Tech
Contact Form 7 add confirm Not Working? 3 Alternatives and a 5-Minute Migration Guide
Contact Form 7 add confirm, once the go-to plugin for adding a confirmation screen, hasn't been updated in about eight years and no longer works with the latest version of CF7. This article explains why it can still be installed today despite the risk, three alternative ways to restore the confirmation screen, and a 5-minute migration process that doesn't require rebuilding your forms.
Contact Form 7 add confirm was long the go-to plugin for adding a confirmation screen to Contact Form 7 (CF7). In reality, though, it hasn’t been updated in about eight years, and it was only ever tested through the WordPress 4.9 era. Since CF7 v5.4, users have widely reported issues such as clicking the confirm button without being taken to the confirmation screen, or submissions never completing.
The tricky part is that its page is still live in the official directory, so you can still install it today. New users keep discovering it through old tutorial articles, installing it, and then struggling when the confirmation screen simply doesn’t work. It still has over 50,000 active installs, and a large number of sites are still running it from years ago, unaware of when it might stop working entirely.
This article reviews the current state of add confirm, then walks through three alternative ways to restore the confirmation screen and a migration process that doesn’t require rebuilding your forms.
What Happened to Contact Form 7 add confirm
add confirm was a popular add-on that let CF7 forms follow an input → confirm → submit flow, but its development and updates have been stalled for a long time.
The problem is that CF7 itself keeps getting updated. Because add confirm was built to hook deeply into CF7’s internal submission process, it’s prone to breaking with every specification change on CF7’s side — and issues around the confirmation screen surfaced all at once after CF7 v5.4’s internal changes in particular.
- Last updated roughly eight years ago, with no fixes in sight
- Only tested through the WordPress 4.9 era (untested on current WordPress)
- Numerous reports since CF7 v5.4 of the confirmation screen failing to appear or submissions not going through
- Still listed in the official directory, so new installs remain possible
Workarounds involving patch code added to functions.php are floating around, but since the plugin itself is no longer maintained, you’ll keep carrying the risk of it breaking with every future CF7 update. A broken contact form means lost inquiries — a direct business cost. Even if your site’s form still works today, it’s safer to plan a migration proactively, before the next CF7 or WordPress update breaks it.
Three Alternative Approaches
| Approach | Cost | Ease | Maintainability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative 1: Use a free plugin | Free | ★★★ (configuration only) | High (actively maintained) |
| Alternative 2: Build it yourself with JavaScript | Free | ★☆☆ (requires coding) | Low (self-maintained) |
| Alternative 3: Remove the confirmation screen | Free | ★★★ | − |
Alternative 1: Restore the Confirmation Screen with a Free Plugin
Implementation ease ★★★
This is the easiest option with the fewest maintenance concerns. Frontierline Forms is an add-on plugin that extends Contact Form 7 directly, and it’s distributed after passing review in the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
What matters most when migrating from add confirm is that you don’t need to rebuild your existing forms. Your CF7 form tags, email settings, and auto-reply all stay as they are — simply turn on the confirmation screen in the settings screen, and the input → confirm → submit → complete flow is restored.
- Confirmation screen, completion screen, and multi-step forms are free and unlimited
- Radio buttons, checkboxes, and file attachments are automatically formatted for display on the confirmation screen
- A “back to edit” action that returns users to the input screen, plus mobile support, comes standard
- Database storage of submission logs and CSV export are also free (features add confirm never had)
- Both the admin screen and the front-end UI are in Japanese
For a deeper look at the implementation approach, see How to Add a Confirmation Screen to Contact Form 7, and for a feature comparison with other extension plugins, see Comparing Recommended CF7 Extension Plugins.
Migrating from add confirm (5 Minutes)
- In the plugins list, deactivate and delete add confirm (your CF7 form tags remain untouched)
- Go to Plugins > Add New, search for “Frontierline Forms”, then install and activate it
- In the settings screen, turn on the confirmation screen
- Open the form and run a test submission to confirm the input → confirm → submit → complete flow works
No form tag rewriting is required. Just remove any add confirm-specific tags (such as [confirm]) still left in your form. For full setup details, see the Confirmation and Completion Screen Setup Guide.
