How to Set Up Pre-Populated Email Lead Capture in WordPress

You click a link, land on a form, and your email is already filled in. Seamless. Professional. That’s the magic of prepopulated form fields.

Today, we’re walking through how to set up prepopulated email fields on your website using Mailchimp + WordPress + WPForms—no coding background required. With that being said, we know techy stuff can get confusing quick and these processes change often (they may have changed since we published this article). If you’re struggling to get your website and email marketing campaigns set up seamlessly, reach out to Joyce Voice today to get your business seen where it matters.

If you want to streamline your lead capture process and create a premium user experience for your audience, this one’s for you.

Why Prepopulated Forms Matter

Removing friction = increasing conversions.

When your user clicks through from an email and sees their info already filled in, they’re more likely to finish the form. It feels personalized, thoughtful, and professional.

This could be especially valuable for:

  • Downloadable resources
  • Waitlist applications
  • VIP access forms
  • Webinar or event signups
  • Lead magnet confirmations

Tools You’ll Need

  • Mailchimp (or any email platform that supports merge tags)
  • WordPress website
  • WPForms plugin
  • A published form on a landing page or content offer page

Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1: Enable Pre-Fill in WPForms

  1. Go to WPForms > All Forms in your WordPress dashboard
  2. Open the form you want to use (click edit)
  3. Click Settings > General
  4. Toggle ON the option: “Enable Prefill by URL” and save.

This tells WPForms to accept dynamic values via query strings in the URL.

Step 2: Identify Your Form and Field IDs

  • Form ID:
    On the All Forms page, look at the shortcode for the form you are working with. The number you see in the URL (like id=123) is your form ID.
  • Field ID (for Email):
    Inside the form builder, click the Email field. You’ll see something like “Field ID #2”. That’s the one we want. This will go after the underscore in the url below which shows the website which

Step 3: Create Your URL with Mailchimp Merge Tags

To pre-fill the email field, you’ll build a link using this format:

https://yourdomain.com/landing-page?wpf123_2=*|EMAIL|*

Breakdown:

  • wpf = required prefix
  • 123 = your form ID
  • 2 = your email field ID
  • *|EMAIL|* = Mailchimp’s merge tag for subscriber emails

Paste this full URL into your Mailchimp email as a call-to-action button or hyperlink.

Step 4: Pre-Fill Other Fields As Needed

Want to get fancy? You can add first names, last names, and more:

https://yourdomain.com/landing-page?wpf123_2=*|EMAIL|*&wpf123_3=*|FNAME|*

Just repeat the format for each field. Find the field IDs inside your WPForms builder.

Pro Tip: Use Hidden Fields

You can hide the email field so it’s submitted quietly behind the scenes:

  1. Add a Single Line Text field
  2. Label it “Email (Hidden)”
  3. Under Advanced Options, toggle “Hide Field”
  4. Still use the same wpf123_2=*|EMAIL|* format in your link

The field will be invisible on the page—but the value will be captured.

Step 6: Test Everything

Before sending your email blast, always test:

  • Send yourself a test email via Mailchimp
  • Click the link
  • Make sure the form fields are pre-filled
  • Submit and confirm the form works as expected

Pro Tips for High-Converting Prepop Forms

  • Use short, clear URLs by setting up redirect links or pretty permalinks
  • Add conditional logic in WPForms to show different messages based on prefilled values
  • Create a fallback in case the email field is blank (like a “type your email” prompt)
  • Keep it ethical—always pre-fill for users who’ve opted in and expect the form

Need Help Setting Up Your Sales & Marketing Workflows?

Prepopulated forms are a small but powerful way to upgrade your brand’s conversion experience. They save your audience time, build trust, and position your business as polished and professional.

If you’re building funnels and want your pipeline to reflect your brand’s intelligence and elegance, we offer personalized audits, setup, and full-service execution.

JoyceVoice accepts a select number of clients to provide high-quality web management, SEO, and email marketing services to each cycle.

Fill out the form below to apply for a free marketing analysis and see if we might be a good fit.

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