The default workflow for getting specific form submission data out of WordPress looks like this: export everything, open the spreadsheet, delete the rows you don't need, keep what you actually wanted.
It works. But it means doing manual cleanup every single time. And if the same export is needed again next week — same form, same filters, same fields - the entire process repeats from scratch.
There's a better approach: filter before exporting, not after.
The two export options in Form Vibes
Form Vibes has two ways to get submission data out of WordPress, and understanding which one fits which situation saves a lot of repetitive work.
Quick Export is free and available on every plan. Click the button in the submissions toolbar, and all entries for the currently selected form download as a CSV immediately. No configuration, no setup. Up to 1,000 entries per export. Good for one-off backups or full dataset downloads where you genuinely need everything.
Export Profiles are a Pro feature and solve a different problem: recurring exports where the same configuration gets used again and again. Instead of downloading everything and filtering afterward, an Export Profile lets you define exactly what you want - which form, which date range, which field values to filter by, which columns to include - save that configuration once, and re-run it in one click any time you need it.
How Export Profiles actually work
The setup only needs to happen once per report or workflow. When creating a new Export Profile, four things get configured.
Profile Type
Choose between two output options:
Local Download — exports submissions as a CSV file that downloads directly to your computer on demand.
Google Sheets — connects to a Google Spreadsheet via OAuth and pushes every new submission automatically in real time. Once set up, no manual export step is needed at all.
Data Source
This is where you define exactly which submissions to include:
- Form — select which form to pull submissions from
- Date Range — choose a preset (Last Week, Last Month, Last Quarter) or set a custom window
- Status — filter submissions by their current status: Read, Unread, or Spam
- Filter Conditions — the most useful part. Add conditions based on any field value: select a field, choose a condition type (equals, contains, not equal, not contain), enter the value, and stack multiple conditions with AND or OR logic between them
So something like "Status equals Read AND Country equals USA AND Registration Type contains Paid" runs automatically every time the profile is used — no manual spreadsheet filtering afterward.
Fields
Choose which columns to include in the exported file. Toggle off anything that isn't needed for that specific export. A finance export might include Name, Email, Amount, and Date. A marketing export from the same form might include Name, Email, and Source only. Two profiles, two field selections, both in one click.
Profile Name
Worth being specific - "Monthly Contact Form Leads" or "Weekly Paid Registrations — USA" is far more useful than "Export 1" when the profiles list grows.
Once published, the profile appears in the Export Profiles list. Click Export Data, confirm, and the file downloads based on saved settings. An export history inside each profile keeps a record of every previously generated file so past exports can be re-downloaded without running the export again.
When this actually matters
The filter-before-export approach pays off most noticeably in two situations.
Recurring reports. If the same subset of data gets exported on a regular schedule — weekly leads, monthly paid registrations, quarterly support requests — setting it up once as a saved profile and running it in one click each time removes the repetitive configuration work entirely.
Different subsets for different people. Sales needs qualified leads. Marketing needs newsletter signups. Finance needs paid registrations. Support needs open requests. One form, four different export configurations, all saved and runnable independently without any of them having to touch settings.
One honest limitation
Export Profiles are a Form Vibes Pro feature. The free Quick Export covers one-off full exports cleanly, but saved configurations with field-level filtering require Pro. Worth knowing upfront before building a workflow around it.
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