custom fields in e-mail module's contact form

Question

I'm using EE's built in e-mail module for a contact form on my site. I'd like to add additional fields to the form that it doesn't have out of the box. I know freeform by solspace will do this, but I was hoping there is a way without spending $100 on a plugin.

Answer 1

EE's contact form does not support custom fields per se (i.e., it doesn't support the custom fields you'd use for your channels), but you can have multiple fields populate the message by naming each with an array syntax:

<label for="message">Your Message</label>
<textarea name="message[]" id="message"></textarea>

<label for="how">How did you hear about us?</label>
<textarea name="message[]" id="how"></textarea>

<label for="age">How old are you?</label>
<select name="message[]" id="age">
    <option value="16-20">16-20 years</option>
    <option value="21-30">21-30 years</option>
    <option value="31-40">31-40 years</option>
</select>

(Docs.)

I'll also point out that there is a free version of Freeform 4 which lets you add as many fields as you like to your message - just not all of the custom field types.