What is a web form.
The web form on a website is in a way similar to a paper form or questionnaire. Forms have fields to fill out, as well as lists and toggles that allow the user to select one or more items.
The forms are used to collect all types of information from visitors of a website. Forms will have different types of fields where users can enter freehand text in one or multiple lines, or only numbers, or select from predefined options. Some fields may be validated on the fly (for example check if the provided email address or phone number are correct).
Forms can be configured to send emails to one or several predefined email addresses, save replies to a database or spreadsheet, record entries to other systems, such as CRM or sales automation software.
What are website forms used for?
The most common uses for the forms on the websites are:
- Contact us form
- Feedback form
- Request form
- Order form
- Sign up form
Most used types of fields in the website forms
Checkboxes are used to select multiple items or services. The visitor can select or deselect one or more checkboxes.
Radio switches, contrary to checkboxes, radio switches only allow to choose only one option.
The textarea is used to enter one or more lines of text.
A drop-down list (select) is used when you want to give a user a list of choices.
Drop-down lists can be configured to allow you to select a single value or multiple values. Though most often they allow choosing only one option.
The button is used to send a completed form, when clearing fields or performing other actions.
Simple forms, multipage and conditional logic
Forms may differ by their complexity.
A simple form will have one or several fields and a send/submit button.
A multipage form may have several windows that open consequently, opening additional fields that need to be filled in.
Conditional logic forms open new fields to users based on their input. For example, if a user answered “yes” to the question “Do you have a car?”, the form opens a new field with the question “What is the make of your car?”.
