### [How to Require an Email Address to Download a File](https://wpmailsmtp.com/how-to-require-an-email-address-to-download-a-file/)

**Published:** March 26, 2024
**Author:** Hamza Shahid

**Excerpt:** Are you wondering how to encourage users to fill out a form requiring their email to download a file?

Offering a lead magnet in exchange for an email address is a great way to expand your mailing list and gather new subscribers.

In this guide, we'll walk you through the steps to create a form that requires an email address to share a download link.

**Content:**

Are you wondering how to encourage users to fill out a form requiring their email to download a file?

Offering a lead magnet on your WordPress website in exchange for an email address is a great way to expand your mailing list and gather new subscribers.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to create a form that requires an email address to share a download link.

## How to Require an Email Address to Download a File

To set up a file download form with a required email address field, you can use WPForms. Follow the steps below to get started:

### Step 1. Install the WPForms Plugin

As the best form builder WordPress plugin, WPForms allows users to create contact forms, order forms, calculator forms, and even lead generation forms that require users to provide their email addresses before downloading.

WPForms also comes with [2,100+ WordPress form templates](https://wpforms.com/templates/) that make form creation a breeze, and if you upgrade to the Pro License, you can even take advantage of features like premium addons, conditional logic, and reports.

[![the wpforms homepage](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/wpforms-1400.png "The WPForms Homepage")](https://wpforms.com/)

 ![Yashwardhan Rana, Content Team Lead at WP Mail SMTP](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Yashwardhan-Rana-profile-pic.jpg) 

“WPForms is hands down the best form builder in the market. It can help you create gated content that requires an email address to download a file easily. It also comes with loads of other powerful features that make it an undebatable solution in the market.”

-Yashwardhan Rana, Content Team Lead at WP Mail SMTP

With the Pro license, you also have access to everything you need to operate an [eCommerce site on WordPress](https://wpmailsmtp.com/how-to-sell-on-wordpress-without-woocommerce/), like payment processors on order forms, coupon fields, and more.

For this tutorial, we’ll be creating a multi-step lead form, so you will have to get the WPForms Pro license. Once done, follow the steps in this guide to learn [how to install a plugin in WordPress](http://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/step-by-step-guide-to-install-a-wordpress-plugin-for-beginners/).

### Step 2: Get the Lead Forms Addon

The Lead Forms Addon is available for Pro and above users. To install this addon, open your WordPress dashboard and go to **WPForms » Addons**.

![wpforms addons](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/wpforms-addons.png "WPForms Addons")

Next, scroll down to the **Lead Forms Addon** on the **Addons** page or search for it using the search bar. Then, press the **Install Addon** button.

![WPForms install lead forms addon](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/WPForms-install-lead-forms-addon.png "WPForms Lead Forms Addon")

Wait a few seconds for the addon to install, then click on the **Activate** button. You’re all set now to create your download form!

### Step 3: Create Your File Download Form

Let’s create your form now. From your dashboard, go to **WPForms** and click on the **Add New** button to begin creating your download form.

![WPForms add new](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WPForms-add-new.png "WPForms Add New")

You will now be redirected to the next screen. Give your form a name here. For instance, we’ll call ours “Download Form”.

![name your download form](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/name-your-download-form.png "Name Your Download Form")

Next, use the **Search Templates** field and type in “[Content Download Form Template](https://wpforms.com/templates/content-download-form-template/)“. Then, click on the **Use Template** button to import it.

![use content download form template](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/use-content-download-form-template.png "Use Content Download Form Template")

The following form fields are included in this template for the purpose of collecting personal information:

- Name
- Email
- Company
- Comments

Feel free to add, rearrange, or change the fields by using the many options available in the **Add Fields** menu.

![WPForms fields menu](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/WPForms-fields-menu.png "WPForms Fields Menu")

Great job so far! Now, we’re going to customize your form a bit. WPForms makes this super easy, thanks to its many customization options!

### Step 4: Customize Your File Download Form

If you’re using this form to generate leads, there are plenty of ways you can customize it to make it more appealing to your audience.

For instance, you can mark the email field as required, add a download button, and convert your form into a multi-step lead form. Below are the steps for each.

#### Mark the Email Field as ‘Required’

To do this, simply click on the **Email** field in the form preview screen on the right side to open up its options.

![select email field](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/select-email-field.png "Select Email Field")

In the **Field Options** menu, simply toggle ON the **Required** option to mark the Email field as required in your form.

![mark email as required](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/mark-email-as-required.png "Mark Email As Required")

#### Change the Submit Button Text

Another great customization option WPForms offers is the ability to modify the submit button text to make the form relevant to your audience.

To do this, simply click on the **Submit** button at the bottom of the form on the right side of the screen to open up its options.

![click on submit button](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/click-on-submit-button.png "Click On Submit Button")

Now, you can change the **Submit Button Text** to “Download” and the **Submit Button Processing Text** to “Downloading…” to make it more relevant.

