How to Add Video Messages to Contact Form 7

Some things are hard to explain in a contact form. A customer trying to describe a bug in your app, a client showing you what's wrong with a product they received, a candidate introducing themselves for a job. A few lines in a text box don't tell you much in those cases, and it often takes several emails back and forth to get the full picture.

The Pipe Audio Video and Screen Recorder plugin for WordPress now works with Contact Form 7. If Contact Form 7 is active on your site, you can add a recorder to any of your forms, so visitors can send you a video, audio, or screen recording together with their message. They record in the browser, with no app to install and no file to upload, and the recording arrives in your inbox with the rest of the form.

What you need

• Contact Form 7, installed and active
• Our WordPress plugin, version 1.5.0 or newer, connected to your Pipe account
• A Pipe account.
• The Pipe webhook set up for your site, so the recording links show up in your emails (how to set it up)

There is no add-on to buy and no code to write. If you've ever added a field to a Contact Form 7 form, this will feel familiar, because the recorder is just another form tag.

Setting it up

Step 1: Generate the recorder shortcode

• In your WordPress backend, go to Pipe Recorder > Embed Recorder.
• Generate a shortcode for the recorder you want. It will look like [pipe_recorder 1].

This is where you choose what visitors can record (video, audio only, or screen and camera), along with the time limit and the size of the recorder. Keep note of the number at the end of the shortcode. That's the recorder's id, and you'll need it in the next step.

For more information about generating shortcodes, see our documentation.

Step 2: Add the recorder to your form

• Go to Contact > Contact Forms and open your form.
• In the Form tab, add a [pipe_recorder] tag with a field name and the id of your recorder, for example:

[pipe_recorder* your-recording 1]

Here your-recording is the field name and 1 is the id from the [pipe_recorder 1] shortcode. The * works the same way it does for any other Contact Form 7 field: it makes the recording required. If you'd rather keep it optional, leave it out:

[pipe_recorder your-recording 1]

This is roughly what a simple contact form looks like with the recorder added:

<label> Your name    [text* your-name autocomplete:name] </label>

<label> Your email    [email* your-email autocomplete:email] </label>

<label> Your message    [textarea your-message] </label>

Record a short video for us[pipe_recorder* your-recording 1][submit "Send"]

Step 3: Add the recording to the email

• Switch to the Mail tab.
• Add the field's mail tag, for example [your-recording], to the Message body, wherever you want the recording link to show up.

For example:

From: [your-name] <[your-email]>Message:[your-message]Recording:[your-recording]

Step 4: Save the form

Click Save. That's all of it. The form's own shortcode doesn't change, so if the form is already on a page, the recorder shows up there right away.

What visitors see

The recorder shows up in the form, right where you placed the tag. The visitor records their message, and once they finish, the recording is attached to the form. Then they click send like they would on any other form, and the recording goes out with the rest of their message.

They don't need to install anything, and they don't need to upload a file. Recording happens in the browser, on desktop and mobile. If you made the recording required and someone tries to send the form without one, Contact Form 7 stops them the same way it does for any other empty required field.

What you get in your inbox

When the email arrives, the [your-recording] mail tag is replaced with a link to the recording. You click it and watch what the person wanted to show you, right next to what they wrote.

Heads up: The link to the recording is only available after the Pipe webhook is triggered, so make sure the webhook is set up. If the form is sent before the recording finishes processing, the email shows the recording id and a link to the plugin's Recordings page instead. The recording is listed there as soon as it's ready.

Every recording also shows up on our plugin's Recordings page and in your Pipe account dashboard, where you can download it or set up your own storage for recordings.

Where this is useful

• Support forms, where a 30 second screen recording explains a bug better than three paragraphs
• Job applications, with a short video intro sent along with the cover letter
• Testimonial requests, where happy customers can say a few words on camera instead of typing them
• Quote requests for things that are easier to show than to describe, like a damaged item, a room that needs work, or a car making a strange noise
• Auditions, casting calls, and talent submissions
• Feedback forms for courses, events, and products, where people can just talk

Frequently asked questions

Does the visitor have to record something to send the form?

Only if you want them to. Add the * to the tag ([pipe_recorder* your-recording 1]) to make the recording required, or leave it out ([pipe_recorder your-recording 1]) to make it optional.

Why does my email show a recording id instead of a link?

Either the Pipe webhook isn't set up yet, or the visitor sent the form before their recording finished processing. Check that the webhook is set up. If it is, open the plugin's Recordings page from the link in the email. The recording will be listed there once it's ready.

Do visitors need to install anything to record?

No. Recording happens in the browser, on desktop and mobile. There are no apps to install and no files to upload.

Is the plugin free?

Our WordPress plugin is free and available in the WordPress Plugin Directory. It records through the Pipe platform, so it needs either a trial account (sign up here) or a paid subscription to work. Trial accounts are fully featured, so you can set up a form, send yourself a few test messages, and see the whole flow before subscribing.

More info

For more information:

• Go through our WordPress plugin's installation instructions, including populating the plugin's list of recordings via a webhook (needed for the recording links to show up in your emails).
• Read the plugin's listing in the official WordPress plugin directory.
• Check the Contact Form 7 documentation for more on form tags and mail tags.