Brendan O’Connell
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Static WP Hosting with Submission Forms

Here are Recommended Forms from Simply Static:

https://simplystatic.com/tutorials/forms-on-a-static-site/

The contents of this page are also printed on my main website: https://brendan-oconnell.com/blog/

THE PROBLEM: How to host a website when theme/plugin stops development or other security issues, you or client can’t/won’t buy hosting, – but need to have functional forms

  • Pros of Static Sites:
    1. Enhanced Security: Static websites have a reduced attack surface and are less susceptible to server-side vulnerabilities like RCE.
    2. Simplicity: Static sites are easy to set up and maintain, with no need for complex server-side processing.
    3. Performance: Static sites typically have faster load times and require fewer server resources compared to dynamic sites.
    4. Cost-Effective: Static hosting is often cheaper than hosting for dynamic sites, making it a cost-effective option for small businesses and personal projects.
    5. Reliability: With no server-side dependencies, static sites are less prone to downtime or performance issues.

    Cons of Static Sites:

    1. Limited Functionality: Static sites cannot support dynamic content like user logins, databases, or content management systems (CMS) without additional server-side processing.
    2. No Real-Time Updates: Content updates require regenerating and redeploying the entire site, which can be cumbersome for large sites with frequent changes.
    3. Complex Features: Advanced features like e-commerce functionality or dynamic content generation may be challenging to implement on static sites.
    4. People still report issues with hacking but much less frequently
  1. Install and Activate Simply Static Plugin:
    • Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
    • Go to the “Plugins” section and click on “Add New.”
    • Search for “Simply Static” and click on “Install Now” next to the Simply Static plugin.
    • Once installed, activate the plugin.
  2. Create the Form HTML:
    • Copy the form HTML code you provided into your website’s HTML file. You can add it to an existing page or create a new one specifically for the form.
  3. Modify the Form Action:
    • Update the form action attribute (action="https://formspree.io/f/{form_id}") with your actual Formspree form ID. You can get this ID from your Formspree dashboard after creating the form.
  4. Set the Form Submission Target:
    • Add the target="_blank" attribute to the form tag to ensure that form submissions open in a new tab.
  5. Save Changes:
    • Save the changes to your HTML file.
  6. Configure Simply Static:
    • In your WordPress dashboard, go to “Settings” and click on “Simply Static.”
    • Review the settings to ensure they match your requirements, such as the URL of your WordPress site and the directory where you want to save the static files.
  7. Generate Static Files:
    • Once configured, click on “Generate Static Files” within the Simply Static settings. This will start the process of creating static HTML files for your website.
  8. Download Static Files:
    • Once the process is complete, download the generated static files to your computer.
  9. Deploy to Cloudflare Pages:
    • If you’re using Cloudflare Pages, push your static files to your GitHub repository or whatever source control system you’re using. Cloudflare Pages will automatically build and deploy your site.
  10. Custom Domain Setup:
    • If you’re using a custom domain, ensure that it’s properly configured to point to your Cloudflare Pages site. This typically involves updating your DNS settings to point to the Cloudflare Pages domain.
  11. Testing:
    • Once your changes are deployed and your domain is properly configured, test the form submission to ensure it opens in a new tab and functions as expected.

JotForm

Pricing: https://www.jotform.com/pricing/

Free Version

  • 5 Forms
  • 100 submissions
  • JotForm Branding
  • etc.

Formspree

Pricing: https://formspree.io/plans

Free Version, 50 submissions per month

Starts at $10/m for Unlimited Forms, Unlimited Projects, and 200 monthly submissions

Some form templates to choose from too: https://formspree.io/library/

Formkeep

https://formkeep.com

Pricing: Free, 50 submissions/ month, unlimited forms, sends once daily submission notifications on free plan

Has 3rd part integration like Google Sheets, MailChimp, and others.

Static Forms

https://www.staticforms.xyz/

Pricing: Free, seems to have no limitations; unstyled

Free Version