Bootstrap for Contact Form 7

What is Bootstrap for Contact Form 7?

Bootstrap for Contact Form 7 is a focused add-on plugin that rewrites the output of Contact Form 7 (CF7) to match the Bootstrap 3 CSS framework. Instead of requiring custom CSS to style your forms, this plugin makes every field, label, and button render with native Bootstrap classes. The result is a contact form that inherits your theme’s Bootstrap styles automatically.

Created by Felix Arntz, this plugin has been available for 12 years. It currently shows 10K+ active installs and holds a 4.8/5 rating from 26 reviews. Notably, 88% of those ratings are five-star, with zero one-star ratings. The current version is 1.4.8, and the plugin was last updated on May 24, 2018. Given its longevity and high approval rate, it is a stable, mature solution for anyone looking to achieve contact form 7 bootstrap styling without writing extra CSS.

Key Features of Bootstrap for Contact Form 7

• Automatic Bootstrap Markup – Every CF7 field shortcode outputs Bootstrap-ready HTML, including labels and validation classes, so no additional CSS rules are needed.
• Horizontal and Inline Form Layouts – Change the form layout to horizontal or inline via the “Additional Settings” tab in CF7, giving you layout flexibility.
• Global Input Size Control – Adjust the size of all text inputs and textareas at once, matching Bootstrap’s input sizing classes.
• Checkbox and Radio Button Modes – Display checkbox and radio groups as one per line, inline, or as Bootstrap button groups, all controlled by shortcode attributes.
• Input Group Support – Add prepended or appended content (e.g., icons, symbols) to text inputs and textareas using Bootstrap’s input group feature.
• Inline Character Count – The [count] shortcode from CF7 shows a live character count inside the field, not below it.
• Inline Captcha Display – The captcha image renders inline with the input field, saving vertical space.
• Predefined Field Values via URL – Pass GET parameters in the URL to prefill form fields, useful for tracking or personalization.

These features are documented in the plugin’s “Other Notes” page, and they show how to add bootstrap to contact form 7 in wordpress with minimal configuration.

Who Should Use Bootstrap for Contact Form 7?

This plugin is built for site owners who already run a Bootstrap-based WordPress theme. If your theme uses Bootstrap 3 and you rely on Contact Form 7 for forms, this add-on saves you hours of CSS tweaking. It is ideal for developers and advanced users who prefer framework-native markup over custom styling. The plugin requires no coding knowledge to install, but you should be comfortable editing CF7 form shortcodes to remove HTML wrappers, as described in the setup guide.

With 10K+ active installs and a 12-year history, the user base skews toward those who value stability over novelty. If you are building a site that needs a contact form 7 bootstrap 3 integration, this plugin is the most direct path. Beginners can follow the included setup guide to copy-paste a working form template. The plugin does not add its own settings page, so the learning curve is short.

Installation & Setup

Installation is standard: upload the bootstrap-for-contact-form-7 folder to /wp-content/plugins/ and activate it. The plugin requires Contact Form 7 to be active, and it is tested up to WordPress 4.9.29. Setup involves editing your CF7 form templates to use enclosing shortcodes (e.g., [text* your-name]Your Name[/text*]) instead of paragraph-wrapped labels. A complete example form is provided in the plugin’s setup guide, making this process beginner-friendly.

Support & Community

Support activity for this plugin is minimal. Over the last two months, the WordPress.org forum shows 0 open threads and 0 resolved threads, giving a 0% resolution rate. This is not unusual for a plugin that has not been updated since May 24, 2018. The developer, Felix Arntz, has not addressed new threads, and the plugin has not seen a code change in years. However, the high rating – 4.8/5 from 26 reviews, with 88% 0% one-star – suggests that existing users found the plugin stable and reliable. If you need active support or updates for newer WordPress versions, consider that this plugin is effectively in maintenance mode. For users running a compatible WordPress version with Bootstrap 3, the plugin works as documented and rarely requires assistance.