GravityKit

What it is

GravityKit is a set of plugins that turns Gravity Forms into a no-code app builder for WordPress. Its homepage puts the split simply: "Gather data with Gravity Forms. Ship your application with GravityKit." The toolkit lets you "display, edit, import, export, and analyze your form data, so you can go from raw submissions to fully functioning systems without writing a line of code," and the company says you can build directories, dashboards, portals, workflows and complete web apps that grow with your needs. It is built for web agencies, developers, freelancers, business owners and nonprofits, and the homepage adds education, startups, small businesses, solo agencies and government to the list. The copyright line names Katz Web Services, Inc. as the company behind GravityKit and GravityView.

The detail that shapes every decision is in the FAQ: "Yes. You must have Gravity Forms installed on your website in order to use GravityKit plugins." The FAQ also makes clear that GravityKit is a different company from the makers of Gravity Forms, not affiliated with them beyond membership in their Certified Developer program, and it sends buyers to the Gravity Forms website for that license. So this is an extension layer on a WordPress site you run yourself, and the homepage presents that as a benefit: "full data control within WordPress."

What you build and how

The data layer is Gravity Forms. You collect data with Gravity Forms forms, and every submission becomes an entry. GravityKit's job is to do something useful with those entries: show them on the front end, edit them, chart them, calculate with them and move them around.

The toolkit. The homepage lists 12 plugins under the heading "One kit, many tools," and describes each one:

• GravityView, marked as the bestseller, displays Gravity Forms entries on the front end of your site and is the piece for building web applications.
• GravityImport imports entries from CSV files to transfer data, create new forms or update existing entries.
• GravityEdit edits entries inline to save clicks.
• GravityCharts turns entries into interactive charts and graphs.
• GravityActions updates many entries at once and sends bulk emails.
• GravityCalendar turns entries into calendars for events, schedules and appointments.
• GravityExport exports entries to Excel, CSV, PDF or Google Sheets, then shares them with secure links or delivers them to cloud storage on a schedule.
• GravityMath performs calculations on entries to display totals or averages, or to build custom calculators.
• GravityRevisions tracks, compares and restores changes to forms and entries with a full version history.
• GravityMigrate moves all Gravity Forms data between sites, including forms, entries, settings, Views, feeds and file uploads, and imports forms from other form plugins.
• GravityBoard offers collaborative project management: "Coordinate with your team and streamline your workflows."
• GravitySearch searches entries across every form from one screen.

How a build comes together. The homepage says you build with flexible layouts and an intuitive drag-and-drop builder, then layer in add-ons. Its examples name the parts used: GravityView and GravityCalendar with Layouts & Extensions, a Table Layout and Advanced Filtering for one build, and GravityView, GravityCharts and GravityMath with a Maps Layout and Advanced Filtering for another. The FAQ says the plugins work with all popular WordPress themes and plugins.

Directories and marketplace-style listings. Asked what you can build, the FAQ answers "From simple directories to fundraising dashboards, anything is possible," and points to a library of build guides. The guides menu names a property management system, a product catalog, a fundraising dashboard, a real estate directory, a document library, an academic journal, volunteer management and a meal tracker. Allie Nimmons, CTO of the web agency Web Pro Geeks, is quoted on the homepage: the agency used Gravity Forms and GravityKit to build "a custom, accessible events directory that's easy to manage and scale." Tony Jenkins, PhD, of the Global Campaign for Peace Education says "We were able to quickly build the directory we'd been trying to design for years."

Portals and dashboards. The headline pitch is that teams "build directories, portals, and dashboards on Gravity Forms without any code." The homepage adds: "Build systems that power real results, not just collect entries." For agencies it promises client-ready solutions on tight timelines, and charts, calculations and filtering are the parts it names for dashboard work.

Publishing and hosting. The plugins install on your own WordPress site, so what you build lives on that site, under its theme and its users.

Price, support and proof

GravityKit sells an All Access bundle, described as "our complete Kit of essential tools for extending and enhancing Gravity Forms," with everything needed to build web apps and workflows. The FAQ says every plugin is also sold individually, so you can mix and match one or two tools. A pricing page and a coupons page are linked from the menu. The Gravity Forms license is bought separately from Gravity Forms.

Before buying, you can see live demos and sign up for a free trial site with all of the plugins pre-installed, according to the FAQ. On refunds, the homepage says "Fewer than 1% of our customers request a refund, but when they do, we make it easy."

Support is part of the license: the FAQ says all license holders get the support team by email or live chat when available, and that staff usually respond within hours. Documentation, developer docs, a GravityKit Academy and a scope-of-support page sit in the resources menu.

On scale, the homepage says GravityKit is trusted by 22,414 agencies, freelancers and in-house teams across 38,908 sites, and that it has spent over a decade as a Certified Gravity Forms Developer. Named case studies include West Fork Schools, Princeton University, BrightLeaf Giving, the Jacksonville Port Authority and the National Severe Storms Lab. Anthony Cimino of Experience Solution says that before GravityKit "I had to hire developers, or build solutions that could take months," then maintain that code for years. Eric Nutter of Slight revision calls it "absolutely an essential plugin for our business."

Who it suits and who it does not

WordPress agencies and freelancers who already build on Gravity Forms are the obvious fit: the plugins turn form entries into directories, calendars and dashboards clients can use, and the case for agencies runs through the homepage. Nonprofits, schools and small organizations running WordPress can build fundraising dashboards, volunteer systems or event directories without hiring a developer, which is the trade Tony Jenkins and Anthony Cimino describe. Developers get developer docs and plugins the company calls fully extensible.

Teams with an existing WordPress site get the least friction, because there is nothing to migrate, and GravityMigrate helps when there is.

The caveats are concrete. You need a Gravity Forms license and a WordPress site, so total cost is that license, the plugins and your hosting, and you run updates yourself. The product is WordPress plugins, so anyone who wants an app that lives outside WordPress, or a vendor-hosted platform with one bill, is looking for a different kind of tool.