How to Add a Request to Callback Form in WordPress

Do you want to add a request to callback form on your WordPress site?

A request to callback form allows users to provide you with their phone number, so you can call them at their convenience. This helps you capture more leads, improve conversions, and grow your business.

In this article, we’ll show you how to easily add a request to callback form in WordPress with bonus tips on managing the calls like a pro.

Why Add a Callback Request Form in WordPress

When visitors are interested in your product or service, they may want to connect with you to get more information. While some people prefer live chat or email, others prefer talking over the phone.

Normally, you would add a ‘Click to call‘ button that allows users to dial your business phone number.

However, not all businesses can afford a 24/7 phone service with sales or support staff answering all the calls. Request to callback form helps you fix this problem.

Instead of talking to a representative right away, customers can leave their phone numbers with other information including the best time to call them. After that, you can call them during office hours.

This allows you to offer better customer support, capture more leads, and convert more visitors into customers.

That being said, let’s take a look at how to easily add a callback request form in WordPress.

How to Add a Request to Callback Form in WordPress

The simplest way to add a callback request form to your WordPress site is by using WPForms.

It is the best WordPress form builder plugin on the market and allows you to easily add any kind of form to your WordPress website. Over 4 million websites are using WPForms to create better forms.

First, you need to install and activate WPForms plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you need to visit WPForms » Settings page to enter your license key. You can find this information under your account on the WPForms website.

After that, you can go to the WPForms » Add New page to create your first form.

First you need to provide a title for your form and then select Simple Contact Form template.

This will load the form editor where you will see form fields on the left-hand and a live preview of your form to the right. Simply click on any field from the right column to add it to your form.

We suggest using Name, Email, Phone, and Date/Time fields in your callback request form.

You can edit any form field by clicking on it, and WPForms will automatically switch the tab to Field Options.

From here, you can change the field label and description. You can also change the format, field size, and placeholder text.

Once you’re happy with the form, click on the Save button to store your changes.

Next, you need to add the callback request form to your website.

WPForms makes it super easy to add forms to any post or page on your website.

Simply edit the post or page where you want to display the form. On the post edit screen, click on the add a new block button (+) and then add WPForms block to your content area.

Next, you need to select the form you created earlier from the dropdown menu. WPForms will automatically load a preview of your form in the content area.

You can now Save or Publish your changes and preview your post / page to see the callback request form in action.

Note: If you are using the old classic editor on your WordPress site, then you can add the form by clicking on the ‘Add Form’ button above the post editor.

Customizing Your Callback Request Form Settings

Now that you’ve added a callback request form to your site, you can edit it at any time and customize it to your preferences.

Simply go to the WPForms » All Forms page and click on the form you created earlier. This opens the form builder interface where you can edit your form, add or remove fields, change labels, and more.

You can now switch to the Settings tab from the left column. From here you can change your form settings like form name, description, button label, notifications, and more.

Configure Notifications for Request to Callback Form

By default, WPForms uses your site’s administrator email to notify you when a user submits the form.

You can send notifications to any other email address if you want or set up confirmation notification emails for the users as well.

Simply switch to the Notifications tab under form settings and you will see the default notification settings. You can change them to add a different email address to notify or change the notification message.

You can also click on the ‘Add New Notification’ button to create your own custom notifications. This comes in handy when you also want to notify the user that you have received their callback request.

WPForms will ask you to provide a name for the new notification and then show you the notification settings. You can click on the smart tags to enter the value submitted by the user in the form fields, e.g. Name or Email.

Once you are finished, don’t forget to click on the ‘Save’ button to store your form settings.

We have written a detailed guide on how to send notification to multiple recipients in WPForms.

Customize the Form Submission Message for Visitors

When visitors enter their details and submit the form, a default message is displayed. You can change this to show a custom success message or redirect users to any post or page on your website.

Simply switch to the Confirmations tab under form settings.

Under confirmation type, you can choose what happens when a user submits the form. You can edit the success message or redirect them to any page on your website.

Once you are finished, don’t forget to click on the ‘Save’ button to store your settings.

You can now go ahead and test your form by filling it out. Based on your confirmation settings, WPForms will then show you the success message or redirect you.

