FormBuilder
Contents
FormBuilder
Forms transfer information from your visitors to you. FormBuilder provides a way for you to collect information in a variety of ways...
- "Contact Us" form
- single AutoResponder confirmation message
- sequential AutoResponder, delivering a 5- or 7-installment e-course
- feedback or reservation form, requiring multiple fields
- survey or poll, requiring multiple custom fields.
Building your form is always the first step. Think of the form itself as the front-end. It gathers the data. When someone submits a form, a sequence of actions (depending upon which options you selected) starts. A form submission...
- triggers a Thank You Page, which can give whatever additional information or offer you like
- sends an optional single or sequential AutoResponder e-mail, as involved or simple as you want
- e-mails an optional Notification to you and anyone else you list
- stores the collected information in your Get Form Data database, making it available for easy search-and-analysis. (This database is in the BusinessCenter section of Site Central. Click here for details.)
Tips
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Make your selections in FormBuilder based on the intended function of the form. So, for example...
If you're creating a simple contact form, a "First Name" field, an "E-mail Address" field, and a custom "Text Box" field for comments are all that you need. On the other hand, a registration form would require more fields, including custom ones.
Or perhaps you're planning a survey and you want to display the results of certain questions to participants. You would use a "Pre-Set Form" field and a "Custom Form" field as well as the generic fields.
- Visitors are extremely hesitant about surrendering personal information online. Ask them only for what is absolutely necessary. Long forms not only intimidate your visitor, but also require a longer time commitment to fill in. Keep your forms as short and simple as possible!
- Your visitors cannot see a form until you add it to a Web page on your site (ex., inserting a contact form on a "Contact Us" page). If you're using SiteBuilder, you do this with a Form Block. (See the Form Block help.) If you're uploading your pages, you collect the code from the Built-in section of the Upload Your Own HTML module and paste it into your page. (See the Uploader help.)
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Establish an MWR (Most Wanted Response) before you begin to build. Determine what you want your visitor to do, and then create the most appropriate form to make it happen.
For example, let's say that you want to increase your visitor's exposure to your product. So you create a 5-installment e-course, where you integrate soft cross-selling into its content. Your backup response is for your visitor to visit your site. Good work -- your form matches your MWR perfectly.
- See how other SBIers are using this tool by reading this TNT article.
OK, it's time to build an actual form. Later on in the process, you'll set up and activate the other built-in features (i.e., your Thank You Page, AutoResponder e-mail messages, Notification settings).
Let's start...
Form Name
- Enter a descriptive form Name.
The "Form Name" is the name you give to the form itself. This name appears in the Form Build It! (FBI!) Library. That's where you'll access your form after you build it.
Tip
- Your visitors will not see this name, so use something that will easily jog your memory when you see it in the FBI! Library.
Form Headline
- Create the headline for this form.
- Align the headline within the form.
- Size the headline.
The headline is the caption that appears at the top of your form, inside the border that contains it.
Tips
- Similar to Web page headlines, write to draw visitors into reading the form. However, this headline does not need to be optimized for the Search Engines.
- You can align a headline to left, center or right, and make it very large (1), large (2), or normal (3). It will appear in bold on the page.
Pre-Set Form Fields
- Use -- Add a check to select which fields to display on your form.
- Req -- Add a check to require completion of a field before the form can be submitted.
- Label Aligned -- Click on a button to align the field's label to the left of the field, or directly above it.
- Field Label Name -- This is what your visitors will read in your form. These are entered automatically.
- Move Position in Form -- Change a field's order in the form by clicking on the "move up" or "move down" link until it appears where you want it.
Most forms only need a few of the available pre-set fields. Keep the required fields to a minimum.
Are you creating a contact form? You only need two pre-set fields -- First Name and E-mail Address. A registration form, on the other hand, may need more pre-set fields.
Tip
- There are very few good reasons to have "optional" fields (i.e., you check "Use" but not "Req."). They make the form look longer, and most people do not complete optional fields.
Custom Form Fields
- Click on the Insert a Custom Field here button where you want the field to appear.
- Use -- Add a check to select which fields to display on your form.
- Req -- Add a check to require completion of a field before the form can be submitted.
