Documentation
Everything you need to set up and run BragDeal plugins
Plain-language guides for installing, activating and configuring each plugin. If you get stuck, contact support and a real person will reply.
Getting Started
Install a pluginAdd the Pro add-onActivate your licenseMove a license to another siteSpam Guard
How protection worksPer-form controlsReading the spam logGeo / IP blacklistForm validationWP Festivello
How holiday mode worksSet up a holidayAutomatic schedulingBanner and effectsTurn it offGetting Started
Install a plugin
Every plugin is on WordPress.org and installs like any other plugin. No account or license key is needed to use the free features.
- In your WordPress dashboard go to Plugins → Add New.
- Search for BragDeal Spam Guard, Festivello or BragDeal Lead Manager.
- Click Install Now, then Activate.
- A new menu item appears in the left sidebar. Open it to finish setup.
Each plugin lists its WordPress and PHP requirements on its WordPress.org page. All three work with any properly built theme, including Elementor and Breakdance builds.
Add the Pro add-on
Pro is a separate add-on that runs alongside the free plugin. It does not replace it: keep both installed and active. Everything you have already set up in the free plugin keeps working.
- Install and activate the free plugin from WordPress.org, as above.
- Download the Pro add-on zip from My Account → Downloads.
- Go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, upload the zip and click Activate. Leave the free plugin active.
- Paste your license key on the plugin’s License screen, as described below. Future Pro updates arrive through the normal WordPress updates screen.
Activate your license
When you subscribe, your license key is emailed to you and stored in My Account. Each license covers one website. Activating the key on that site unlocks the Pro features and turns on automatic updates for the Pro add-on.
- Copy the key from your welcome email or from My Account → Licenses.
- In WordPress open the plugin’s License screen: Spam Guard → License, the License tab on the Festivello screen, or Leads → License.
- Paste the key and click Activate. The status changes to Active and shows the site URL and renewal date.
Key format: LH-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX Status: Active · yoursite.com · Renews on 7 November 2026
Move a license to another site
Every license covers exactly one website. To move it, deactivate on the old site first, then activate on the new one. You can also deactivate the site from My Account if you no longer have access to the old install.
- On the old site open the License tab and click Deactivate.
- On the new site paste the same key and click Activate.
- Check My Account → Licenses to confirm the new site URL shows as Active.
Spam Guard
How protection works
Spam Guard checks every submission on the server at the moment it is sent. Visitors never see a CAPTCHA or puzzle. A submission is blocked when it fails one or more checks, and every block is recorded in the spam log with its reason.
| Check | What it does |
|---|---|
| Keyword rules | Block submissions containing words or phrases you list, one per line. |
| Email-domain rules | Block email domains and endings you list. Comes with a starter list you can edit. |
| Unsafe-code rules | Script and code-injection attempts are always blocked. |
| Validation | Required fields, emails, URLs, phone numbers and numbers are checked on the server and in the browser. |
| HoneypotPro | A hidden field that only bots fill in. |
| Timing and rate checksPro | Flags forms submitted faster than a person normally could, and repeated submissions from the same IP. |
| Browser checksPro | A signed browser guard, plus a check for submissions sent without a browser user-agent. |
The free plugin protects 30 form plugins, WordPress comments and public forms in your theme. Rows marked Pro, plus the per-form controls and Geo / IP blacklist below, need the Pro add-on.
Per-form controlsPro
Spam Guard Pro lists every detected form under Spam Guard → Forms List. Each form has its own switches, so you can relax the rules on an internal form or keep them strict on a public one.
- Open Spam Guard → Forms List. Every detected form appears with its source plugin.
- Each form has its own switches for spam checks, validation, keywords, email domains, Geo / IP and bot checks.
- Turn a switch off to relax that rule for that form only, then save. Global settings stay the master control.
