In this tutorial we are going to see how we can store the messages sent with Contact Form 7 in the WordPress database.
Contact Forms Contact Form 7
As we know, Contact Form 7 is a very popular free plugin available for download on the WordPress repository, which allows us to create basic forms easily.
When we insert a form created with this plugin into one of our pages and someone sends us a message using it, Contact Form 7 forwards it to the email address that we indicate in its configuration settings, so that it is not saved in the WordPress database.
This can be very good for many cases, but maybe on other occasions we want to store them. In this tutorial we are going to see how we could easily do it using a plugin and also, for those who want to dig a little deeper, where exactly this data is stored. Let us begin!.
Installing the Flamingo plugin
As we have said, an alternative to store the messages sent with Contact Form 7 is to use a plugin, and that is what we are going to talk about, specifically the Flamingo plugin.
Flamingo is free that is available in the . It is created by Takayuki Miyoshi, the developer of Contact Form 7, so it integrates perfectly with it.
This plugin works in a very simple way, we have to install and activate it, and when doing so we will see a new option in the menu where we can view all received messages. Let’s start by installing it and discussing it a bit.
The first thing will be to go to the WordPress dashboard, “Plugins / Add new”, and indicate its name in the search field. Once located, we will install it and then click on activate.
As soon as it is activated, a new option will appear in the WordPress menu, “Flamingo”, which in turn will have two more options: “Address Book” and “Incoming messages”.
Well then, we are going to see the data that both store using a fictitious message that we will send to each other.
Check saved messages
To begin we will send a message through our contact page to see how the information will appear in the two sections that we have mentioned.
If we do so, we will verify that the message continues to reach the email that we have configured, and that a copy is also saved in WordPress. In fact, when entering “Flamingo/Address Book” we will have something similar to this:
Among other data, the email, the name, some labels, or the history will appear, where the number of messages that have been sent to us from the form is listed. Now let’s see the information contained in the “Flamingo/Incoming messages” section:
In this case, we will see a list with the messages received, which we can also filter using the plugin’s search engine. We also have the possibility of seeing the specific data of the messages that arrive to us.
To do this, we simply have to click on “View” that will appear when we position them on top of the message in question. In this way we will visualize the information that Flamingo is storing in the WordPress database.
As we can see, in addition to the values collected through our form, name, subject, email, message, we also have the privacy policy checkbox, which can be interesting when complying with the General Data Protection Regulation .
By the way, here’s another tutorial if you want to take a look at it.
In addition to all these fields, others are being collected implicitly. Among them the IP of the user who sends the message, the user-agent, the url of the page from which the message is sent, and some other information.
So you see, Flamingo is practical when we need to save the messages we receive through the forms created with Contact Form 7, you just need to install it, activate it, and that’s it.
But since we are, we are going to take advantage and see one last extra point that may be interesting for you. This time we will go into the bowels of WordPress to find out exactly where this data is being stored.
Where the data is stored
As discussed above, Flamingo stores the data in the WordPress database, but exactly where and how? Let’s take a look.
If we enter our database and do a search using the email of the test message that we sent in the previous point, we will see that all this information is being stored in the “wp_postmeta” and “wp_posts” tables of WordPress. If you want to get to know them in depth, we recommend class 3 of , where the subject is widely discussed.
These two tables, which are quite important, store the content of our posts, pages, and much more information. Let’s see, for example, the “wp_postmeta” table in which some data from the received message is stored, such as the email, name, or the message fields:
For its part, the “wp-posts” table stores the two post types that Flamingo creates, one for contact addresses, flamingo_contact, and another for received messages, flamingo_inbound, as well as the content of the message and other data.
And that’s all! Interesting right? Well, you know, if you use CF7 and you need the messages to reach you by email in addition to saving them in WordPress, you can use Flamingo and it will be solved 🙂
Summary and conclusion
In this tutorial we have seen how we can save the messages received through a contact form created with Contact Form 7 in the WordPress database.
It’s as simple as installing the Flamingo plugin and activating it. Immediately a new option will appear within the WordPress menu, from which we can consult the addresses of the senders of the messages and the messages themselves plus some other data that the plugin records.
And you already know, if you are interested in learning more about WordPress or investigating its database, we recommend the and the . If you sign up for you will have access to them in addition to the more than 6044 videos that are available on the platform 🙂
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