How do I create a signup form?

To create your signup form, select Form Builder from the Applications dropdown menu at the top of the page. 

Click on the Create Project button to create your form. Enter a name for your form on the left, select the type of form project to create from the options available.

Selecting your template:

You will be directed to the Templates page - to select your template choose one of the categories on the left. Once you have selected a category, you will see a number of templates on the right. Click on one of the templates to see a larger version of it.

When the template is displayed, you can make immediate adjustments to the following items:

• Colors - Select from a number of available color palettes. Change individual colors by clicking on them below after a color palette is selected.
• Header - Choose from a number of available header designs
• Background Image - this option allows you to insert a background image in your form.

Once you have made your selections, click Continue to the Editor to proceed to the editor.

Editing Your Signup Form:

You will now arrive in the Form Editor. This editor works in a similar fashion as our Email Editor where you can drag and drop elements from the top bar into your form content. You can make adjustments to each element by clicking on it. With an element selected, you will have additional customization options displayed on the left side of the page.

There are many different elements you can select that are divided into the following categories:

• Basic Elements - Add elements such as Text Input Boxes (for some entering a name or other piece of information), as well as other aesthetic elements such as inserting images or labels. You will also find pre-made fields for Email, Fax Number, SMS Number, and Phone Number collection which can be used with other applications in the SimplyCast platform.
• Advanced Elements - This tab allows you to add elements such as a Captcha form to force users to enter a few words to prevent automated systems from signing up with fake information.
• Choice Elements - These elements include Radio Buttons, Checkboxes, and Dropdown menus.
• Social Elements - Social media buttons can be found here that make it easier form people to share the signup form with others.
• Industry Elements - This category contains industry-specific elements. We are always looking to add more industry specific items. If you have ideas for elements that can help your business, let us know!

Once you've finished designing your form with your desired elements, click on the Next button to continue.

Data Settings:

On the Data Settings page you can select a contact list (or lists) to associate with your signup form. If you have an existing list, you can drag and drop it from the Available Lists box to the Connected Lists box.

If you do not have a list, use the New List button to create one. You can have any number of lists connected to the same signup form. When a new signup is added, the signup will be placed on any number of lists that you have associated with the form.

You will also need to select one of the following items to tell our system what should happen when a form is submitted:

• Create a new contact - This selection adds a new contact to the connected lists.
• Update an existing record - Use this item to update existing records if they are already found in the contact list. If a record is not found, our system will create one.

If you would like to have form submissions email to you, select the desired email address from the drop-down list below. 

Note: only activated sender addresses can receive form notifications.

Click Next to proceed to the Settings page.

Settings:

The following settings can be selected from the Basic Settings tab that is selected by default when you arrive on this page.

The following Basic Settings can be adjusted:

• Form Title - This is the title of the form - this is separate from the title you specific in the form design and used in the HTML code.
• Form Description - This is a description of the form.
• Allow Multiple Submissions - Choose this option to allow the same person to submit a form more than once.
• Secure Browsing - Select this option to use a secure https:// link in the form.
• Limit Users - Limit the number of users that can submit your form.
• Set Form Expiry Date - This option will allow you to prevent further after the form expiry date is reached.

To adjust Advanced Settings click on the tab on the left of the settings page. The following options are available:

• Password Required - Use this option if you want to password protect your form.
• Block IPs - Use this option to block certain IP addresses from filling out the form. If you select this option, make sure that one IP address is entered per line.
• Custom Post Processing - Use this option if you plan to handle form processing using your own system. For example, you may wish to have the form add information to your own contact management system. If this option is selected, you must handle form processing using a specified Post Page URL. 
• Post Page Target - Use this option to specific how the post page will load. Use this only with Post Page URL.

Note: SimplyCast does not offer support for Custom Post Processing. We can only support form processing that occurs through our own systems.

Once you have finished selecting your Basic and Advanced Settings (where applicable), click on the Next button to continue.