Reading the spam log
The free Spam Log lists every blocked submission with the date, page and form, sender IP, the reason it was blocked and the submitted fields. Use it to confirm a real message was not caught by mistake. Passwords, payment details and similar sensitive fields are never stored.
| Column | What it does |
|---|---|
| Reason | Which rule blocked the submission, for example Keyword: “casino”. |
| Score | A confidence rating. Higher means more certain it was spam. |
| Not SpamPro | Moves the entry into Recovered Leads. Move back returns it to the Spam Log. |
| Retention | Entries are kept for 30 days by default. Change this on the Configure tab. |
Geo / IP blacklistPro
Block submissions from countries you never do business with, or from specific IP addresses and ranges. Blocked visitors can still read your site. Only form submissions and comments are stopped.
- Open Spam Guard → Geo Blacklist.
- Tick the countries to block, or paste IP addresses and CIDR ranges one per line.
- Save. Visitors from a blocked country can still browse your site. Only their form and comment submissions are stopped.
Country blocking needs a country source. Spam Guard Pro reads the visitor’s country from Cloudflare when your site is behind it, or from WooCommerce geolocation when WooCommerce is active.
Form validation
Included in the free plugin. Server-side validation re-checks required fields, email addresses, URLs, phone numbers, numbers and payload size even when the browser-side check has been bypassed. Set limits on the Spam Guard → Configure tab and write the message visitors see when a field fails.
WP Festivello
How holiday mode works
Festivello applies a temporary overlay to your site: a top banner, optional colour and font changes, and background effects like snow or confetti. It never edits your theme files. Turn it off and the site is exactly as it was.
The free plugin runs one holiday at a time, which keeps your site coherent. With Pro, several holidays can run at once: the first one switched on supplies the colours, animation and banner, and the floating icons of every live holiday are combined.
Set up a holiday
- Open Festivello in the admin menu and click one of the nine built-in holidays to edit it, or, with Pro, use the Add Custom Holiday tab for a sale or local event.
- Set the Start and End dates.
- Write the banner message and choose the colours, icons and animation.
- Save, then toggle the holiday on, or let automatic scheduling switch it on for you.
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Built-in holidays | Christmas, Halloween, Valentine's Day, New Year, Easter, Thanksgiving, Canada Day, Fourth of July, Black Friday. Each has suggested dates and colours, and all of them are editable. |
| Colour overlay | Recolour header, body, footer and fonts for the duration of the holiday. Included free. |
| Custom holidaysPro | Name it, pick its dates, colours, icons, animation and banner. |
Automatic scheduling
Included in the free plugin. With scheduling on, a holiday switches itself on at 00:00 on the start date and off at 23:59 on the end date in your WordPress timezone. Date ranges can wrap past December 31, and you can still switch a holiday on or off by hand at any time.
Check Settings → General → Timezone in WordPress. Festivello uses that setting, not the server clock.
Banner and effects
| Effect | What it does |
|---|---|
| Banner | An optional message pinned above your header while the holiday is live. |
| Background animations | Snow, hearts, leaves, confetti and a fireworks glow, loaded only while the holiday is live. All five are included free. |
| Floating icons | Up to 5 icons drift across the page. Pick emoji from the library or your own Media Library images. Included free. |
| Intensity | Low, medium or high. Low is recommended for shops and text-heavy pages. |
Turn it off
Click Disable Holiday Mode at the top of any Festivello screen. The overlay is removed immediately and no cached styles are left behind. Your saved holidays stay in place for next year.
Lead Manager
How lead capture works
Lead Manager listens to the success event that each supported form plugin already fires. When a submission passes that plugin’s own validation, Lead Manager writes a copy into its leads table. Your forms are not modified, and no shortcode is added anywhere.
| Form plugin | What is captured |
|---|---|
| Contact Form 7 | Every successful submission, live from the moment you activate. |
| Gravity Forms | Live submissions, plus an optional import of entries already stored. |
| WPForms | Live submissions, plus an optional import of entries already stored. |
| Fluent Forms | Live submissions, plus an optional import of entries already stored. |
| Forminator | Live submissions, plus an optional import of entries already stored. |
| Formidable Forms | Live submissions, plus an optional import of entries already stored. |
| Ninja Forms | Every successful submission, live. |
| MetForm | Every successful submission, live. |
| Elementor Pro Forms | Every successful submission, live. |
Lead Manager makes no external calls. Every lead stays in your own WordPress database, and leads are included in WordPress personal data export and erasure requests.
