How to automate actions after Gravity Forms submissions
The short answer
Gravity Forms can automate emails, redirects and supported integrations through notifications, confirmations and add-on feeds. For custom actions, use the documented submission hook; for several conditional actions that non-developers must manage, a workflow plugin is usually the faster route.
What you need
- Gravity Forms installed and activated
- A form with the fields that control the workflow
- Administrator or form-manager access
- A staging site or safe test submission
The fast route
Get GravityActions by GravityView
Let GravityActions by GravityView do it
Conditional workflow actions with hooks, filters, and integrations for automating Gravity Forms submission tasks.
Questions
- Can Gravity Forms automate actions without another plugin?
- Yes, Gravity Forms can automate notifications, confirmations and supported add-on feeds without another workflow plugin. You can also write custom PHP using the documented <code>gform_after_submission</code> action. A separate plugin is mainly useful when you want several conditional actions managed through an interface instead of custom code.
- What is the correct hook for an action after submission?
- The documented hook is <code>gform_after_submission</code>, which runs after the entry has been created and receives the entry and form objects. To limit it to one form, use the form-specific form such as <code>gform_after_submission_5</code>. Do not use a generic WordPress form hook unless the integration documents one.
- Why did my feed run after the confirmation appeared?
- Gravity Forms feeds can be processed asynchronously after the entry is created, so the confirmation may appear before the external action finishes. Check the entry and the connected service rather than assuming that a displayed thank-you message proves the feed succeeded. For important workflows, add logging, retries or an administrative review step.
- Do hidden fields work in post-submission actions?
- Not always. A field hidden by conditional logic is ignored during submission and is not saved in the entry. If an automated action depends on a value, collect it in a field that is actually submitted or use a value that the callback can calculate safely from the entry.
- Can spam submissions trigger custom actions?
- Yes, the <code>gform_after_submission</code> hook can run for entries marked as spam. Gravity Forms does not process configured feeds, notifications or confirmations for spam entries, so custom callbacks need their own spam check before sending email, creating records or calling an external API.