Are you looking for an easy way to have files uploaded through your WordPress forms be automatically sent to Google Drive? Letting users submit files via a form on your website is great, but having those files clutter up your WordPress Media Library is not ideal.
By connecting your WordPress forms with Google Drive, you can skip that step entirely! Every time a user uploads a file through your form, it will instantly be sent over to a folder in your Google Drive. No more logging into your WordPress dashboard to manually download and organize the files.
In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll walk you through exactly how to set this up using the WPForms plugin and a handy automation tool called Zapier. Let‘s get started!
Why Send WordPress Form Uploads to Google Drive?
So what‘s so great about uploading form files to Google Drive instead of keeping them on your WordPress site? Here are some of the key benefits:
Cloud access from any device. With files stored in Google Drive, you can access them from anywhere and on any device. No need to log into your WordPress admin dashboard. You can even use the Google Drive mobile apps to access files on the go!
Easier sharing and collaboration. Want to send a client the files they submitted through your form? Just share the Google Drive folder with them! They can view, download, and even collaborate on the files without needing access to your WordPress site.
Keeps WordPress site lean. Letting users upload large files or many files through a form can quickly eat up storage space on your WordPress hosting account. In fact, the average WordPress website size is 1.4 GB, but many shared hosting plans only provide 10-20 GB of storage. By offloading those files to Google Drive, you can save space and avoid potential overage fees from your host.
Extra layer of backup. What would you do if your WordPress site gets hacked or corrupted and you lose all your data? If all your form uploads are stored in Google Drive, you‘ll still have those files safe and sound. It‘s always smart to have important files backed up to the cloud.
Connect to other apps and workflows. With your form uploads in Google Drive, you can hook them up to tons of other productivity tools using Zapier or other automation platforms. More on that later!
Now that you know the "why", let‘s look at the "how".
Creating Your File Upload Form in WordPress
The first thing you‘ll need is a form on your WordPress site that includes a file upload field. We‘ll be using the WPForms plugin for this tutorial.
Don‘t have WPForms yet? No worries! It‘s the #1 rated form plugin for WordPress with over 5+ million active installations. Follow this guide to install and activate the WPForms plugin, then come back here to continue.
Once you have WPForms installed, follow these steps to create your file upload form:
- From your WordPress dashboard, go to WPForms » Add New.
- Choose the Blank Form template.
- Name your form and click Create.
- In the form builder, find the File Upload field under the "Fancy Fields" section and drag it onto your form.
- Customize the field options as needed. You can change the label, set allowed file types, max file size, and more.
- Add any other fields you want to your form, like Name, Email, Message, etc.
- When your form is ready, click Save.
- Go to the Settings » General tab and scroll down to "Submit Button". Change the text to something like "Upload Files".
- Configure your form notifications and confirmations as desired.
- Click Publish to make your form live.
Here‘s what our example file upload form looks like:
Once your form is published, submit a test entry with a file upload to make sure it‘s working properly. The uploaded file will be stored in your WordPress Media Library for now.
Setting Up the Google Drive Integration
Now that you have a working file upload form, it‘s time to connect it to Google Drive. To do that, we‘ll use a tool called Zapier.
Zapier is an automation platform that lets you connect different apps and services together. It acts as the "middle man" to send data from one app to another. In this case, we‘ll use Zapier to detect new form entries in WPForms and then copy the uploaded files over to Google Drive.
Here‘s how to set it up:
Install the WPForms Zapier addon. You‘ll need a Pro license or higher.
Create a free Zapier account at zapier.com.
From your Zapier dashboard, click the "Make a Zap" button.
For the Trigger App, search for and select WPForms.
Choose "New Form Entry" as the Trigger Event and click Continue.
Click the Sign in to WPForms button and enter your WPForms API Key. You can find this under WPForms » Settings » Integrations.
Follow the prompts to test the WPForms connection.
For the Action App, search for and select Google Drive.
Choose "Upload File" as the Action Event.
Click the Sign in to Google Drive button and authorize Zapier to access your Google Drive account.
Set up your Upload File settings:
- For Drive, choose My Drive or a shared drive
- For Folder, select the folder where form uploads should be sent
- For File, click the dropdown and choose your form‘s file upload field
(Optional) Customize the converted format for uploaded files
Click Continue and test your Zap.
If the test is successful, give your Zap a name and turn it on!
Now whenever someone uploads a file through your WordPress form, Zapier will automatically copy that file into your designated Google Drive folder. Pretty neat, right?
Best Practices & Considerations
While setting this up is fairly straightforward, there are a few things to keep in mind:
File Upload Limits
WPForms lets you set a maximum file size limit for uploads in the File Upload field settings. By default, this is 128 MB. However, your web server may have a lower limit that overrides this.
Check with your hosting provider to find out their file upload size limit. If you need to allow larger file uploads, you may need to increase the limit in your PHP settings.
Also, keep in mind that the larger the file sizes you allow, the more storage space they will take up in your Google Drive. Speaking of which…
Google Drive Storage Limits
Every Google account comes with 15 GB of free storage space that is shared across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. If you need more space, you‘ll have to upgrade to a paid Google One plan.