Map your form fields
Two forms rarely label the same thing identically. Field mapping tells Lead Manager which field on each form is the name, the email, the phone number and the message, so every submission lands in the right column.
- Open Leads → Settings and choose the form you want to map.
- Pick the source field for name, email, phone and message.
- Save. Mapping applies to every future submission from that form.
- Use Columns to choose which mapped fields appear in the leads list.
Import your existing entries
If you already collect entries in Gravity Forms, WPForms, Fluent Forms, Forminator or Formidable Forms, import them so your inbox starts with the history you have rather than only new submissions.
- Open Leads → Import and choose the form plugin.
- Select the forms to import and confirm.
- Imported leads appear in the inbox with their original submission dates.
Importing the same form twice does not duplicate leads. Existing records are recognised and skipped.
Work your leads with ProPro
The Pro add-on runs alongside the free plugin and turns the inbox into a pipeline. Keep both installed and active. Pro needs the free BragDeal Lead Manager plugin installed and active.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Internal notes | Write a private note on a lead. Notes are never shown to the person who submitted the form. |
| Action history | Every status change, date and note is recorded in order, so anyone can see what already happened. |
| Statuses | Move a lead through Called, Follow Up, Booked and Lost. |
| Lost reasons | Record why a lead went cold, with an optional status note. |
| Follow-up and booking dates | Set when you promised to call back and when the job is booked. Overdue follow-ups are flagged in the list. |
| Bulk changes | Select many leads and apply the same status change at once. |
- Install the Pro ZIP from My Account → Downloads and activate it alongside the free plugin.
- Open Leads → License, paste your key and click Activate Pro.
- The CRM columns and the status controls appear on the leads list immediately.
Who can see leads
Leads often contain personal information, so access is controlled by role. Choose which roles may view, edit and delete leads, and use trash and restore rather than permanent deletion while you are deciding.
Account
Subscriptions and billing
Pro is a subscription for one website, billed monthly or yearly. Spam Guard Pro is $5.99 a month or $59 a year, Festivello Pro is $4.99 a month or $49 a year and BragDeal Lead Manager Pro is $6.99 a month or $65 a year, in CAD plus tax where applicable. Each plugin is subscribed separately, and payments are handled securely by Stripe.
| Topic | Details |
|---|---|
| Manage your subscription | Open My Account → Billing to update your card or billing details, see your invoices or cancel. |
| Cancelling | Cancel any time from My Account → Billing. Pro keeps working until the end of the period you have already paid for. |
| If your subscription ends | If your subscription ends, the free plugin keeps working exactly as before. The Pro add-on’s extra features pause until you resubscribe. Your settings and data are kept. |
| Refunds | 14-day money-back guarantee on every purchase, no questions asked. |
| Invoices | Invoices come from Stripe, and every one is available from My Account → Billing. |
| Need more sites? | Subscribe once per website. Each license key is managed separately in My Account → Licenses. |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| License won't activate | Make sure the free plugin and the Pro add-on are both active, and check for spaces before or after the key. If the key shows as “in use” on another site, deactivate it from My Account → Licenses first. |
| A real message was blocked | Open the spam log to see which rule blocked it, then remove or narrow that rule on the Configure tab. With Pro, click Not Spam to move the entry into Recovered Leads. |
| Holiday banner not showing | Clear your caching plugin and CDN. Festivello adds a cache-busting flag, but some hosts require a manual purge. |
| Form missing from the Forms List | The Forms List shows forms placed on published pages and posts. Make sure the page with the form is published and its form plugin is active, then refresh Spam Guard → Forms List. |