Ever felt like Web Stories, while powerful, just doesn’t quite fit your brand or your specific needs? Maybe you need a more complex form validation or want to seamlessly integrate form data into your CRM. Many WordPress users find themselves wanting more control over the functionality of the tools they use. That’s where customization comes in, and with the power of AI, it’s more accessible than ever. This article will guide you through the process of customizing Web Stories, showing you how to leverage AI to achieve the exact functionality you need.

What is Web Stories?

the plugin is a fantastic WordPress plugin that allows you to create engaging, visually rich, and immersive storytelling experiences directly on your website. Think of it as bringing the captivating format of social media stories to your own domain. It lets you present information in a compelling, easy-to-digest way, keeping your audience hooked. Key features include a drag-and-drop interface, a wide range of templates, and seamless integration with WordPress itself. It’s become a favorite among content creators and businesses looking to boost engagement. It currently has a rating of 4.1/5 stars based on 85 reviews and boasts over 80,000 active installations, solidifying its place as a go-to solution for interactive content.

The system offers a great base, but sometimes you need a little more control. Luckily, it offers plenty of ways to extend existing functionality. For more information about it, visit the official plugin page on WordPress.org.

Why Customize the plugin?

While the plugin provides a solid foundation with its default settings and features, these often fall short when you have very specific or complex requirements. Maybe you need to capture unique data points from your audience, trigger custom workflows based on user input, or integrate seamlessly with a niche CRM that the plugin doesn’t natively support. That’s where customization becomes essential.

The benefits of tailoring the plugin to your needs are significant. Customization allows you to create a truly unique user experience that aligns perfectly with your brand. You can collect data in a way that’s most useful for your business, automate processes, and improve overall efficiency. Imagine a real estate company using a customized story to capture leads with specific property preferences, instantly routing that information to the appropriate agent. Or an e-commerce store using stories to create interactive product quizzes that recommend products based on user responses, directly adding those items to the shopping cart.

It all boils down to this: if the off-the-shelf functionality of the plugin doesn’t quite meet your needs, customization can unlock a whole new level of power and flexibility. It’s absolutely worth considering if you want to take your website’s engagement and data capture to the next level.

Common Customization Scenarios

Implementing Complex Validation Logic

The plugin offers basic validation, but what if you need something more advanced? Perhaps you need to verify an address against a third-party database or ensure that a user-submitted code matches a specific pattern. Standard validation features often fall short when dealing with such intricate requirements.

Through customization, you can implement any validation rule imaginable. You could, for example, validate an International Bank Account Number (IBAN) using a complex algorithm or even prevent submission if a user’s email address is associated with a known spam domain. Imagine a financial institution using a story to onboard new clients, needing to rigorously validate the provided financial information. AI can significantly streamline this process by helping you generate the necessary validation code based on your specific criteria.

AI-powered tools can analyze your validation requirements and generate the corresponding JavaScript or PHP code, saving you countless hours of manual coding.

Creating Dynamic Conditional Fields

Out of the box, you have limited options to only show or hide fields based on prior user input. But what if you need to display a completely different set of fields based on a more complex combination of selections? That’s where conditional fields come into play.

Customization allows you to build dynamic forms where fields appear or disappear based on a complex interplay of user responses. For instance, an insurance company might need to show different questions based on the type of insurance selected (e.g., auto, home, life). Imagine a travel agency using a story to gather travel preferences, showing additional fields for specific activities only if the user expresses interest in those activities. AI can drastically reduce the complexity of implementing these dynamic behaviors.

Instead of wrestling with complex JavaScript logic, you can use AI to generate the necessary code based on simple, natural language descriptions of your desired behavior. Simply describe the conditions under which specific fields should appear, and the AI can handle the rest.

Integrating with CRM and Marketing Tools

While the plugin offers some basic integration options, it might not directly connect to your preferred CRM or marketing automation platform. Manually exporting and importing data can be tedious and prone to errors.

Customization allows you to seamlessly integrate story data with virtually any CRM or marketing tool. You could automatically add new leads to your email marketing list, update contact information in your CRM, or trigger custom workflows based on story submissions. Consider a SaaS company using a story to collect user feedback, automatically pushing that feedback into their product management system. AI can accelerate the integration process by generating the necessary API calls and data mapping code.

By providing the AI with your CRM’s API documentation and a description of the data you want to transfer, it can automatically generate the code required to establish the connection and map the story fields to your CRM fields.

Building Custom Form Layouts

The plugin provides a standard set of layout options, but you might need a more visually appealing or brand-aligned design. The default appearance can feel generic and fail to capture your audience’s attention.

Through customization, you can create form layouts that perfectly match your website’s branding and enhance the user experience. You can adjust colors, fonts, spacing, and even incorporate custom graphics. Think of a high-end fashion brand using a story to promote a new collection, employing a highly stylized form layout to reflect their brand aesthetic. AI can assist in generating the necessary CSS and HTML code to achieve your desired layout.

By providing the AI with a visual mockup or a description of your desired layout, it can generate the corresponding code, saving you time and effort in manually coding the form’s appearance.

Adding Multi-Step Form Functionality

Long forms can be overwhelming and lead to user abandonment. Breaking them down into multiple steps can improve the user experience and increase completion rates. The standard form builder in the plugin doesn’t readily support multi-step forms.

Customization allows you to create multi-step forms that guide users through the process in a clear and engaging way. You can break down complex forms into smaller, more manageable chunks, improving the user experience and increasing conversion rates. Imagine a university using a story to collect student applications, breaking the application process into multiple steps (e.g., personal information, academic history, essay). AI can simplify the implementation of multi-step form logic, including navigation and data persistence.

You can use AI to generate the necessary JavaScript code to handle the navigation between steps, store the data entered in each step, and validate the data before submission. This eliminates the need to manually code the complex logic required for multi-step forms.