How to Use the Contact Form Element in Thrive Architect

In this article, you’ll learn how to use the Contact Form element in Thrive Architect. This is a legacy element that has been replaced by the Lead Generation element for new forms. If you have existing Contact Forms on your pages, this guide covers how they work and how to migrate to the newer element.

Here is a video walkthrough of the Contact Form element:

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Important: The Contact Form element is deprecated and has been replaced by the Lead Generation element. If you are building a new form, use the Lead Generation element instead. This article is intended for users who have existing Contact Forms on their pages and need to manage or update them.

Understanding the Legacy Contact Form

The Contact Form element (also known as “Contact Form (Old)” in the codebase) is a basic form element that was originally used to collect visitor information and send it to a specified email address. It is no longer available in the element panel for new additions, but existing instances on your pages will continue to function.

Key characteristics of the legacy Contact Form:

• Sends form submissions directly to an email address (no API integration)
• Supports a limited set of field types
• Does not connect to email marketing services or autoresponders
• Cannot use advanced features like custom fields, file uploads, or answer-based tagging

Available Field Types

The Contact Form element supports the following field types:

• Name — A text field for the visitor’s name
• Email — A text field for the visitor’s email address
• Phone — A text field for a phone number
• Subject — A text field for the message subject line
• Message — A textarea field for the main message body

Each field can be set as required or optional using the field settings.

Configuring the Email Recipient

To set the email address that receives form submissions:

1. Click on the Contact Form element on your page to select it.
2. In the left sidebar, locate the Email option.
3. Enter the email address where you want to receive form submissions.
4. The form will send all submissions to this address when visitors click the submit button.

Note: The Contact Form sends submissions as plain-text emails. There is no built-in spam filtering beyond basic WordPress protections.

Setting Character Limits

You can control how much text visitors can enter in the Message field by adjusting the character limit:

1. Click on the Contact Form element to select it.
2. In the left sidebar, locate the Character Limit setting for the message textarea.
3. Enter a maximum character count to restrict the length of messages.
4. When enabled, visitors will see how many characters they have remaining as they type.

Tip: Setting a character limit is useful for preventing excessively long form submissions and keeping messages focused.

Styling the Contact Form

Even though the Contact Form is a legacy element, you can still style it using the options in the left sidebar:

• Labels — Customize the text labels for each form field
• Submit Button — Change the text, color, and style of the submit button
• Spacing — Adjust the margins and padding around the form and its fields
• Background — Set a background color or style for the form container
• Borders & Corners — Add borders or rounded corners to the form

Migrating to the Lead Generation Element

Since the Contact Form element is deprecated, it is recommended to replace existing Contact Forms with the Lead Generation element. The Lead Generation element offers significantly more features, including:

• Integration with email marketing services and autoresponders
• Custom fields (text, textarea, dropdown, checkbox, radio, hidden, URL, file upload)
• Single and double opt-in support
• Answer-based tagging and advanced automation
• GDPR consent checkboxes
• Google Drive file upload support
• Notification emails with lead details

To replace a Contact Form with a Lead Generation element:

1. Open the page containing the Contact Form in the Thrive Architect editor.
2. Take note of the fields, labels, and email recipient configured on the existing Contact Form.
3. Click on the Contact Form element and delete it.
4. Click the green plus (+) icon in the right sidebar to open the element panel.
5. Search for Lead Generation and drag it onto your page where the Contact Form was.
6. Configure the Lead Generation element with the same fields and settings.
7. Set up an API connection to your email marketing service, or use the Email notification option to replicate the email-to-inbox behavior.
8. Save your page.

Tip: The Lead Generation element’s notification email feature can replicate the Contact Form’s email delivery functionality while also giving you the option to connect an autoresponder for follow-up sequences.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Still Add a New Contact Form to a Page?

No. The Contact Form element is hidden from the element panel and cannot be added to new pages. Use the Lead Generation element for all new forms.

Will My Existing Contact Forms Stop Working?

No. Existing Contact Forms on your pages will continue to function as they did before. However, they will not receive new features or updates.

Can I Convert a Contact Form to a Lead Generation Element Automatically?

No. There is no automatic conversion tool. You will need to manually replace the Contact Form with a Lead Generation element and reconfigure the fields and settings.

Related Resources

• Lead Generation: How to Use the Lead Generation Element — The recommended replacement for Contact Forms
• Custom Fields: Lead Generation Custom Fields Reference — All available field types for Lead Generation
• Advanced Techniques: Advanced Lead Generation Techniques — Answer-based tagging, automation, and more

That’s it! You’ve successfully learned how to use the legacy Contact Form element in Thrive Architect. For any new forms, use the Lead Generation element to take advantage of modern features like API integrations, custom fields, and advanced automation.