How to Add Electronic Signatures via WordPress

Most of the time, electronic signatures on contracts are a simple matter. You create a PDF, you send that PDF to someone, and you both sign the document. With good, secure storage, you can then keep that document electronically for easy reference and searching.

But what if you’re not a “most of the time” kind of business?

In some cases, you may need to create a way to directly sign documents on a WordPress website. For example, if you have a business that requires people to sign their authorization for certain issues, you’ll need a way to collect those automatically. Why? If you don’t do it automatically, you can create a bottleneck in your business, making it nearly impossible to scale.

Fortunately, there are some ways you can expand your digital infrastructure to make it easy to collect electronic signatures. Here are some ways you can do it:

• Use WordPress plugins to gather these signatures. If you’re already working on an existing platform like WordPress, it’s not difficult to add a plugin to your repertoire and begin collecting digital signatures. These plugins can be very efficient in how they gather signatures, email the digital copy to you, and let you begin archiving every customer’s signature. The problem? Figuring out which is best for you. WordPress plugins can vary widely based on function and price. You’ll also have to work within an existing WordPress frame of reference if these plugins are going to be simple to install.
• Nitro. Later on in this post, we’ll talk about alternatives to WordPress plugins. If you’re wary of the number of plugins you already use and of the lack of support these plugins can offer you in the future, it’s often best to go with a electronic signature solution that you can trust. And if you already use Nitro, this will help you maintain a record of all relevant signatures in the same place.

To get started, let’s look at some of the WordPress plugins you can use, while also exploring simple alternatives.

Table of Contents

If you want to check out just one of the solutions out there, you can skip ahead with this table of contents.

• Superforms Signature Add-On
• Newoldstamp
• Easy Digital Downloads
• ApproveMe eSignature
• Making WordPress Electronic Signatures Work
• Alternatives to WordPress Electronic Signatures

Superforms Signature Add-On

One of the easiest ways to start collecting signatures from your customers, Superforms Signature (also known as Signature—Superforms) is a slick way to gather digital signatures if you’re already using WordPress. The license is affordable, and the features will generally work well within an existing WordPress framework. For example, if you already have purchase forms, it should be easy to add a “collect signature” aspect to that existing form.

This is also one of the better-reviewed options on the list, though reviews are limited.

• Price: $20 regular license from Envato Market
• Reviews: 5.00/5.00 on 10 reviews

• Features: 

  • Adding signatures to any of your pre-existing forms.
  • When you receive a signature, the app will automatically save those signatures as an image. It will then attach those to your email and save the image in your contact entries, ensuring full automation of digital signature collection. 
• Support: Six months’ support when purchasing a license. Additional length of support is also available for purchase, currently at $5.63 to extend support to 12 months.

Newoldstamp

Less a WordPress add-on than a business signature management tool that you can use when also using WordPress, Newoldstamp’s Email Signature software lets you manage a team, segment your customers, and generally manage your signatures with relative ease. The problem here for many is that it may introduce another element to your signature management that you didn’t want. True: there are integrations for tools like G Suite. However, if you already have a signature management tool, you may find this one is redundant for your purposes. Explore the features first before making a decision.

• Price: $23 when charged quarterlyfor their “Email Signatures Branding” pricing tier. $32/quarterly when you upgrade to their “Email Signatures Marketing” plan, which unlocks features like customer segmentation.
• Reviews: 4.6/5 with 559 votes on GetApp.

• Features: 

  • A centralized platform to help manage your employees’ signatures.
  • Segment customers to easily organize existing signatures and enhance your marketing efforts.
• Support: Customer support is available as long as you’re paying. With Email Signatures Branding, you can receive chat and ticket support.

Easy Digital Downloads

Another WordPress plugin, Easy Digital Downloads Digital Signature steps in to provide both you and your customers with PDF copies of what was just signed. This can be an effective way to start collecting signatures for new websites and shops, especially if you’ve never captured digital signatures before.

The benefit here is that Easy Digital Downloads uses the existing WordPress platform to easily add how and when you collect these signatures. You can simply create a new signature field within WordPress, add the places where the signatures need to be signed and dated, and voila—you’re off to the races. Or, more accurately, the plugin is off to the races, handling the collection of these signatures with ease.

• Price: Free to download
• Reviews: ⅗ on 4 reviews at WordPress.org.

• Features: 

  • Set it up so customers are required to sign a contract before they’re able to buy your product. 
  • Create a blank WordPress page for automatically holding your document; very easy to integrate with the WordPress CMS.
• Support: Available forums on the WordPress site.

ApproveMe eSignature

Also known as WP eSignature or WP E-Signature by ApproveMe.com, this WordPress plugin is essentially a suite of add-ons for more robust WordPress pages. The price is high, as we’ll detail below. But with that price you’ll also get all sorts of robust features, which can be especially important for a website with a lot of customers—and a lot of signatures to get through.

Those add-ons include contract automation, third-party integrations (such as Dropbox and WooCommerce), and URL redirects after signing that help you ensure the proper order flow once a customer has signed. Add it all up and you’ll have plenty of options for getting your contracts signed. The question is: is it worth the price?

• Price: $239 for Pro (per year). The Ultimate version includes a $499 one-time payment that helps you avoid the yearly costs.
• Reviews: 1.7/5 stars on G2.

• Features: 

  • An option for paying one time to continue to use the software for a lifetime, which can provide quality returns in the long run—assuming you want to stick with the product.
  • Contract builder helps you establish contracts through the software itself.
  • Users can receive the files signed as PDFs; easy to automate.
• Support: Email support available with all pricing tiers.

Making WordPress Electronic Signatures Work

If you’re not familiar with the basic process of using WordPress add-ons, it’s worth taking the time to find out what they’re all about.

• First, download your plugin from the site. Typically, plugins will give you files that you can keep locally, which you can then upload directly to your WordPress. You should download it in a .zip format, because that’s what WordPress will ask for. Don’t worry about unzipping the files yourself; WordPress will handle all of that for you.
• To visit your Plugins and add a new one, go to Plugins -> Add New.
• On the Add Plugin stage, click Upload Plugin.
• From there, you’ll notice that it asks you for the plugin as a .zip format. 
• Once you’ve followed through that process, Activate the plugin, and you’ll be ready to go!

From there, you may have to do some configuration within the plugin itself. And since we don’t know which plugin you chose, we can’t tell you what to do there. But most plugins will come with instructions—and failing that, you should be able to find instructions and support for using them online. Take special note of those plugins that offer additional support as part of their features.

Alternatives to WordPress Electronic Signatures

Maybe you don’t want to use a WordPress plugin to handle your electronic signatures. And maybe you don’t want to separate your signature collection into two different services. If that’s the case, what should you do?

With Nitro’s eSignature solution, you can send unlimited requests for electronic signatures. Another key factor? You can use a form builder to create your own PDFs and forms that make it easy for anyone to sign. You can also incorporate custom branding for your forms so every contract will portray the same consistent branding message as clients and customers saw on your website.

Want to know more about alternatives to WordPress plugins for gathering signatures? Nitro Sign could work for you! Try it for free today to give it a whirl and find out how well it can work within your business’s existing infrastructure.