Here are the current Google Drive storage limits and pricing:
| Plan | Storage | Price (Monthly) | Price (Yearly) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 15 GB | Free | Free |
| Basic | 100 GB | $1.99 | $19.99 |
| Standard | 200 GB | $2.99 | $29.99 |
| Premium | 2 TB | $9.99 | $99.99 |
Consider how many form submissions with file uploads you expect to receive and how large the files will be. You may want to factor Google Drive storage costs into your budget.
Zapier Limits
The free Zapier plan only allows you to have 5 "Zaps" (automations) active at a time and limits you to 100 tasks per month. A "task" is counted each time your Zap runs, so in this case, each form submission with a file upload will count as 1 task.
If you expect to go over those limits, you‘ll need to upgrade to a paid Zapier plan starting at $19.99/month.
File Organization & Permissions
Think about how you want to organize the uploaded files within your Google Drive folder. You may want to create subfolders based on the form name, submission date, or user name. Keeping them organized from the start will make it easier to find and manage files later.
Also consider the sharing permissions you set for the destination folder in Google Drive. Do you want anyone with the link to be able to view or edit the files? Or should access be restricted to only certain email addresses? Adjust the sharing settings based on your needs.
Use Cases & Workflows
Now that you have your WordPress forms connected to Google Drive, the possibilities are endless! Here are just a few examples of how you might use this:
Client onboarding. Have new clients fill out an onboarding form that collects key info and lets them upload files like a logo, brand guidelines, etc. All the files will be organized in a Google Drive folder that you can access and share as needed.
User-submitted content. Running a contest or accepting guest posts on your blog? Set up a form to collect user submissions including images, videos, PDFs, etc. You can even use Zapier to send email notifications whenever a new file is uploaded.
Event registrations. Have people sign up for your webinar or conference and give them the option to upload a headshot, slides, or other materials. No more chasing people down for files!
Job applications. Easily collect resumes, cover letters, and portfolios from job applicants. You can share the uploaded files with your HR team via Google Drive.
Project management. Use a form to collect project requirements, specs, images, and more from clients. Then connect your Google Drive to Asana or Trello with Zapier to automatically create tasks from the uploaded files.
The sky‘s the limit! Any time you find yourself needing to collect files from users on your WordPress site, connecting your forms to Google Drive can help streamline the process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Still have questions about setting this up? Here are answers to some common ones:
What file types can be uploaded?
By default, WPForms supports uploading most common file types including images, documents, audio, and video. However, you can customize the allowed file types in the File Upload field settings.
Is there a limit to how many files can be uploaded per form submission?
WPForms does not have a hard limit on the number of files that can be uploaded at once. However, with the Zapier integration, each uploaded file will be sent over to Google Drive as a separate task. So if you allow 10 file uploads per form entry, that would use up 10 tasks in Zapier. Just something to keep in mind!
What happens to the files uploaded to WordPress?
By default, the files will still be stored in your WordPress Media Library even after they are sent to Google Drive. If you want to delete them from WordPress to save space, I recommend waiting a day or two to make sure they were successfully transferred to Google Drive first. You don‘t want to lose any files!
Can I use a different form plugin besides WPForms?
Yes, most popular WordPress form plugins integrate with Zapier, including Gravity Forms, Ninja Forms, Formidable Forms, and more. The setup steps may vary slightly, but the general concept is the same.
Is it secure to send form uploads to Google Drive?
Google Drive uses 128-bit AES encryption to protect all files stored on their servers. However, it‘s important to carefully consider the sensitivity of the information being uploaded and set sharing permissions appropriately. Avoid letting users upload sensitive personal data like social security numbers, credit card info, etc.
Alternative Solutions
If you‘d prefer not to use Zapier as the connector between WPForms and Google Drive, here are a few other options:
Gravity Forms + Google Drive Addon. This official addon lets you map form fields directly to Google Drive file upload fields. Requires a Gravity Forms license.
Google Drive for Ninja Forms. Send form uploads directly to Google Drive with this extension. Requires a Ninja Forms Personal or Business license.
Google Drive for Formidable Forms. Available as part of the Elite package, this add-on lets you save form uploads to Google Drive.
You could also consider using a different cloud storage service like Dropbox, Box, or OneDrive. Many form plugins offer direct integrations with these platforms as well.
Wrapping Up
Whew, that was a lot of information! Let‘s recap the key steps:
- Install & activate the WPForms plugin on your WordPress site
- Create a form that includes a File Upload field
- Install the WPForms Zapier addon
- Create a Zap that connects WPForms entries to Google Drive folders
- Test it out and enjoy your automated file uploads!
With a little bit of setup, you can create a completely hands-off process for collecting and organizing files submitted through your WordPress forms.
I hope this guide has been helpful in walking you through the process! As you can see, the possibilities are virtually endless once you start connecting different tools and automating your workflows.
If you run into any snags or have questions, feel free to leave a comment below. I‘m happy to help out however I can. Happy automating!
