP 8.1 or newer, Block Editor (Gutenberg). How it works Block Editor native — forms are built with block.json and the Interactivity API, directly inside the editor theme.json styling — forms inherit your theme’s typography, colours and spacing automatically Modern stack — WordPress 6.5+, PHP 8.1+, no jQuery, frontend JS under 15 KB gzipped Multi-step forms — split long forms into steps with a Page Break block, included in the free core Conditional logic — show/hide fields based on user input, included in the free core Accessible by default — full keyboard navigation, screen-reader compatible, aria-live announcements Privacy by design — no external services, no tracking cookies, no IP tracking — everything stays on your server Features (free core) Form building * 14 field types: Text, Email, Textarea, Number, Date, URL, Phone, Select, Radio, Checkbox, Toggle, Hidden, Consent, Address * Composite Address field: street, postal code and city in a compact grid, with optional address line 2 and country * Dedicated Consent field for privacy-policy agreement * Notice block: a highlighted note between fields (info, success, warning, important) — pair it with conditional logic to surface guidance only when it applies * Section Heading and Page Break blocks for structuring longer forms * Multi-step forms with Page Break block, per-step validation and progress indicator (bar, dots or numbers) * Conditional logic — show/hide fields, skip steps, gate the submit button, with nestable groups for “(A or B) and C” * Two-column layout with per-field full-width override Styling * Automatic theme.json inheritance (colours, typography, spacing, border radius) * Style panel: primary colour, field style (bordered/soft/underline/minimal), label position (above/beside/floating/placeholder), submit button style (fill/outline/ghost), plus colour pickers for labels and help/consent text — and the Section Heading block carries WordPress’s native text-colour option Accessibility * Built accessible: real label/for pairs, fieldset/legend for choice groups, errors announced via role=”alert” and linked with aria-describedby, focus moves to the first invalid field * Multi-step navigation announces the new step via aria-live and manages focus; the progress indicator is a real progressbar with current values * Visible focus rings even when the theme removes them, prefers-reduced-motion respected, and the spam protection needs no CAPTCHA — nothing to squint at, nothing to solve * Works fully without JavaScript, and the form markup passes axe-core (WCAG 2.1 A/AA) with zero violations — including the error state Notifications * Admin notification email on every submission (configurable recipient, merge tags) * Optional confirmation email to the submitter * Sender name and address per form, with a Reply-To for each email — send from your own address without an SMTP plugin * Sends through your site’s standard WordPress mail (wp_mail) Spam protection * Always-on honeypot + signed time-based check (zero configuration) * Built-in proof-of-work challenge with accessible math fallback for visitors without JavaScript * No external service, no API keys, no tracking cookies, 100% GDPR-friendly After submission * Success message or redirect to a custom thank-you URL (with open-redirect protection) * Optional submission ID and form ID query parameters for conversion tracking (GA4, Meta Pixel, Plausible, etc.) Admin * Submissions list with search, filter by form, sort, bulk actions * Single-submission detail view with all field labels and values * Mark as read/unread * Per-form data retention with automatic daily purge Privacy Flinkform is built with privacy by default. Here is what the free core does and does not do: What the free core stores: * Form submissions (the field values visitors enter) in a dedicated database table ({prefix}flinkform_submissions) What the free core does NOT do: * It stores no IP addresses and no browser user-agent strings * It sets no tracking, analytics or marketing cookies. Flinkform sets exactly one strictly-necessary cookie — flinkform_flash (lifetime ~60 seconds, httpOnly) — and only when a form submission fails validation, to carry the error message and the visitor’s input across the page reload. Successful submissions set no cookie at all * It contacts no external service Data retention: * By default, submissions are retained until you delete them. To comply with the storage-limitation principle (GDPR Art. 5), set a per-form retention period (Form block → Data Retention) and Flinkform deletes older submissions automatically each day * Individual submissions can be deleted from the admin submissions screen at any time Data deletion: * All free-core data (the submissions table) is permanently removed when the plugin is uninstalled through the WordPress admin * Flinkform integrates with WordPress’s privacy tools (Tools > Export Personal Data / Erase Personal Data) to support data-subject access and erasure requests Source Code The complete, uncompiled source code (including the src/ directory with the unminified JavaScript/CSS that compiles into build/) is publicly available at: https://github.com/dennisbuchwald/Flinkform Build instructions (Node.js 18+ and npm required): 1. Clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/dennisbuchwald/Flinkform.git 2. Install dependencies: npm install 3. Build the compiled assets into build/: npm run build The build is powered by @wordpress/scripts (webpack). The src/ sources are excluded from the distributed plugin zip to keep it small; this repository is the canonical, reviewable source.