How to View ‘Request to callback’ Form Submissions in WPForms

The best thing about using WPForms is that it will automatically saves all form submissions to your WordPress database. This means you can easily view form entries even if you don’t receive email notifications.

Simply go to WPForms » Entries page inside WordPress admin area and click on the form you created earlier.

On the next page, you’ll see a list of entries submitted by your users along with their details. To organize your entries, use the star to highlight the entries that are important. Use the green circle to mark the entry as ‘Read’.

Next, you can view, edit, and delete details of each entry. You can also Add Note to individual form entries, which helps you keep track of leads and create notes for follow-up requests.

Promoting The Callback Request Form on Your Website

Now that you have created a callback request form for your website, you may want to promote it so that users can easily find and take advantage of this service.

This is where OptinMonster comes in. It is the best lead generation tool on the market and allows you to easily convert website visitors into leads and paying customers.

It works really well with WPForms and you can embed your forms into popups, slide-ins, fullscreen popups, and more. See our tutorial on how to create a contact form popup in WordPress.

OptinMonster comes with powerful display rules, which allows you to display the callback form to users when it is most effective.

For example, you can only show callback form to users in a specific region or country or when users are viewing a specific page on your site.

Finding a Reliable Business Phone Service

Many businesses use their landline or mobile numbers to conduct business and answer customer calls. However, this is not the most effective solution.

Conventional phone services lack advanced call management features, which are essential for businesses to offer better customer experience.

This is why we use Nextiva in our business. They are the best business phone service provider on the market and allow you to manage your business calls using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).

You can use it with any device including your mobile phone, a desk phone, laptop, or tablet. You can choose the number from any region and share it with different team members. It also includes smart features such as call forwarding, voice messages, automated responses, ringtones, and more.

The voice quality is better too and it is way cheaper than traditional phone services.

We hope this article helped you learn how to easily add a request to callback form in WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to track user journey on lead forms, and our ultimate WordPress conversion tracking guide to grow your business.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Add a Request to Callback Form in WordPress appeared first on WPBeginner.

January 21, 2021 at 06:00PM

How to Get Email Notification for Post Changes in WordPress

Do you want to get email notifications for post changes in WordPress?

By default, WordPress does not send any notifications when posts are changed by any user. If you run a multi-author WordPress site, then you may want to stay informed about post changes on your website.

In this article, we will show how to get email notifications for post changes in WordPress.

Why Set up Email Notifications for Post Changes in WordPress?

If you are the only one working on your own WordPress website, then it is easier to keep an eye on everything that is happening on your website.

However, if you have other authors writing blog posts, or SEO specialists optimizing blog posts for SEO, then you may want to keep an eye on the changes they make.

For instance, you may want to be alerted when a new post is published or if changes were made to an older article.

This also helps all team members accountable. If they make a mistake, then it can be easily caught and remedied quickly.

That being said, let’s take a look at how to easily set up email notifications for post changes in WordPress.

We’ll be showing you two methods to do that, you can choose one that works best for you. We’ll also show you how to undo changes and improve the deliverability of WordPress notification emails.

• Set up email notifications for post changes using WP Activity Log
• Set up email notifications for post changes using Better Notifications for WP
• Revise and undo post changes in WordPress
• Troubleshoot email notification issues in WordPress

Method 1. Set up Post Changes Notifications in WordPress using WP Activity Log

This method is recommended for all users as it is easier, powerful, and flexible.

First thing you need to do is install and activate the WP Activity Log plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you’ll be asked to enter your license key. You can find this information under your account on the WP Activity Log website.

Next, you’ll be given the option to run the set up wizard . You can answer a few quick questions to set up important monitoring and logging features. All these things can be changed later in plugin settings too.

After that, you need to visit WP Activity Log » Notifications page and switch to the Content Changes tab.

From here, you need to select the events that will trigger notifications. The plugin comes with three default notifications covering most content changes.

Next to each event, you need to enter the email address you want to send notifications to. Optionally, you can also add a mobile phone number to get SMS notifications for post changes (we will show you how to set it up later in this article).

