Using Gravity Forms ‘gform_after_submission’ PHP action

Gravity Forms is a powerful tool that allows you to create forms and collect data from your website visitors.

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One of the many features that make Gravity Forms so useful is the “gform_after_submission” action. This action allows you to perform custom actions after a form has been submitted.

In this guide, we’ll walk through the basics of using the “gform_after_submission” action, including what it is, how to use it, and some practical examples.

What is the “gform_after_submission” Action?

The “gform_after_submission” action is a hook that is triggered after a form is submitted.

It can be used to perform custom actions on the data that was submitted, such as sending an email, creating a new post, or updating a database.

How to Use the “gform_after_submission” Action

To use the “gform_after_submission” action, you’ll need to add a function to your WordPress site’s functions.php file. Here’s an example of what the code might look like:

add_action( 'gform_after_submission', 'my_custom_function', 10, 2 );
function my_custom_function( $entry, $form ) {
    // Your custom code goes here
}

Let’s break down what’s happening in this code:

The add_action function is used to hook into the “gform_after_submission” action.
The first parameter is the name of the action you want to hook into.
The second parameter is the name of the function you want to call when the action is triggered.
The third parameter is the priority of the action (in this case, 10).
The fourth parameter is the number of arguments that the function will accept (in this case, 2).

Parameters

The “gform_after_submission” action passes two parameters to your custom function:

$entry – an array of data that was submitted in the form.
$form – an array of data about the form that was submitted.

Examples

Here are five practical examples of how you can use the “gform_after_submission” action:

1. Send an Email Notification

Scenario: You want to send an email notification to yourself when someone submits a form on your website.

add_action( 'gform_after_submission', 'send_notification_email', 10, 2 );
function send_notification_email( $entry, $form ) {
    $to = '[email protected]';
    $subject = 'Form Submission Notification';
    $message = 'A new form submission has been received.';
    wp_mail( $to, $subject, $message );
}

This code will send an email to “[email protected]” with the subject “Form Submission Notification” and the message “A new form submission has been received.”

2. Create a New Post

Scenario: You want to create a new post on your WordPress site whenever someone submits a form.

add_action( 'gform_after_submission', 'create_new_post', 10, 2 );
function create_new_post( $entry, $form ) {
    $post_data = array(
        'post_title' => $entry[1],
        'post_content' => $entry[2],
        'post_author' => get_current_user_id(),
        'post_status' => 'publish',
        'post_type' => 'post'
    );
    $post_id = wp_insert_post( $post_data );
}

This code will create a new post with the title and content of the first two fields in the form, set the author to the current user, and publish the post.

3. Update a User Profile

Scenario: You want to update a user’s profile on your site when they submit a form.

add_action( 'gform_after_submission', 'update_user_profile', 10, 2 );
function update_user_profile( $entry, $form ) {
    $user_id = get_current_user_id();
    $user_data = array(
        'first_name' => $entry[1],
        'last_name' => $entry[2],
        'user_email' => $entry[3]
    );
    wp_update_user( $user_data, $user_id );
}

This code will update the current user’s first name, last name, and email address with the values from the form.

4. Add User to a Mailchimp List

Scenario: You want to add someone to a Mailchimp list when they submit a form.

add_action( 'gform_after_submission', 'add_to_mailchimp_list', 10, 2 );
function add_to_mailchimp_list( $entry, $form ) {
    $api_key = 'your-api-key';
    $list_id = 'your-list-id';
    $email = $entry[3];
    $merge_vars = array(
        'FNAME' => $entry[1],
        'LNAME' => $entry[2]
    );
    $mc = new Mailchimp( $api_key );
    $mc->lists->subscribe( $list_id, array( 'email' => $email ), $merge_vars );
}

This code will add the person who submitted the form to a Mailchimp list, with their first name and last name as merge fields.

5. Redirect to a Custom Thank You Page

Scenario: You want to redirect someone to a custom thank you page after they submit a form.

add_action( 'gform_after_submission', 'redirect_to_thankyou', 10, 2 );
function redirect_to_thankyou( $entry, $form ) {
    $redirect_url = 'http://example.com/thank-you';
    wp_redirect( $redirect_url );
    exit;
}

This code will redirect someone to “http://example.com/thank-you” after they submit the form.