How to Advertise Your Form to a Mailing List
A number of users take advantage of our flexible web form platform to advertise a FormSmarts-hosted survey form or event registration form by email.
There are a few things to keep in mind if you wish to include a form URL in a newsletter or mailing campaign:- as specified in the terms of use, FormSmarts only allows advertising of a form URL by email for strict opt-in mailing lists
- you must be a verified form owner
- you may only reference the form by including its URL, and must not attempt to embed the form in an HTML email
If you intend to email more than 1,000 subscribers, ask for a permission beforehand. We may ask you to schedule your mailing at a specific time if the expected click-stream is high. When contacting FormSmarts, please indicate:
- the rough number of subscribers of your list
- whether this is a one off or recurring mailing
- the date/time of your mailing(s)
- whether advertising the form is the main purpose of the mail
- whether you offer any incentives for form submissions
Posted on Tuesday, 13 May, 2008 at 16:53 in html-form
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Tags: web-forms, howto
Building Successful Web Forms, Part 1
Web forms play a key role for visitor (and customer) interaction on many sites. However, many web designers don't realize that there may be huge differences in form abandonment ratio, depending on how well the form is designed. In this post and follow ups, we'll give you some tips to help you make your web forms an effective communication channel.
Always provide form filling instructions.
Don't assume that all of your visitors will understand how to submit a form without further explanation. Short and clear form filling instructions can reduce form abandonment, and increase the quality of the information collected.- include a call to action phrase like "Please fill out this form to contact XYZ"
- indicate the purpose of the form and the recipient of the information collected
- if applicable, confirm that you will reply, and give an indication of the time frame
Select the correct data type for each input field.
Because of necessary form validation, choosing and incorrect data type may prevent a form user from submitting valid information. When this happens, it is likely to lead to form abandonment.For example, if you specify that a form field can only contain a Number, it may not work for a phone number. 1233456789 will work, but not 123-345-6789. So use the Phone type instead. In many cases, the form builder will pre-select a type for you, but not always. Read more about selecting an input field data type in the form builder documentation.
Choose the most appropriate input field widget.
Don't restrict yourself to text boxes and drop-down lists. Take advantage of the full range of HTML form fields with radio buttons and checkboxes. Learn when to use each one.Using a drop-down list for a yes/no question will slow down the form user, and increase the chances (s)he gives up. Use radio buttons instead. Read tips about choosing the best input field widget in the form builder documentation.
Brand your forms for instant visual recognition.
Always brand your web forms with your own logo. This helps visitors recognize at first sight who they are about to send information to.Posted on Tuesday, 06 May, 2008 at 18:21 in html-form
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Tags: web-forms, form-builder, howto
Form Processor Upgrade: More Interactivity for Web Form Users and More
We'll be upgrading at the end of the week some key components of FormSmarts. The changes will affect both form users and form owners.More Interactivity for Web Form Users
- form users can modify any invalid data they may have submitted in the same page, rather than having to press the back button
- form users can modify submitted data even when form data is not cached by the browser, or if JavaScript is disabled
- we've added features to improve the experience of visually-impaired users equipped with screenreaders
Changes in Email Notification of Form Results
- new email subject format [Form #123] My Form Name #456
- the first part [Form #123] is fixed so that you can use it to create a filter within your mail client
- emails now include a unique transaction ID, e.g. #456 that can be used, for example, as an order number for order forms (form users are shown the transaction ID on the confirmation page)
- whenever your form contains an email field, you can now reply to sender hitting the reply button in your email client
- because of the previous point, we no longer show your pass-phrase in every email
Posted on Tuesday, 15 April, 2008 at 05:01 in form-handler
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Tags: form-handler, web-forms, upcoming
Tips for Web Form Users with Non-English Language Websites
Many users in non-English speaking countries now use FormSmarts, so we thought we would post a few recommendations for them.
When building your forms with the form creator, use the text data type for any fields that may contain non-English characters, such as the accented characters found in many European languages.
Note that non-European languages like Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Japanese and Russian are not supported at this time.
As you know, FormSmarts form handler is not a simple form to email processor script like FormMail. Each and every web form submission is analyzed in real time, and the user may be asked to complete a challenge if we suspect a form spam attempt. Although anyone capable of reading elementary English should be able to understand what is expected from him/her in that context, this is something you may have to take into account when designing your web forms. You could for example warn users in the form filling instructions.
If you need help, we provide limited support in French, German, and Chinese (as well as English, of course.) You can write us in any of those languages, but we will only reply in English.
Posted on Tuesday, 11 March, 2008 at 10:45 in form-handler
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Tags: howto, web-forms, form-builder
Will FormSmarts Remain Free?
A few people asked if FormSmarts will remain free. Although we may some day offer FormSmarts as commercial service with SLA and additional features, the basic service will remain free.Note that we will need to charge a one-off fee for some services. For example, we will soon allow users to upload a custom website logo to appear on their web forms. Each image will require human validation, so we'll need to charge a small fee for this. We will however lift the fee for users who have referred friends/site visitors to FormSmarts, wrote reviews about us on relevant sites, posted a video about using FormSmarts on Youtube, etc.
