WordPress Lead Generation: The Complete Guide

Lead generation on WordPress boils down to three steps: capture the lead, store it somewhere useful, and follow up before they forget you exist.

Most guides overcomplicate this with elaborate funnel diagrams and marketing automation fantasies. Let's keep it real.

Step 1: Capture the lead

You need a form. That's it. A form on your website that collects at minimum:

• Email address (required — this is how you follow up)
• Name (helpful for personalisation)
• What they need (optional — helps you prioritise)

Where to put forms

High-conversion placements:

1. Dedicated contact/inquiry page — linked from main navigation
2. End of blog posts — "Need help with this? Get in touch"
3. Homepage above the fold — if your site's primary purpose is lead capture
4. Exit-intent popup — divisive but effective (use sparingly)

Low-conversion placements:

• Sidebar widgets (people have banner blindness)
• Deep in footer (nobody scrolls there)
• Behind multiple clicks (reduce friction)

Form length matters

The data is clear:

• 3 fields or fewer → ~25% conversion rate
• 4-6 fields → ~15% conversion rate
• 7+ fields → ~10% conversion rate

Every field you add costs you leads. Only ask for what you'll actually use. (We dive deeper into this in why your forms are killing your conversions.)

Step 2: Store it somewhere useful

This is where most WordPress sites fail. The form captures the lead, but then what?

The wrong way

• Submissions go to your email inbox
• You might add them to a spreadsheet
• You forget about half of them
• No system for follow-up or tracking

The right way

Every lead should go into a CRM (Customer Relationship Management system) where you can:

• See all leads in one place
• Track where each lead is in your sales process
• Set follow-up reminders
• Record interactions and notes
• Measure conversion rates

WordPress CRM options

1. SkunkCRM (free, built into SkunkForms) — leads flow directly from forms to CRM with zero configuration
2. FluentCRM ($129/yr) — full email automation platform
3. HubSpot (free tier available) — SaaS, powerful but your data lives on their servers
4. Jetpack CRM (free + paid add-ons) — solid WordPress-native option
5. Spreadsheet (free but manual) — honestly fine for fewer than 50 leads/month

The key insight: your form plugin and CRM should be connected. If you're manually moving data between them, you're losing leads in the gap. Learn how to send form data straight to your CRM without Zapier.

Step 3: Follow up fast

Speed matters more than you think:

• Respond within 5 minutes → 21x more likely to qualify
• Respond within 30 minutes → 7x more likely
• Respond within 1 hour → still decent
• Respond the next day → they've probably moved on

Automation helps

At minimum, set up:

1. Auto-responder email — "Thanks for getting in touch, we'll reply within [X hours]"
2. Admin notification — push notification or urgent email when a lead comes in
3. Pipeline tracking — move leads through stages (New → Contacted → Qualified → Won/Lost)

What to say

Your first response should:

• Acknowledge their inquiry specifically (not a generic template)
• Answer their question or provide next steps
• Include a clear call to action (book a call, reply with details, etc.)
• Come from a real person's name, not "noreply@company.com"

Lead quality > lead quantity

100 qualified leads are worth more than 10,000 email addresses from a "free PDF download" funnel.

Focus on:

• Intent signals — Someone filling out "Request a Quote" is more valuable than "Download our ebook"
• Qualification questions — Add a budget range or timeline field to identify serious inquiries
• Source tracking — Know which pages, blog posts, or campaigns generate your best leads

Measuring success

Track these metrics monthly:

• Form conversion rate — views vs. submissions
• Lead-to-response time — how fast are you replying?
• Lead-to-customer conversion — what % of leads become paying customers?
• Cost per lead — if you're spending on ads or content
• Revenue per lead source — which channels produce the most valuable leads?

The simple WordPress setup

If you're starting from scratch, here's the minimum viable lead generation stack:

1. Install SkunkForms (free) — block editor form builder with built-in CRM
2. Create a contact form — name, email, message (3 fields)
3. Add it to your site — contact page + end of blog posts
4. Set up notifications — email alert when submissions come in
5. Check your CRM daily — respond to leads, update deal stages

Total cost: $0. Setup time: 10 minutes.

That's it. You can add complexity later (automation, email sequences, A/B testing), but this foundation captures and tracks leads from day one. See our pricing page if you need Pro features like conditional logic and advanced fields.

Get started free →