Alternative 2: Build It Yourself with JavaScript
Implementation ease ★☆☆
If you’re comfortable writing code, another option is to hook into CF7’s events and build your own confirmation screen. This can be a valid choice for sites that don’t want to add another plugin.
That said, the more you build out — duplicate validation logic, formatting for radio buttons, checkboxes, and attachments, a “back to edit” action, mobile support — the more your code grows, and you end up in the same structural position as add confirm: you personally take on the risk of CF7 updates breaking things. This can work for a single simple form, but the cost usually isn’t worth it if you’re maintaining multiple sites. A concrete implementation example is shown in How to Add a Confirmation Screen.
Alternative 3: Remove the Confirmation Screen Entirely
A different approach is to remove the confirmation screen altogether. Some recent thinking on UX design holds that a confirmation screen adds an extra step and can lower conversion rates.
That said, a confirmation screen is still valuable for preventing submission errors and giving a more careful impression on forms such as B2B quote requests, appointments for professional or medical services, or any form with many fields. Don’t remove it casually just because you’re migrating anyway — decide based on what the form is actually for. If you’re unsure, a multi-step form that keeps the confirmation screen while breaking input into stages is also worth considering.
Feature Comparison: add confirm vs. Alternative Plugin
| Feature | add confirm | Frontierline Forms (Free) |
|---|---|---|
| Confirmation screen | ○ (does not work on the latest CF7) | ○ |
| Completion screen (thank-you display) | △ | ○ |
| Multi-step forms | − | ○ (unlimited) |
| Database storage of submission logs | − | ○ |
| CSV export | − | ○ |
| Japanese admin UI | ○ | ○ |
| Updates / compatibility with the latest CF7 | × (stalled for ~8 years) | ○ (actively developed) |
Beyond just restoring the confirmation screen, the free version also covers submission storage, CSV export, and multi-step forms — none of which existed in the add confirm era.
WordPress Plugin
Migrate away from add confirm in 5 minutes.
Frontierline Forms is an extension plugin that restores the "input → confirm → submit → complete" flow through configuration alone, with no need to rebuild your existing Contact Form 7 forms. The confirmation screen, multi-step forms, database storage of submission logs, and CSV export are all free and unlimited, distributed through the official WordPress.org repository. If you need Slack/Chatwork notifications or automatic email replies, the Pro version (from $39.99/year) is available — enter the launch discount code EARLYBIRD2026 at checkout for a discounted price.
Summary
Contact Form 7 add confirm hasn’t been updated in about eight years and continues to be incompatible with the latest version of CF7. Because its page is still live in the directory, it can still be installed today, but a fix is not expected. Even on sites where it still works, it’s safer to migrate before the next CF7 update breaks it.
If you’d also like to add spam protection such as Cloudflare Turnstile after migrating, How to Use Turnstile and a Confirmation Screen Together in Contact Form 7 is a helpful reference.
If you’d rather not write any code, migrating to the free plugin is the fastest route — your existing forms stay as they are, and you can restore the confirmation screen in five minutes. For custom development or a broader overhaul of your forms, feel free to get help on WordPress.org.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Is Contact Form 7 add confirm no longer usable?
It’s still listed in the official directory, so you can technically install it. However, its last update was about eight years ago, it was only tested through the WordPress 4.9 era, and widely reported issues show the confirmation screen not working with CF7 v5.4 and later. Since a fix is unlikely, it’s safest to treat it as effectively unusable and migrate.
Q. Do I need to rebuild my forms when migrating?
No. If you migrate to Frontierline Forms, your CF7 form tags and auto-reply email settings carry over as-is. Just remove add confirm, activate the new plugin, and turn on the confirmation screen setting.
Q. Is the alternative free to use?
Yes. The free version gives you unlimited access to the confirmation screen, completion screen, multi-step forms, database storage of submission logs, and CSV export.