WPForms Notification Smart Tags

Hi @myfamilypattern,

Thanks for reaching out!

I’ve looked into the behavior you described while using the GeneratePress theme. I tested the {page_title} Smart Tag within a sidebar widget on my own setup, but I was unable to reproduce the issue; the Smart Tag correctly pulled the title of the blog post being viewed.

You can see my test results in this screencast: https://a.supportally.com/v/hYQzng

To help me narrow down why this might be happening on your site, could you please check a few things for me?

• Check Versions: Please ensure you are running the latest version of the GeneratePress theme (3.6.1) and WPForms Lite (1.9.9.2).
• How is the widget added?: Could you let me know exactly how you added the form to your sidebar (e.g., using the WPForms Block, a Shortcode, or a Legacy Widget)?
• Page Details: Are the pages where this is happening standard blog posts, or are they built using a specific page builder or template?

If possible, please share screenshots or a video showing the issue and your settings.

This information may help us to reproduce the issue you’re experiencing and provide further information.

Thanks!

Hi @myfamilypattern,

Thank you for confirming those versions and for providing the screenshots!

The reason the Smart Tags are returning “Subscribe to Blog” is that your sidebar currently uses a button that redirects the user to a new page. Since the form is actually being submitted on that new “Subscribe” page, the Smart Tags correctly identify that page as the source.

To capture the original page title and URL, you have two options:

Option 1: Use “Prefill by URL” (Recommended)

This method uses a small “bridge” form in your sidebar to pass data to your main subscription form.

1. Create a Sidebar Form: Create a new form. In Settings > General, change the Submit Button Text to “Subscribe to Blog”.
2. Add Hidden Fields: Add two Single Line Text fields to this new form.
   • Set the Default Value of the first to {page_title} and the second to {page_url}.
   • Hide these fields by adding wpforms-field-hidden to the CSS Classes box in the field settings (documentation).
3. Prepare your Main Form (ID #711): On the form that you’re using on the “Subscribe to Blog” page, add two similar hidden Single Line Text fields.
4. Enable Prefill: In the settings for form #711, enable Prefill by URL under Settings > General (documentation).
5. Set the Redirect: In your new sidebar form, go to Settings > Confirmations. Set the type to Go to URL and use a query string like this: https://yourdomain/subscribe-to-blog/?wpf711_3={field_id="1"}&wpf711_4={field_id="2"} (Replace the numbers with your actual field IDs; “1” and “2” from the fields in the new form; “3” and “4” from the new fields in the form ID #711).

You can find the full technical guide for this here: How to Use Query Strings to Pre-Populate Form Fields

Option 2: Custom URL Button

If you prefer to keep using a simple button in the sidebar, you can manually add query strings to the link. However, this is less dynamic than Option 1 as it won’t automatically update for every single post unless your theme supports dynamic links.

Example link: https://yourdomain/subscribe-to-blog/?wpf711_3=Custom%20Clusters%3A%20Step%20Into%20Your%20Match’s%20Shoes&wpf711_4=https%3A%2F%2Fmyfamilypattern.com%2Fmatchs-shoes%2F

I hope this helps!

Hi @myfamilypattern,

I’m sorry for the confusion with those instructions! I definitely understand how terms like “sidebar form” or “hidden fields” can feel a bit overwhelming when you’re first getting started.

I’ve recorded a screencast to show you exactly how to follow these steps within the WPForms builder: https://a.supportally.com/v/R65DsH.

I hope the screencast helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions as you work through this.

Hi @myfamilypattern, 

You’re very welcome!

If you’d like more help with using WPForms Lite, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

Thanks!