Finally, click on the Save notifications button to store your changes.

Setting up SMS Notifications for Post Changes in WordPress

WP Activity Log allows you to easily receive SMS notifications for post changes and other WordPress activities. To do that, you’ll need a Twilio account and a phone number.

Twillio is a paid service with a pay as you go pricing model for SMS starting at $0.0075 per SMS. You’ll also need to purchase a virtual phone number which will be used to send messages.

Simply go to the Twillio website and signup for a free trial account.

After setting up your account, you’ll reach the Twillio dashboard where you can copy your Account SID, Auth Token, and get a trial phone number.

Copy and paste these values to a text editor or leave this browser tab open.

Next, switch back to your WordPress website admin area and visit the WP Activitiy Log » Settings page. From here, switch to the SMS Provider tab and enter your Twilio credentials.

Don’t forget to click on the save changes button to store your settings.

Testing Your Post Changes Notifications with WP Activity Log

WP Activity Log allows you to easily test your post change notifications. Simply go back to the WP Activity Log » Notifications page and switch to the ‘Content Changes’ tab.

Scroll down and click on the ‘Test Notifications’ button. This will bring up a popup window where you can enter an email address and a mobile phone number to send notifications.

WP Activity Log will then send test notifications. If you do not receive an email notification right away, then you can jump to the fixing email notifications in the WordPress section.

If you fail to receive SMS notifications, then check your Twilio credentials to make sure they are correct.

Method 2. Sending Email Notifications for Post Changes with Better WordPress Notifications

This method is easy to use, but it doesn’t come with ready-made template. While this method allows you to send an email notification when a post is changed, you would have to write the email yourself and investigate the activity on your own.

First, you need to install and activate the Better Notifications for WordPress plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you need to visit Notifications » Add New page to create your first custom notification.

First, you need to provide a title for the notification. After that, choose the ‘Notification for’ option, which is the event that will trigger this notification.

For instance, we have chosen ‘Post Updated’ as the event for this notification.

Next, you can set email options like from, cc, sender email. You can skip them and the plugin will use your default WordPress email settings.

Next, you need to select the users or user roles that will receive this notification under the ‘Send to’ option. Below that you can write the email subject and the message itself.

Better Notifications for WP doesn’t come with a template for post changes. This means you’ll need to write your own email message.

The plugin comes with a bunch of shortcodes that you can use. You can view all of them by clicking on the ‘Find shortcodes’ button.

Lastly, you need to click on the Save button to store your email notification. After that, you’ll be able to click on the ‘Send Me a Test Email’ button to see if it is working.

Better Notification for WordPress is not an activity monitoring plugin. This means you’ll need to set up multiple notifications to cover different types of content changes in WordPress.

For instance, you may want to set up a ‘Notification for’ when a new ‘Post Published’ or another one for when a category or tag is changed, and more.

It also allows you to create custom notifications or modify default WordPress notifications as well. For more details, see our article on how to create better custom notifications in WordPress.

Revise and Undo Post Changes in WordPress

Once you have received an email notification for post changes, you may want to see what changes were made, who made them, and when.

WordPress comes with a built-in revision management system that keeps track of all changes made to an article.

Simply edit the post or page that you want to review and then click on the ‘Revisions’ tab under the ‘Post’ settings from the right-column.

This will bring you to the post revisions screen where you can check the ‘Compare two revisions’ box and then move the slider below to compare the changes.

Scroll down and you will see the changes between the two revisions highlighted in red and green colors.

If you don’t like the changes, then you can simply click on the ‘Restore revision’ button to undo them and return to the previous version.

Troubleshooting Email Notifications in WordPress

By default, WordPress uses the PHP mail() function to send emails.

This method does not use proper authentication (login or password) which means it can be easily misused. This is why most spam filters mark such emails as spam or block them altogether.

To fix this, you need to use a proper SMTP service provider to send out WordPress emails. There are even free SMTP servers like Gmail, Sendinblue, Sendgrid, and more that you can use with WordPress.

To set up SMTP, you need to install and activate the WP Mail SMTP plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

WP Mail SMTP allows you to connect your WordPress site to your SMTP service provider and send all your WordPress emails with much higher deliverability.