- Label Aligned -- Click on a button to align the field's label to the left of the field, or directly above it.
- Field Label Name -- Enter a clear and concise label for this custom field, so your visitor knows exactly what information you expect.
- Move Up and Move Down -- Change a field's order in the form by clicking on the "move up" or "move down" link until it appears where you want it.
- Click on a button to choose the type of custom form field. Click on the link to view examples of the four options.
- For the text box, enter how many characters wide and how many rows. For the other three, enter the variables you want to display, one per line.
Custom form fields allow you the enhanced flexibility to create customer surveys, complex feedback forms, polls, reservation/registration forms, simple referral forms, and so on.
Inserting a custom form field into your form is no different than inserting the pre-set one, except that you have options for collecting data in more than simple one line text-entry fields.
Custom fields may appear as text boxes, radio buttons, drop down menus or checkboxes.
Tips
- You can use any number and combination of custom fields. However, try to keep the number of required fields to a minimum.
- To insert additional custom fields into your form, click the Insert a Custom Field here button wherever you want it to appear.
Examples
1) Text Entry Boxes
Text boxes can be either single lines (perfect for collecting first names, single word answers and so on), or multiple rows, which are ideal for any text fields that require a significant amount of feedback from your user (such as comments).
If you're collecting data that requires very few words, enter "1" in the Rows box. If you need to collect more data, use a larger number of rows to build a "comments" box.
The example below has the label aligned to the left of the box, and the field is required (there is an asterisk beside the label). The box is 35 characters wide and has 4 rows...
Visitors, of course, are not restricted to only 4 rows. Text will continue past the fourth row, and a scroll bar will appear on the right.
2) Radio Buttons
Radio buttons are ideal for multiple choice questions where a user can select only one answer, as this screenshot illustrates...
As you can see, the label is aligned to the top of the buttons, and the field is optional (no asterisk).
If you select "Radio Buttons," enter each of the individual choices in the "Variables" text block that appears to the right, one per line.
3) Drop Down Menus
Drop down menus are similar to radio buttons (the user can select only one answer), but they are best to use when you have limited space and/or want to tuck away a larger number of choices, such as countries.
In this case, the label is aligned to the left of the menu, and the field is optional (no asterisk).
If you select "Drop Down Menu," enter each of the individual choices in the "Variables" text block that appears to the right, one per line.
4) Checkboxes
Checkboxes are ideal for use whenever there might be multiple answers to a single question...
In this example, the label is aligned to the left of the checkboxes, and the field is required.
If you select Check Boxes, enter each of the individual choices in the "Variables" text block that appears to the right, one per line.
Additional Tip
You can choose to display data in non-text fields (i.e., radio buttons, drop down menus or checkboxes). For example...
Suppose you wish to set up a simple survey. Ask your visitors for their first name, e-mail address, and country of origin, all of which are pre-set form fields. Let's imagine that the form also asks, in a custom form field, which color widget the user prefers (red, yellow, or blue).
In order to display the current results for all to see, set that option while editing your Thank You Page in Form Build It! Library.
Results will only be given for "Country" (because the country is chosen from a drop down menu) and for "Widget Color" (selected by radio button). No results can be shown for fields where the user types an answer into a text box, since the variations are infinite.
Form Spam Protection
- Click on Yes to add a graphic challenge image.
- Click No to omit a graphic challenge image.
Form spam is on the rise across the Web. Using a graphic challenge image is a method of foiling form spammers. A person who submits a form must also type in the characters they see in a graphic challenge image.
Surfers now accept these challenge graphics as a common practice, so there's no risk in adding one to your form.
Including a graphic challenge image has additional benefits. Your visitors/partners will appreciate not receiving spam from your forms. And the Search Engines will see you as being serious about fighting spam.
Tip
- The default for the challenge graphic image is "Yes."
Submit Button
- Customize the button instruction by entering your own text.
You don't have to use the word "Submit" for your button instruction. If your form asks for comments about your site, your button could say "Send Us Your Comments." If the form starts an autoresponder e-course, the button could say "Request Your E-course."
Tip
- Make your button's text compelling, but as short as possible. It is, after all, a button.