Opt-in Setup:

This page allows you make changes to the Opt-in pages and emails that are sent when someone fills out your form.

Since our form builder can be used to build forms that are not related to people signing up to receive information, opt-in can be turned off. If you are not collecting information that requires an opt-in you can de-select the Opt-in Users checkbox.

Selecting the Thank You Page or the Confirmation Page link on the left of the page allows you to make changes to the thank you page displayed after a form is completed and/or an email has been confirmed. You can do the following on these pages:

• Use Default Thank You/Confirmation Page - Use our default page content. You can make limited changes to the content placed on this page.
• Use Custom Thank You/Confirmation Page - Enter a link to your website that our system will redirect to instead of displaying default content

In the Default Thank You Page section or the Confirmation Page, you can make adjustments to the following items:

• Page Title - This is the title of the web page, which is displayed in the browser tab/menu bar.
• Header - This is the main header in the page content.
• Body - This is the section that contains the primary content on the page and is located directly under the header.
• Merge Tags - Merge tab drop-down boxes connect to field names that are in your mailing lists. Use these fields to personalize the header or body of your message.

To change your Opt-in Email content, click on the Opt-in Email link on the left side of the page to compose a new email message using the Create button. A Thank You Email, which is optional with your form, can be created using the Thank You Email link on the left.

Once you have finished adding your form settings, click on the Next button to continue.

Modal Form Settings:

Modal forms are useful for adding a form to your site without making changes to the page itself. Modal forms can appear as soon as someone first visits your website and are triggered when a user clicks on the button that pops up on their page.

You can have the button immediately pop up on a page load, or show the button using specific code provided when the form is published. Here is a breakdown of the modal form settings:

• Show the form when the page is loaded - Use this option to immediately display the form as soon as the page is loaded after a specified number of seconds.
• Add a form button - Use this option to add a form button to your page that people can click on to view the full form.This option can be used in addition to automatically showing the form when a page is loaded.

Note: If you are testing the form on your website it will only load the first time a visitor arrives on the page. If you need to test this again you could clear your browser cookies to trigger the form code, but beware that clearing cookies will log you out of our system.

Some browsers such as Google Chrome have an Incognito browsing mode - you could use this browsing mode to test the page again.

If you choose to add a form button, the following customization options are available:

• Button Text - This is text displayed in the button.
• Button Position - This is the position on the page where the button will be displayed.
• Button Color - Click on this color to change the background color of the button.
• Button Text Color - Use this icon to select the text color for the button.

As you build your button, you can see your changes using the sample button located on the right side of the page.

You can preview your modal settings using the Site to Preview section on the left of the page. Enter your website address in the box below, and use the Preview button to view it.

When you have finished, click on the Next button to continue.

Publish:

The publishing page displays an overview of each form step. Here is an overview of the three status types you will see:

• Green Checkmark - This icon indicates the step is complete.
• Yellow exclamation mark - These icons represent a warning of a potential issue.
• Red 'x' icon - This indicates a problem with the form that must be resolved before you may proceed.

Once you have reviewed each of these items, use the Complete Project button to finalize your form.

What Code Should I Use?

We provide a number of options for your form, here is a breakdown of each:

• Form URL - This is a direct link to your signup form hosted on our servers.
• JavaScript - This form option uses JavaScript.
• IFrame - This form option uses an Iframe.

Modal Form Code Options:

The code for a Modal Form varies slightly from the regular form builder code. If you are using a modal form, only use the code options below.

• JavaScript - This code is used for the modal window to appear on your website.
• JavaScript onclick event - This code can be used to trigger the form from any button on your website. The JavaScript code would also need to be deployed for this to work correctly. This should be added to a button's "a" tag.

QR Codes:

We provide small, medium, and large QR codes you can use. These codes can be scanned by smartphones so they can quickly opt-in to receive more information.

Social Media:

We provide signup forms for the following social media sites:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Google+
• LinkedIn
• Yahoo

Once you've got the form code option you need, you can close the window to continue working with our platform.