3 great petition plug-ins for WordPress

Petitions can be a powerful way to bring about change. However, collecting signatures in person requires a lot of work. Staff or volunteers have to go out into the community to solicit support. That’s why many nonprofits and grassroots groups have begun shifting to a digital petition strategy.

Adding an online petition to your organization’s WordPress website allows your followers to sign your petition wherever they are, reducing the barriers to entry. A WordPress plug-in for petitions makes adding them to your site a snap.

To ensure your online petition works properly, you need to find the right petition plug-in for WordPress for your needs. The options on the market are limited, so it’s important to choose carefully.

Top 3 petition plug-ins for WordPress

To choose the right petition plug-in for your needs, look for one that has the features you require and is easy to use. Your team may have a wide range of experience in creating, managing, and analyzing petition forms on WordPress, which means you need a solution that works for beginners and advanced users alike. Finding a user-friendly solution is key.

Another major factor for nonprofit organizations to consider is the cost of the plug-in. You want to allocate your resources to make the greatest impact, so finding a cost-effective petition plug-in for WordPress will also be important.

Here’s a breakdown of top three choices for the best petition plug-ins for WordPress.

1. Jotform

Jotform is a free online form builder that provides a number of benefits through its suite of solutions. It’s designed for ease of use and flexibility, and it offers a WordPress plug-in that will level up your website’s capabilities.

Pros and cons

• Pros:
  • Drag-and-drop form builder
  • More than 60 petition templates
  • Reusable and customizable forms
• Cons:
  • Limits on how many forms you can create with the free version

Key features:

• Easy-to-use, drag-and-drop form builder
• Advanced suite of features, including an e-signature tool (Jotform Sign) and integrations with payment processors to collect donations
• Special nonprofit pricing on any paid plan

Pricing

• Free to use for a limited number of forms and users. Paid plans with higher limits start at $34 per month.
• 50 percent discount for nonprofits on all paid plans

2. SpeakOut! Email Petitions

SpeakOut! Email Petitions is a straightforward WordPress plug-in with a single purpose: to create petitions. Even though it only has one function, more than 4,000 users have installed the plug-in, and it gets high ratings.

Pros and cons

• Pros
  • Easy petition form creation
  • Signature storage in a WordPress database
  • Allows you to automatically close a petition on a specified date or after your signature goal is reached
• Cons
  • Limited features and customization options
  • Doesn’t allow you to import files or collect donations
  • No templates

Key features

• Petition building and management
• Data export through CSV files
• Petition-sharing capabilities through social media

Pricing

• Free plug-in
• One-time payment of $25 for Pro version

3. Civist

Civist is an activist-centric program that focuses on providing nonprofits with petition and fundraising services. Many users look to its WordPress plug-in to create and share petitions directly on their websites as well as to collect donations from supporters.

Pros and cons

• Pros
  • Supporter management features within WordPress
  • Unlimited petitions
  • Straightforward form creation
• Cons
  • Limited customer support services
  • Email templates aren’t customizable
  • 5 percent donation processing fee

Key features

• Supporter management
• Donation collection
• Petition creation and management

Pricing

• Free basic plan
• €400 per year for organizations or individual pricing for upgraded plans

While each of these plug-ins has its benefits, deciding which is the best fit for your organization will depend on your needs. If you run a nonprofit that produces a high volume of petitions, you need a plug-in that can keep up.

Supercharge your petitions with Jotform

Creating petitions is only one part of the process of enacting change. Once your team creates a petition, they must manage, use, and track data to ensure you get the most out of it. That’s why Jotform’s additional features and functionality makes it a great WordPress plug-in for petitions.

Beyond its drag-and-drop form builder, powerful petition templates, and e-signature capabilities, Jotform offers a number of additional features that will benefit your cause. These include

• Data management and organization with Jotform Tables
• Offline data collection with Jotform Mobile Forms
• E-signature capabilities through Jotform Sign
• More than 100 other powerful integrations

Each of these benefits extends the reach and value of your petitions, offering your organization powerful tools for every step of the petition process.

The plug-in that offers more

Your organization deserves a petition plug-in that extends your reach, empowers your supporters, and adds value to your strategy. That’s why choosing a petition plug-in for WordPress that offers more beyond just petitions is crucial for getting the most out of your outreach efforts.

Jotform helps you build your petitions, share them with your supporters, and increase their value — even after people have signed them.

Photo by Ryan Snaadt on Unsplash