Upon activation, you need to go to the WP Mail SMTP » Settings page in your WordPress admin area to set up the plugin.

First, you need to enter your license key. You can find this information under your account on the WP Mail SMTP website.

After that, scroll down to the ‘Mailer’ section to select your SMTP service provider. WP Mail SMTP will show all top SMTP service providers. You can click on your provider and then enter the required information below (usually an API key).

If your mailer is not listed, then you can simply choose ‘Other SMTP’ option and enter the required information.

For more detailed instructions, see our tutorial on how to fix WordPress not sending email issue.

We hope this article helped you set up email notifications for post changes in WordPress. You may also want to see our tips on getting more traffic to your blog and the best WordPress SEO plugins and tools to grow your website.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Get Email Notification for Post Changes in WordPress appeared first on WPBeginner.

January 20, 2021 at 04:00PM

21 Best Website Ideas to Launch an Online Side Business in 2021

Are you looking for website ideas to launch a side business in the new year?

There are tons of opportunities online with profitable website ideas that you can easily transform into a sustainable side income.

In this article, we’ll share the best website ideas to launch this year. We’ll also show you how to easily get started without a big investment.

What You Need to Put Website Ideas into Action

It is a common myth that you need to be tech-savvy or a programmer to start a website. This was probably true in the 90s, but these days you don’t need any special skills to build a website.

Here is what you actually need to make a website:

• A domain name. This will be your website’s address on the internet, e.g. wpbeginner.com).
• Web hosting account. This will be your website’s home and where you’ll store all your website files
• A website builder. We recommend using WordPress.org which is the best website builder powering more than 39% of all websites on the internet.

We recommend using Bluehost to make your website. They are one of the biggest hosting companies in the world and are officially recommended by WordPress.

They are offering WPBeginner users a generous 60% off discount on hosting with a free domain name and free SSL certificate. Basically, you can launch a website for $2.75 per month.

→ Click Here to Claim This Exclusive Bluehost Offer ←

They automatically install WordPress for you, and you can quickly start working on your website idea with in minutes. If you need more help, then follow the steps in our WordPress installation guide to set up your website.

That being said, let’s take a look at some of the most profitable website ideas to launch this year and turn them into a viable business.

Here is a quick list of website ideas that we’ll talk about. You can jump to the one that you find interesting or read as you scroll along.

• Start a Personal Blog Website
• Build an Online Store
• Make a Membership Website
• Sell Online Courses
• Create a Dropshipping Website
• Make an Affiliate Website
• Launch a Fashion Blog
• Start a Travel Website
• Make a Food / Recipes Website
• Start a Podcast Website
• Start a Job Hunt Website
• Make a Coupons Website
• Create an Online Marketplace
• Start a Restaurant Website
• Build a Reviews Website
• Make a Photography Website
• Launch a Portfolio Website
• Start an Online Food Delivery Website
• Sell Handicrafts Online
• Start a Pet Owners Community
• Start a News Website

1. Start a Personal Website / Blog

Blogs are a popular website idea that has been around for some time and still going strong. Entrepreneurs like Darren Rowse, John Lee Dumas, and Pat Flynn all started as bloggers and are now making six-figure incomes.

Our company’s CEO, Syed Balkhi, started this blog that led him to build an eight-figure business (see: WPBeginner income).

Launching a blog is pretty easy, and it can be on any topic that you are passionate about. The benefit of starting a blog is that you can later use it as a platform to launch many other website ideas.

There are also a ton of monetization options that make blogging a profitable website idea. You can use programs like Google AdSense to display ads, promote affiliate products, sell direct advertisements, or you can even sell your own products to your readers such as online courses, eBooks, etc.

Need help? See our step by step how to start a blog tutorial where we walk you through every step of the way.

If you need expert help, then we also offer a free WordPress blog setup service where one of our WordPress experts will set up your blog for you.

2. Build an Online Store

Another booming website idea is to build an eCommerce store. A lot of folks think that it is probably too technical to get started, which is not exactly true.

You can easily start selling things online with WooCommerce. It is the world’s most popular eCommerce platform that runs on top of WordPress.

