Contact Form 7 is one of the most popular WordPress form plugins, trusted by millions of websites to collect leads, inquiries, and customer messages. It’s lightweight, flexible, and completely free, which makes it a go-to solution for many site owners.
However, by default, Contact Form 7 does not store submissions in the WordPress database. It only sends form data via email, without creating a permanent record. If an email gets lost, blocked by spam filters, or fails to deliver, the submission disappears forever.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to save Contact Form 7 submissions to your WordPress database using the CF7 Apps plugin’s Entries Database App and protect every lead.
Ready? Let’s get started!
Why You Need to Save Contact Form 7 Submissions
You should never rely only on email notifications to manage Contact Form 7 submissions. They’re much too important not to be saved somewhere they can be retrieved again.
You need to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Here is why you need a Contact Form 7 database:
- Your email might never reach your inbox because of spam filters.
- Hosting providers sometimes experience temporary email delivery issues or other server issues.
- You are searching for a specific form submission made a year ago. There is no central database, so there is no easy way to search.
- A WordPress contact form database acts as a secure backup for every submission. If your email fails to land in your inbox, it is always safe in your database.
What is The Best Way to Store CF7 Form Data in a Database?
If you want to save Contact Form 7 submissions to the WordPress database reliably, CF7 Apps provides one of the most complete free solutions available. The CF7 database extension alone replaces premium plugins that cost a fortune. Add in Honeypot, hCaptcha, Redirection, Webhooks, and ACF Integration, and you have a suite of tools that would cost hundreds if purchased separately.
Why Use CF7 Apps to Save Contact Form 7 Entries?
CF7 Apps is a free-to-use plugin available on WordPress.org. What makes it perfect is that it extends Contact Form 7 with the features it should have had from the start.
CF7 Apps extends Contact Form 7 with powerful database and automation features, including:
- Database Entries App – Save and manage submissions
- Honeypot App – Block spam bots invisibly
- hCaptcha App – Privacy-first spam protection
- Redirection App – Send users to custom thank-you pages
- Webhook App – Connect forms to external services
- ACF Integration – Pull Advanced Custom Fields into your forms
While it may have everything you need, you might not need all of it at once. CF7 Apps is modular, so you can activate only the features you need and keep your WordPress site lightweight and fast.
How to Save Contact Form 7 Data to WordPress Database – A step-by-step guide
Step 1: Install and Activate CF7 Apps
- From your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins → Add Plugin.
- Search for “CF7 Apps” (the full name is “CF7 Apps – Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, and Addons for Contact Form 7”).
- Click Install Now, then Activate.
Step 2: Activate the Database Entries App
- After activation, you’ll see a new CF7 Apps option in the Contact menu item in your admin sidebar.
- Go to Contact → CF7 Apps.
- You’ll see all available apps. Look for the ‘Entries’ App card.
- Click the toggle switch to activate it.
- Once activated, Contact Form 7 submissions will automatically be saved to your WordPress database.
Step 3: View Your Saved Form Entries
Once the app is active, you will start receiving form submissions. Here’s how to access them:
- Navigate to Contact → Entries (look under the main Contact Form 7 admin menu).
- You’ll see a list of all your saved form submissions.
- To find specific submissions, use the dropdown filters to filter entries by form or date.
- Click on any entry to view the full details.
Congratulations! You’ve now successfully created a Contact Form 7 entries database inside WordPress.
Contact Form 7 Data Management – Entry Deletion
Privacy regulations (such as GDPR) sometimes require you to delete data. Here is how you do it:
- Delete individual entries by hovering over a submission and clicking Delete.
- Bulk delete multiple entries at once using the checkbox selection.
Never Lose Another Submission to Spam
Contact Form 7 lacks built-in spam protection beyond basic measures, making it a common target for bots. CF7 Apps solves this with two powerful tools:
- The Honeypot App adds a hidden field to your forms that only bots can see. When a bot fills it out, the submission is silently blocked.
- The hCaptcha App adds a privacy-focused CAPTCHA alternative that protects your forms without tracking users.
Connect Your Forms to the World with Webhooks
The Webhook App automatically sends form data to any external URL or service. This means you can:
- Push leads directly to your CRM, such as HubSpot or Salesforce.
- Add subscribers to your email marketing platform (Mailchimp, ConvertKit)
- Trigger automation workflows in Zapier or Make
- Send data to custom APIs
Integrate with Advanced Custom Fields
If you use Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), the new ACF Integration allows you to pull dynamic ACF field values directly into your Contact Form 7 forms.
Start Saving Your Form Data Today
If you use Contact Form 7 and don’t save submissions to your database, you risk losing revenue for your business. Every email failure, spam filter, or accidental deletion takes you a step further from your goals. CF7 Apps solves this problem completely. With the Database Entries App, you can automatically save Contact Form 7 data to WordPress, access it anytime from your dashboard, and never worry about lost submissions again.