Posted on Thursday, 24 January, 2008 at 16:23 in html-form
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Tags: web-forms
Show a Form Owner Name on Your Forms
Increase user confidence by letting us verify you own the websites you are using with FormSmarts. FormSmarts will then display a verified form owner name in the top-right corner of all your forms.To verify your sites, sign in to FormSmarts, and choose the Verified Websites option in the Settings tab. The form owner name can currently only be a verified web hostname. We will soon also support verified personal or company names. More details here.
Posted on Saturday, 12 January, 2008 at 06:35 in html-form
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Tags: upcoming, web-forms, privacy
Are Forms Protected by a CAPTCHA?
We often get questions asking whether FormSmarts web forms are protected against automated submissions by a CAPTCHA. A CAPTCHA is a challenge-response test used to determine whether the user is human.
Yes, we do use CAPTCHA tests, but not everytime a form is submitted. Instead, the form handler decides each time whether or not to require a CAPTCHA test (and other verifications), based on non-obtrusive analysis by our form spam blocker of the information submitted.
This saves time to everyone, and reduces form abandonment.
Asking the user to complete a CAPTCHA test for every form submission affects form usability and accessibility.
Posted on Friday, 11 January, 2008 at 08:32 in form-builder
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Tags: form-builder, usability, web-forms
New FormSmarts Features to Come in 2008
Here are some of the major features we'll be adding to FormSmarts during 2008.Verified Form Owner
Web form users are often concerned about what the form results recipient is going to do with their personal information. As a first step in a series of efforts to help increase user confidence and trust, we'll introduce a Verified Form Owner scheme.When the feature becomes available, you'll have the option to verify your domain name, personal name, or company name. That name will then be used as the form owner name, and will appear in a prominent place at the top of each form. Indications that the form owner has been verified will also be shown.
At the most basic level, verifying your domain name will only take a few minutes.
Customizable Form Appearance
We'll be offering the ability to change the FormSmarts logo on your forms by your own logo.More Field Types Supported
We'll add support form more HTML form field types, like drop down menus (HTML select tag), in the first quarter of 2008.Want More?
Send a feature request.Posted on Friday, 11 January, 2008 at 08:31 in form-builder
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Tags: upcoming, web-forms, privacy
FormSmarts Form Builder and Form Spam Filter Updated
A major FormSmarts upgrade was rolled out today. Changes include:- New features in the form generator, like the ability to delete a field in a form
- A simplified user interface for generated web forms
- A major upgrade of the form spam protection engine
Posted on Friday, 28 December, 2007 at 06:40 in form-spam
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Tags: form-spam, form-builder, upcoming, web-forms
FormSmarts Compared with Other Form Handlers
What's specific about FormSmarts form handler? Compared with other web form handlers, FormSmarts may not offer yet the richest set of features. We currently only deliver form results by email, although other form delivery methods are under development.We believe our Ajax-based form builder allows our users—including those with little technical knowledge—to get an HTML form ready in very little time, and that's something we wanted. Simplicity, efficiency and usability were our primary design goals.
That being said, FormSmarts is best viewed as a web spam blocker with form handling features, rather than a form handler with form spam prevention features.
Form accessibility is another strong point of FormSmarts: our web forms are usable by anyone, using any HTML-capable browser.
Unlike most other form handlers available today, FormSmarts was puposedly designed to block form spam. We didn't simply add a CAPTCHA to an old formmail script. The same applies to our form builder: our care for usability and accessibility didn't come as an afterthought.
Posted on Sunday, 09 December, 2007 at 09:06 in form-handler
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Tags: form-handler, web-forms
Choosing a Good Web Form Title
Most visitors will notice that they are submitting a form not from your website, but from FormSmarts.com. For users to be confident they are sending information to the right person, include your name or website name in the form title.For example, “Contact Edgar Poe” is a more informative and useful title than “Contact Form”.
Posted on Thursday, 06 December, 2007 at 08:02 in form-builder
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Tags: web-forms, usability, howto
Adding Form Filling Instructions to Your Web Forms
You can now specify Form Filling Instructions for your web forms. Although this field is optional, we encourage you to make use of it. It will help your visitors complete the form more efficiently, and also help you build trust with them. Here are some information you may want to place in the Form Filling Instructions.Remind users of the purpose of the form to avoid people submitting the wrong form.
Precise the intended content of particular fields. This will help your visitors complete the form accurately and efficiently.
State for which purposes you will use the data submitted, and whether the data will be shared with a third party. This is particularly important if you collect email addresses and other personally identifying information. People are often concerned about their privacy when submitting forms, so having a clear privacy policy will help build trust with your users.
Include the name of your website, so visitors can be confident they are contacting the right person or organization.
Whenever relevant, give an estimated response time, e.g. “we normally reply within 2 working days”.
Posted on Thursday, 06 December, 2007 at 07:56 in form-builder
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Tags: usability, web-forms, privacy, howto
Form Field Data-Type Guessing
The type of a form field defines the range of values it may contain. Using an appropriate datatype for each input field is important to allow correct form validation. FormSmarts form spam filter also behaves differently, depending on the data expected for each field.To prevent common mistakes, FormSmarts Form Creator now tries to infer the correct field type from the name you specify. However, if you are unsure about what type is best for a particular field, read the help page.
We've added a page with partner sites
Posted on Tuesday, 04 December, 2007 at 19:00 in form-builder
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Tags: web-forms, form-spam, form-validation