It is super easy to use and allows you to sell any type of digital, virtual, or physical products that need shipping. You can easily accept online payments using PayPal, Stripe, or many other payment services.

For step by step instructions, you can follow our beginner’s guide on how to start an online store.

Need ideas on what to sell on your store? See our tutorial on how to source products to sell online.

3. Make a Membership Website

Another popular website idea that is getting a lot of momentum is to create a membership-based website.

Basically, you restrict access to some content on your website that is only available for paid members. This could be an online course, members-only forums, audio or video content, or anything else.

The easiest way to do this is by using MemberPress. It is a WordPress membership plugin that helps you create subscriptions, restrict access, and sell membership plans on your website.

For details, follow our tutorial on how to make a membership website with step by step instructions.

4. Sell Online Courses

Creating and selling online courses is another popular website idea that is growing really fast.

This growing website niche is fueled by the modern gig economy where people need to learn new skills to find new jobs, improve existing skillsets, or just learn something new as a hobby.

MemberPress is the best WordPress LMS plugin that allows you to easily create and sell online courses on your website.

5. Create a Dropshipping Website

Dropshipping is another growing website idea that you can launch without much investment. A dropshipping store is an online store where you sell products, but they are shipped directly by the vendor.

This saves you from the hassle of managing and storing stuff, keeping up inventory, and shipping things. It also allows you to sell a wide-variety of products.

For more details, see our step by step guide on how to create a dropshipping business for beginners.

6. Make an Affiliate Website

One of the most popular website ideas is to start an affiliate website.

Affiliate marketing is a referral arrangement in which an online retailer (advertiser) pays you a commission when users purchase their product from your referral link.

This is a massive industry which means you can make a niche affiliate website and start building upon it. You can find affiliate programs in nearly every industry.

For example: you can create a website that’s focused entirely on reviewing all the newest women’s handbags, new internet routers, new smartphones, etc.

When users make a purchase based on your recommendation, you get a referral fee.

For a more in-depth discussion, see our beginner’s guide to affiliate marketing which has step by step instructions for new affiliate marketers.

7. Launch a Fashion Blog

Fashion and lifestyle is another profitable website idea that has a ton of potential. There are a lot of fashion bloggers and influencers making six-figure incomes.

You can make money through display ads, affiliate marketing, Instagram partnerships with brands, and more.

With WordPress, you can add all the tools you need to grow your brand. You can use connect your Instagram feed, Youtube videos, find fashion website themes, use advertising plugins, and more.

For details, see our tutorial on how to start a fashion blog and promote it the right way.

8. Start a Travel Website

Making a travel blog is another great website idea that is easy to implement and build upon.

You can be an experienced traveler, vlogger, or marketer promoting different tourist destinations. You can monetize using display ads, travel partnerships, earning perks, and more.

Influential travel bloggers are using their travel blogs to launch different products and making significant passive income.

For more on this, don’t forget to check out our article on how to make a travel website using WordPress.

9. Make a Food / Recipes Website

Food and recipe websites are already a popular website idea with plenty of room for new websites.

You can easily start a blog or website, share recipes, discuss food, health, or other related topics. Most recipe websites make money through ads, affiliate marketing, and by selling membership subscriptions.

WordPress comes with plugins that allow you to easily write recipes in SEO friendly format. For details, you can follow our tutorial on how to create a food website and make money online.

10. Start a Podcast Website

Podcasting is another popular website idea that you can launch. It is a fast-growing niche with tons of monetization options.

A podcast is an episodic series of audio files that users can subscribe to download and listen to.

Successful podcasters are making significant money online through sponsorships, advertisements, selling products, and more. It does require a little bit of hardware and some practice with recording and uploading files.

We have a comprehensive guide on starting a podcast website with step by step instructions.

We also have a list of the best podcast hosting platforms to help you succeed.

11. Start a Job Hunt Website

Another popular website idea is to create a job hunt website. It is easy to monetize, and you make money based on user-generated content.

Basically, a job board website allows companies to post job listings and facilitate job seekers by browsing and searching for jobs.

There are WordPress plugins that help you quickly create a job search engine. You can even accept online payments from employers to post listings.

