Creating web forms can be one of the most time consuming and sometimes frustrating parts of creating a website. It becomes especially challenging when you need an advanced form that involves things like conditional logic, multi-page forms, support for file uploads or attachments, and payment integration. Fortunately, there are a number of tools, resources, and apps that are available to make the process much less time consuming.
In this post we’ll take a look at several options for creating web forms, both basic and advanced, quickly and easily.
Wufoo is one of the most popular form builders. It’s user interface makes it easy to set up your custom forms, and it includes plenty of enticing features. Those features include custom branding, payment integration, allow file uploads as part of the form, instant notifications, advanced analytics, more than 150 pre-built templates, form logic, spam prevention, and user management.
Pricing for Wufoo depends on a few different factors like the number of users, forms, form fields, and entries per month. A free plan is available for 1 user, 3 forms, 10 form fields, and 100 entries per month. Paid plans range from per month to 9.95 per month.
I’ve personally used Wufoo on a few projects for basic forms and found it to be a great option. It’s easy to set up a simple form quickly, and Wufoo includes many advanced features that I didn’t need for those projects.
FormStack is another very popular option with many features that are similar to Wufoo. You can use their drag-and-drop form builder to create your own forms in minutes. Features include HTML5 forms, conditional logic, customizable themes, import and export data, data encryption, analytics, captcha and email validation, integration with many third-party apps, payment processing, discount codes, and calculating fields for order forms. FormStack also gives you the ability to re-route form submissions to the right person using smart routing features.
Pricing for FormStack depends on several factors like the number of forms, form fields, submissions, and users. Unlike Wufoo, FormStack does not offer a limited free plan, but they do offer a 14-day free trial on each of the plans. Plans start at per month and go up to 9 per month.
My personal experience with FormStack is that I used it to create and manage a web form that involved submitting payment via PayPal. It was a rather simple option for integrating a basic web form with payment processing. I used it for about a year with no problems. The database of form submissions made it easy to login and view all of the submissions and verify who had submitted payment.
Gravity Forms is different than the other options on this list because it is a WordPress plugin. It offers may of the same form building features, but all from the WordPress dashboard of the site that you are working on. The features of Gravity Forms include conditional logic, multi-page forms, PayPal integration, optional fields for order forms, edit and export entries, and customizable admin notifications.
One of the nice benefits to using Gravity Forms is that forms can also be created to insert form data into blog posts. For example, you could use it to set up a form where users can submit community news links to be posted to a website or blog. Another benefit is that if you are already using WordPress to power your site you can manage all of the Gravity Forms data without needing to also login to another site or app.
Gravity Forms is a premium plugin with pricing starting at for unlimited forms and entries on 1 site, with 1 year of updates and support. Multi-site and developer licenses are available for and 9.
I’ve used Gravity Forms on a number of different projects over the past several years. In fact, the contact form on this site is powered by Gravity Forms. It’s an excellent option that I would definitely recommend to anyone who works with WordPress.
MachForm is a form builder with some attractive features and pricing. The features include a drag-and-drop form builder, visual theme editor,PayPal integration, multi-page forms, email notifications and autoresponders, file upload options, electronic signature, and the ability to export entries.
The pricing of MachForm starts at a one-time fee of for use on 1 site with unlimited forms and unlimited entries, and 1 year of support. Multi-site and unlimited plans are available for and 9,
123ContactForm includes features like a WYSIWYG form builder, SSL encryption, email notifications with optional routing, file uploads, data export, conditional logic, reports and charts, customizable themes, multi-language forms, payment integration, integration with third party apps, and WordPress integration.
A basic free plan is available that allows 1 user, 5 forms, and 100 entries per month.Paid plans start at .95 per month for 1 user, 20 forms, and 5,000 entries per month.
ioDeck is a bit different than any of the other options that we’ve looked at so far. With ioDeck you make a one-time purchase and you can install it on your own website (or client websites) on your own server or hosting account. Features include unlimited forms and form fields, use on unlimited websites, intuitive form builder, validated and secure forms, notifications via email, Twitter, or Facebook message.
Pricing for ioDeck is for 1 user, unlimited forms, unlimited entries, and support and updates for 6 months.
JotForm is a simply WYSIWYG form builder that allows you to start creating a new form immediately. It includes all of the basic form field types, plus payment integration, captchas, survey tools, and more. They have a number of different form templates that you can use as a starting point.
A limited free plan is available that allows unlimited forms, unlimited fields, and 100 entries per month. Paid plans range from .95 per month to .95 per month.
pForm is a very simple option that is easy to use, but does not include as many advanced features as other options listed here. You start by choosing a color for your form, then you set up the form fields. When you’re done you can download the form code for free.
FormSite includes a number of features like payment integration, SSL encryption, file uploads, mobile forms, multi-page forms, conditional logic, notifications, and third party integrations. FormSite can also generate PDFs with form data.
FormSite offers a free plan that includes 5 forms, 50 items per form, and 10 entries per form per month. Paid plans range from .95 per month to .95 per month.
The Web Form Builder from CoffeeCup allow you to build HTML5/CSS3 forms with no coding required. You can create responsive forms to improve usability on mobile devices. Its features include a drag-and-drop form builder, customizable fields, notifications, payment integration, themes to choose from, conditional logic, and third party integrations. You can host your forms on your own server, or let CoffeeCup host them.
The cost of CoffeeCup Web Form Builder is a one-time payment of .
If you’re just looking for a simple contact form, the form builder from Google Apps may be a good option. It’s free to use, and you can create simple forms in a matter of minutes.
FormAssembly includes features like a simple form builder, multi-page forms, conditional logic, input validation, integration with third party apps, file uploads, and custom form branding.
FormAssembly offers the unique option of a pay-as-you-go plan where you will pay .05 per form submission. Other plans range from per month to 0 per month.
For more web development tools and resources please see:
- 20+ HTML5 Tutorials, Resources, and Tips
- Details of 10 E-Commerce Platforms
- 10 Apps for Working Remotely
- 10 Resources for Creating Website Color Schemes
12 Options for Easily Creating Web Forms
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