How to Add a BMI Calculator in WordPress (Step by Step)

As an experienced webmaster and WordPress user for over 15 years, I‘ve found that adding a body mass index (BMI) calculator to your WordPress site can be extremely beneficial for both you and your visitors.

With just a few clicks, your readers can easily calculate their BMI, gain a better understanding of their health, and take the next steps towards their fitness goals.

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll walk you through the entire process of adding a BMI calculator to your WordPress site using the Formidable Forms plugin. I‘ll share my insights from years of experience to help you quickly get up and running.

What is BMI and Why Should You Add a BMI Calculator?

BMI stands for "body mass index". It‘s a common measurement tool that uses a person‘s height and weight to estimate their body fat percentage and categorize it into a range.

Here is the simple formula to manually calculate BMI:

BMI = Weight (kg) / Height (m)2

Based on the BMI value, a person can be classified into one of four key categories:

• Underweight – BMI less than 18.5
• Normal weight – BMI between 18.5 to 24.9
• Overweight – BMI between 25 to 29.9
• Obese – BMI over 30

For most adults, an ideal BMI falls in the normal range between 18.5 and 24.9. Values outside of this range could indicate potential health risks.

According to recent studies, over 70% of adults in the United States are currently overweight or obese based on BMI calculations.

Having access to a BMI calculator can be the first step for many people to becoming aware of their health status and making appropriate lifestyle changes.

As a webmaster, adding a BMI calculator to your WordPress site provides many benefits for your visitors and business:

Improves User Experience

• Visitors don‘t have to go through the hassle of manually calculating their BMI or searching for a calculator online. Yours is readily available right on your site.

Increases Engagement

• People spend more time on pages when they are interacting with cool tools like a BMI calculator. This boosts your overall traffic metrics.

Provides Value to Visitors

• You‘re able help educate your readers on health topics and assist them in setting diet or fitness goals based on their BMI results.

Generates Leads & Converts Visitors

• Visitors who use your BMI calculator may be interested in your related health/fitness products, services, programs, etc. It‘s an easy lead generation opportunity!

Let‘s look at how to quickly add a BMI calculator using the powerful Formidable Forms plugin for WordPress.

Step 1: Installing and Setting Up Formidable Forms

Formidable Forms is my favorite WordPress form builder plugin. It makes it easy to create advanced forms like calculators without writing any code.

To get started, you need to install and activate both the free and paid versions:

1. Install Formidable Forms (Lite)

This provides core functionality.

2. Install Formidable Forms (Pro)

This unlocks additional features and templates.

Once activated, you‘ll be prompted to enter your Formidable Forms license key. This connects the pro version.

You can find your key by logging into your Formidable account.

Alternatively, you can directly link your Formidable account to WordPress at:

Formidable > Global Settings > Connect an Account

And authorize the connection.

Now the Formidable Forms plugin is ready to start building forms!

Step 2: Using the BMI Calculator Template

One of the great things about Formidable Forms is that it comes packed with pre-made form templates for calculators, surveys, application forms, and more.

This saves you tons of time by not having to build forms totally from scratch.

To access the template for our BMI calculator, go to:

Formidable > Forms > Add New

In the template popup, click on the "Calculators" section, hover over the BMI template, and click "Use This Template".

Give your form a name for reference and click "Create".

This will open the BMI calculator template in the form builder view.

As you can see, the template already contains all the properly configured fields and calculations required for a working BMI calculator.

Let‘s preview how the template works out of the box:

• Type in an example height and weight
• Click the "See My Range" button
• It instantly calculates and displays the BMI result and category

The functionality works perfectly with the default template. But we can customize styling and text after.

Step 3: Customizing the Fields, Labels, and Messages

A great thing about Formidable Forms is that everything is customizable.

Let‘s try customizing the field labels and confirmation message:

1. Select the field or text element you want to edit.

2. Update the Field Label or confirmation Message as desired.

You can also:

• Rearrange Fields – Simply drag-and-drop to reorder fields
• Add New Fields – Select from 100+ field types and drag onto the canvas
• Delete Fields – Hover and select the delete icon

The possibilities are endless! Tweak the form until it matches your vision.

Step 4: Configuring Important Form Settings

Under the "Settings" tab, you can configure important options for your BMI calculator:

General

• Change form name, description, success message, etc.

Actions & Notifications

• Set up email notifications, confirmations, redirects, etc.

Buttons

• Customize the text and position of submit button.

Advanced Options

• Adjust form layout, security, restrictions, and more.

In the Actions & Notifications tab, pay attention to the confirmation message setup.

The default mixes static text and dynamic snippets like:

Your BMI Result is: [if bmi_result less_than="18.5"]Underweight[/if bmi_result]

This displays custom follow-up text based on the BMI result.

You can customize this further by adding links and tailored recommendations for visitors based on their result range.

Step 5: Embedding the BMI Calculator into WordPress Pages

Once you are satisfied with your BMI calculator form setup in Formidable Forms, it‘s time to actually embed it on your WordPress site.

The easiest way is by using the Formidable Forms block in the WordPress page editor.

Simply add a new block, search for "Formidable Forms", and select your BMI calculator from the dropdown.

You can embed it in posts, pages, sidebars, popups, and anywhere else on your site.

Now your visitors have an easy way to calculate and understand their BMI metric. Pretty cool!

Step 6 (Bonus): Styling and Customizing Your BMI Calculator‘s Look

The default Formidable Forms template styling may not match your existing theme and brand colors.

Let‘s customize the look by creating a new styled "variant":

1. Edit your BMI calculator and go to the "Style" tab.

2. Select "New Style" and give your style a name.

3. Use the styling options to customize colors, fonts, sizes, etc.

4. Click "Update" to save your new style.

5. Return to "Style" tab and apply your new style.

That‘s it! Now your BMI calculator matches your brand.

Feel free to tweak the styling further until you‘re fully satisfied.

You Now Have a BMI Calculator on Your WordPress Site!

Congratulations! In just a few simple steps, you added a fully-functional BMI calculator for your visitors.

As you can see, Formidable Forms makes it really easy to create calculators, surveys, quizzes, and advanced forms for WordPress.

I hope this detailed, step-by-step guide helped explain the entire process from start to finish. Please let me know if you have any other questions!

Adding a BMI calculator is a great way to engage and assist your website visitors. Plus it provides health education and can generate leads for your related products and services.

You can follow the same process to create other handy tools too like calorie counters, workout generators, meal plan builders, and more. The possibilities are endless!

Let me know if you end up adding a BMI calculator to your own site. I‘d love to see it!