![change submit button](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/change-submit-button.png "Change Submit Button")

You can also [customize the confirmation email](https://wpmailsmtp.com/how-to-customize-wordpress-email-templates/) that your user receives after submitting a form. Take a look at our tutorial to learn how.

#### Break Fields Into Multiple Steps

To break your download [form into multiple steps](https://wpmailsmtp.com/how-to-create-a-multi-step-form-in-wordpress/), go to **Settings » Lead Forms**. Then, click the **Enable Lead Forms** button.

![enable lead forms button](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/enable-lead-forms-button.png "Enable Lead Forms Button")

Now, the forms plugin will turn your fields into a Lead Form on its own. This should only take a few seconds unless you have a lot of fields.

![converting to lead form](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/converting-to-lead-form.png "Converting To Lead Form")

Once done, each of your fields will be divided into a separate step with a **Next** button underneath it.

![lead forms enabled](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/lead-forms-enabled.png "Lead Forms Enabled")

Once you are done making changes, click the **Save** button to save all your form customizations.

![save form wpforms](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/save-form-wpforms.png "Save Form WPForms")

### Step 5: Add the Download Link to Your Form

Go to the page or post where you want to add the link to the download. Then, press the plus sign **(+)** to open the block menu, and look for the **File** block.

![choose file block](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/choose-file-block.png "Choose File Block")

You can now click the file **Upload** button and pick a file from your computer or your **Media Library** that you’ve already uploaded.

![upload the file](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/upload-the-file.png "Upload File")

There you have it! The link to download your file is ready. The file will start downloading as soon as someone clicks on this link.

Next, go back to the form builder, open the **Settings** tab, and click on the **Confirmations** option to set up what your users see after filling out the form.

![WPForms confirmation page](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/WPForms-confirmation-page.png "WPForms Confirmations")

After that, click the dropdown next to **Confirmation Type** and choose **Show Page**. Then, select the page where you put the link to download the file.

![confirmation type show page](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/confirmation-type-show-page.png "Confirmation Type Show Page")

To let people download a file, you can also use the **Message** or **Go to URL** form submission confirmation types to send them to the file download URL.

Because WordPress notification emails are configured to use PHP, many inboxes may label your emails as spam. To avoid this, consider [configuring your SMTP settings for improved email delivery](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wordpress-emails-going-to-spam/).

### Step 6: Publish Your Content Download Form

Now you just need to publish your form. To do this, click on the **Embed** option at the top right of the form builder.

![embed form button](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/embed-form-button.png "Embed Form Button")

If you want to create a new page for your form, click on the **Create New Page** option and give your page a name.

![create new page](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/create-new-page.png "Create New Page")

You will then be redirected to the WordPress block editor. Simply click on the **Publish** button to take your content download form live!

![publish content download form](https://wpmailsmtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/publish-content-download-form.png "Publish Content Download Form")

Lastly, it’s important to [test the embedded form](https://wpforms.com/form-testing-checklist/) on the front end and make sure it works as expected to ensure there are no problems.

### FAQs about Forms that Require Email to Download File

Looking for answers to your questions? Check out some of the most frequently asked questions we receive about forms that require email to download file:

#### How to require an email to download files in WordPress for free?

To collect emails before allowing file downloads on your WordPress site for free, you can use [WPForms Lite](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wpforms-lite/). First, create a new form and add an **Email** field. Then, set up a **Confirmation Message** or a page that includes the download link after submission.

Remember to enable **Email Notifications** to collect the users’ email addresses. This ensures you gather leads while providing your audience with the files they need, helping you expand your email list.

#### How do I make a WordPress file downloadable?

To make a file downloadable in WordPress for your email marketing purposes by collecting user email addresses, start by uploading the file to your Media Library. Once uploaded, click on the file to view its details and copy the file URL.

Next, create a new post or page, or edit an existing one, and insert a link to the file using the copied URL. You can customize the link text to prompt users to download the file. Save or publish the post/page, and your file will be downloadable to your visitors.

#### How do I make a downloadable PDF in WordPress?

Creating a downloadable PDF in WordPress is straightforward. First, upload the PDF file to your Media Library. After uploading, click on the file to get its URL. Then, go to the post or page where you want the PDF to be downloadable. Use the WordPress editor to add a link by selecting the text you want to link from and pasting the PDF URL.

### Next, Learn How to Make a Calculator Form in WordPress

Offering a way for your website visitors to make calculations directly on the form is a great way to engage with them. Check out this guide to learn [how to create a calculator form in WordPress](https://wpmailsmtp.com/how-to-make-a-calculator-form/) using WPForms!

[Fix Your WordPress Emails Now](https://wpmailsmtp.com/pricing/)

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**Categories:** WordPress Tutorials

**Tags:** email required, email to download file, lead forms addon, wpforms lite, wpforms pro

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