Building new pages with Gutenberg? Explore VovaBlocks, a focused collection of native marketing and content blocks from the creator of Shortcodes Ultimate. View VovaBlocks → About Shortcodes Ultimate Shortcodes Ultimate is a WordPress shortcode plugin for adding tabs, accordions, buttons, FAQs, sliders, carousels, lightboxes, columns, boxes and other reusable content elements without coding. It is ideal for site owners who want richer content layouts and practical UI elements without switching to a full page builder. Use Shortcodes Ultimate in the Block Editor, Classic Editor, widgets and template files. Generate shortcodes visually, preview the result before inserting it, and reuse the same elements across posts, pages and existing shortcode-based content. Trusted by hundreds of thousands of WordPress sites, Shortcodes Ultimate helps you replace multiple single-purpose UI plugins with one maintained toolkit. Explore live examples What you can build With Shortcodes Ultimate, you can quickly add common WordPress content elements such as: Accordions and FAQ sections Responsive tabs CTA buttons and download buttons Boxes, notes and callouts Columns and layout helpers Sliders and carousels Lightboxes for images and custom content Post lists and dynamic content blocks Spoilers, toggles and expandable content Media embeds and visual content blocks Instead of installing a separate plugin for every small content element, Shortcodes Ultimate gives you one maintained toolkit for everyday WordPress content tasks. Works with modern and classic WordPress workflows Shortcodes Ultimate works with the Block Editor, Classic Editor, widgets and template files. You can insert shortcodes manually, use WordPress shortcode blocks or use the built-in shortcode generator to configure elements visually. This makes the plugin useful for: Site owners who want to improve content without coding Bloggers and affiliate publishers who need reusable CTA and content blocks Agencies and freelancers maintaining multiple WordPress sites Developers who want shortcode-friendly output in templates Existing sites with older content that already uses shortcodes Why use Shortcodes Ultimate? 50+ ready-to-use WordPress shortcodes Visual shortcode generator Live preview Works with the Block Editor and Classic Editor Shortcodes can be used in posts, pages, widgets and template files Responsive elements that work with your theme Built-in Custom CSS editor Developer-friendly hooks and documentation Free version available on WordPress.org Pro version available for advanced shortcodes, extra styles and premium support Why shortcodes still matter in WordPress The WordPress Block Editor is great for visual content editing, but shortcodes are still useful when you need portable, reusable content elements that work across different parts of a WordPress site. Shortcodes are especially helpful when you want to: Reuse the same content element in many posts or pages Add dynamic content inside widgets or templates Maintain older WordPress sites that already use shortcodes Work across Classic Editor and Block Editor workflows Add content elements without switching to a full page builder Keep common UI elements available through a simple text-based syntax Shortcodes Ultimate is designed for these practical workflows. It gives you a large collection of ready-made shortcodes and a visual generator, so you do not need to write shortcode syntax manually unless you want to. Free and Pro The free version of Shortcodes Ultimate includes a large collection of useful shortcodes for everyday WordPress content tasks. Shortcodes Ultimate Pro adds advanced shortcodes, additional styles, Content Slider, Pricing Table, Testimonials, Shortcode Creator, Elementor support and premium support. Compare Free and Pro Useful links Documentation Live Examples Pro features Support