For details, see our guide on how to create a job board in WordPress.

12. Make a Coupons Website

A coupons website helps customers find coupons and deals for their favorite products.

It connects businesses to the customers and provides them tools to locate deals and discounts. It is monetized by affiliate links, partnerships, and display ads.

You can totally automate your website and allow businesses to submit deals directly. This allows you to make money online with user-generated content.

For more details, see our guide on how to create a coupon site in WordPress.

13. Create an Online Marketplace

Many successful marketers use ideas that involve user-generated content to make money. Creating an online marketplace website is one such website idea that you can easily replicate.

A marketplace website is where you provide an eCommerce platform for others to sell their products. You get a cut on each transaction made on your website while the sellers manage the shipping and fulfillment.

For more details, see our article on creating an online marketplace website with detailed instructions.

14. Start a Restaurant Website

Making a restaurant website is an idea specific to people in the restaurant and food industry. Making a restaurant website allows you to accept table reservations and even accept online orders for food delivery.

With WordPress, you can use tools like WPForms to accept bookings and food delivery orders. It also gives you access to many professionally designed restaurant templates that you can customize to your own needs.

Making a restaurant website also helps you easily promote your business, reach new customers, and strengthen your brand image.

15. Build a Reviews Website

Most users look at online reviews before making a buying decision. This makes a reviews website a really lucrative website idea.

A reviews website could rely on both user-generated and original content. You can make money using display ads, affiliate marketing, sponsorships, and more.

We have an article on how to create a niche reviews website with step by step instructions.

16. Make a Photography Website

Another exciting website idea is to launch a photography website. This could be a blog about photography itself, or it could be a place to showcase and sell your own photos.

You can also create a marketplace like Shutterstock where users can sell or buy photographs, illustrations, and other graphic design items.

For more information, take a look at our article on how to make a photography website in WordPress.

17. Launch a Portfolio Website

A great website idea is to make a portfolio website. If you are an artist, photographer, musician, or videographer, then a portfolio website helps you showcase your work and find new opportunities.

However, you don’t need to be an artist to make a portfolio website. The same idea can be used by any kind of professional like writers, web designers, developers, fashion models, and more.

You can use portfolio plugins to showcase your work or choose from these beautiful portfolio themes to get started.

18. Start an Online Food Delivery Website

The online food delivery business is booming and it could be a profitable website idea with a little bit of investment.

You can find local restaurants and create a website that showcases these restaurants and allows customers to order food online. You can then pass the order to the restaurant and they deliver the food.

You can use WPForms to collect food delivery orders. Upon form submission, you can show users a page with estimated delivery time and a phone number to the restaurant.

19. Sell Handicrafts Online

Want to sell your homemade items on the internet? It is really easy to do and could be the beginning of a successful business idea.

You can start an online store using WooCommerce, which is super-easy to set up. Unlike other platforms, WooCommerce doesn’t take a cut out of each transaction you make which is really important for home-based business.

For details, see our guide on how to make an Etsy like store in WordPress.

20. Start a Pets Store / Community

Making an online pets store is another easy to start website idea. It is such a massive industry that you can find many untapped niche ideas catering to specific customers.

You can sell anything on your pet store using WooCommerce. You can also use MemberPress to build a members-only community that generates even more revenue for your business.

21. Start a News Website

If you are into current affairs and politics, then creating a news website could be the money making idea you are looking for.

You can start a news website and monetize it using display ads and by selling membership subscriptions. Many traditional newspapers are already putting their content behind paywalls and monetizing.

You can start small with few articles per week and then build upon that. You can even invite guest authors, start a podcast, and sell merchandise to make a sustainable business.

With local newspapers struggling, there’s a high demand for hyper-local niche news website, and we believe this will be a huge trend going into 2021 and beyond.

We hope this article helped you find the best website idea to launch in the new year. Once you have launched your website, you can see our tips on how to increase your website traffic, and our guide on the best WordPress plugins to grow your online business.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post 21 Best Website Ideas to Launch an Online Side Business in 2021 appeared first on WPBeginner.

January 19, 2021 at 06:00PM