Contact Form X
by Jeff Starr · Forms
Also makes 30 other plugins · 1.1M+ installs across the portfolio →
Displays a user-friendly contact form that your visitors will love. Lightweight, fast, secure, and accessible (ADA/WCAG compliant).
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
A 91/100
no flags
Active installs
300+
≈350 estimated
Momentum
+25%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “ajax” and “contact” for “ada wcag” and “ada”. “ajax” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “ada wcag” sits at #15 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “contact” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “ada” sits at #24 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
91 health vs 65 average across 2,509 Forms plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.4%
of downloads still active
At least 300 of 22.2K lifetime downloads are still running, in line with its category: the median Forms plugin keeps 1.2%, across 1,668 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Forms plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 5 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Excellent listing optimization
Well tuned across the board
Updated 106 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 32 reviews, smoothed to 4.45★
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
39
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.1
Velocity
places per keyword, 25d
19%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 25d
-0.1
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| ada wcag | #15 | #11 | 0 |
| minimal contact form | #9 | #6 | down 1 |
| ada | #24 | #14 | down 2 |
| fast secure contact form | #12 | #14 | down 1 |
| fast contact form | #17 | #17 | — |
| lightweight contact form | #18 | #14 | — |
| secure contact form | #24 | #18 | 0 |
| wcag ada | #23 | #14 | — |
| ajax your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| contact your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| contact form your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| email your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| feedback your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
25 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 8 listed. 17 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “ajax” and “contact” for “ada wcag” and “ada”. “ajax” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “ada wcag” sits at #15 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “contact” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “ada” sits at #24 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,487 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 807 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #10,100 to #11,100, alongside the other plugins at 300+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
5
releases in the last 12 months
4mo ago
latest release · v3.0.3 · 17 Jul 2026
36
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 77% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “300+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 6 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 52% of the way through.
Install history since 28 Nov 2018
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Joost abrahams11mo ago
This plugin sets the standard for helpfull and meaningfull use of the help tab. Jeff made it very easy to setup the plugin.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kp12mo ago
I’ve used his plugins before, paid and unpaid, and they are just top quality across the board. With so many endless bloated form plugins, this is like a stiletto cutting through the muck. And now it has support for Cloudflare Turnstile! Keeping it completely up to date. I have no idea why it doesn’t have 10k downloads, but it should.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dovis7211.7y ago
Great minimalist plugin. As a web developer i like it.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ paulman2.4y ago
Straight forward installation – and looks clean and efficient when installed on the website.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kmp23.3y ago
I discovered something amazing about this contact X plugin that I had not been aware of when I installed it. It drops the most recent 10 messages into your wordpress dashboard! What a brilliant idea. In fact, I had probably deleted an important message by mistake from my email account, only to luckily find a copy posted on my dashboard. Talk about save the day. That’s how I discovered this terrific feature. What an excellent idea. I would highly recommend this plugin to anyone who wants to really know what’s going on in their own web site.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Gerard Blanco3.7y ago
What a great plugin. I’m just so tired of all the other contact forms, all bloated, loading their own styles. And then I saw this gem. Simple, yet powerful. Has anti-spam integrated, which, unfortunately, it’s mandatory to have nowadays Registers all email in the database, including if the user agreed to the terms, mandatory for GDPR reasons. Doesn’t force its own UI. Following WP guidelines. Amazing. Just amazing.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Skylabb4.1y ago
Sometimes you just need to setup a simple contact form and not having to install a plugin that comes with all the bells and whistles you don’t need. Form X is for this purpose. I like the simplicity and yet powerful ways to style the form. Being able to modify form CSS right in the admin screen is a great approach. The challenge question option is also a great spam buster if you don’t want to deal with creating a Google account for reCaptcha. Though I hope it’s just as effective? One thing I would improve is adding instruction how to display the form. There’s a short code for it, but I had to come to the WordPress plugin page to find it. Why not just include this simple piece of info somewhere on one of the UI screens so users don’t have to make a trip somewhere else to find it? Per plugin description, I wouldn’t say contact form “reinvented.” Rather, get back to the basics and being solidly good at one thing – the contact form. This topic was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by Skylabb. This topic was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by Skylabb.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jedhenson4.8y ago
Works great, feels fast and light.
Read on wp.org ↗
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceThe 1 disclosed vulnerability is patched in the current version (3.0.3). Sites still on an older version should update.
- 2022-02-25 CVE-2022-25601 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 2.4 Patched in 2.4.1
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 6 languages, 1 at 90% or more
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
6 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Displays a user-friendly contact form that your visitors will love. Lightweight, fast, secure, and accessib..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 13 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 13 of 13 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("for developers"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Gutenberg, Block editor, Google Analytics, Cloudflare and 1 more.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 6 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 4,841 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "feedback" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-05-10 400+ → 300+ down after 3 days in tier
- 2026-05-07 300+ → 400+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-05-06 400+ → 300+ down after 6 days in tier
- 2026-04-30 300+ → 400+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-04-29 400+ → 300+ down after 1353 days in tier
- 2022-08-15 300+ → 400+ up after 644 days in tier
- 2020-11-09 200+ → 300+ up after 180 days in tier
- 2020-05-13 100+ → 200+ up after 252 days in tier
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
Contact Form Email 8K+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags A -
VS Contact Form 6K+ installs · 4.7★ · 3 shared tags A -
Generate PDF using Contact Form 7 4K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags A -
Contact Form Query 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags B - C Contact Form 7 add confirm 50K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Gravity PDF 20K+ installs · 4.9★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Contact Form X into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/contact-form-x" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Contact Form X — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Contact Form X: 300+ active installs, 5.0★ (32 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/contact-form-x
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