Best Online Form Makers for Developing Smart Surveys

Introduction: Why Online Form Builders Are Essential for Developers

Online form builders allow developers to easily create forms for data collection without coding. Forms are critical for developers to capture user information, conduct surveys, implement quizzes, and more. With powerful form builders, you can add logic and conditional branching to create smart surveys that adapt based on user responses. Choosing the right online form builder can save developers significant time compared to building from scratch. This article reviews the top online form builders for developers to find the ideal platforms for their needs.

Forms are an indispensable tool for developers. They allow for easy data collection from users without having to hard code the form layouts and logic. Form builders empower developers to quickly build quizzes, user profiles, contact forms, surveys, and more to support their projects. Especially useful are advanced form builders that enable conditional logic and branching. This allows the survey or quiz experience to adapt based on the user's responses, creating a dynamic and personalized flow. The time savings from using a form builder rather than hand coding can be immense. This makes it critical for developers to select the right form builder for their specific needs and use cases. This review covers key factors to evaluate and top form builder options to consider.

Key Features to Look for in Form Builders

When evaluating form builders, there are several key features developers should look for:

Drag-and-Drop Form Editors

Look for intuitive form builders with drag-and-drop interfaces to arrange fields. Editors with drag-and-drop make it fast and easy to construct forms without coding. Prioritize builders that allow drag-and-drop on both desktop and mobile for flexibility. Form editors with drag-and-drop reduce development time vs hard-coding forms. Drag-and-drop placement of fields provides visual form design without needing to write code.

The form builder's interface is critical, as you want something intuitive that allows dragging and dropping form fields into place. This type of visual editor enables rapid design without hard coding the HTML and layout. It provides flexibility to rearrange and perfect the form flow. You can quickly build forms on both desktop and mobile. For developers, an elegant drag-and-drop form editor can shave hours off development time compared to hand coding forms and tweaking CSS. It also allows non-technical colleagues to help construct forms. Overall, drag-and-drop form editors are a huge time saver.

Integrations

Key integrations connect forms directly to databases, email services, payment systems, etc. Integrations eliminate manual data transfer and streamline form use. Priority integrations include MySQL, Salesforce, Mailchimp, Stripe, PayPal, etc. Native integrations avoid needing custom code for connecting form data. Select builders with an integration marketplace to extend available connections.

Integrations are what allow the form data to flow seamlessly to wherever it needs to go - databases, email lists, payment systems, document storage, analytics platforms, etc. Look for native integrations to popular platforms like MySQL, Salesforce, MailChimp, Stripe, PayPal, and more. Strong integration options let you get form data where it needs to go without tedious manual transfers or custom coding. An integration marketplace or API connectivity allows adding even more integrations as needed. Prioritize form builders with robust integration capabilities to save work.

Conditional Logic

Conditional logic creates smart branching forms that adapt based on user responses. This allows personalized quiz and survey experiences. For example, a survey could skip irrelevant questions based on a user's previous answers, improving the flow. Look for easy ways to set up conditional logic without coding. Prioritize builders that support multiple conditional logic options per form. Conditional logic is essential for market research surveys and assessments.

One of the most powerful form features is conditional logic, which allows the form to branch based on the user's responses. This creates a dynamic, personalized experience ideal for quizzes, surveys, assessments, and research. Conditional logic avoids linear forms that ask irrelevant questions. Make sure the form builder has an easy visual interface for setting up conditional logic without coding. You want robust options for "if/then" logic, multiple conditions per form, etc. Conditional logic takes forms to the next level for gathering better quality data.

Customizable Themes

Themes allow forms to match website branding and styles. Prioritize builders with a wide selection of customizable themes. Drag-and-drop theme editing speeds design without custom CSS. Match forms to site look and feel with on-brand themes. Custom themes create cohesive experiences for users.

Make sure the form builder offers themes or templates that allow styling the form to match your brand. Drag-and-drop theme customization allows tweaking colors, fonts, etc. without coding. Quality themes prevent forms that look generic. Matching your website's look and feel avoids a disjointed experience when users go from your site to a form. Prioritize form builders with a wide variety of professional themes you can customize to your brand style.

Analytics

Form analytics provide insights into user responses and behavior. Dashboards to visualize results and track form performance over time. Analytics help identify issues like form abandonment. Data can be exported to external platforms for further analysis. Prioritize robust analytics beyond just total submissions.

Analytics complete the package by providing visibility into form performance. Dashboards should allow viewing response summaries, abandonment rates, completion metrics, and trends over time. Robust analytics help optimize forms for better conversions. Make sure analytics include exports to enable further analysis in external tools. Prioritize form builders that go beyond basic submission counts with rich analytics and custom reporting on response rates, completion times, question responses, and more.

Top Online Form Builders for Developers

Based on the key criteria, here are top form builders developers should consider:

• Typeform - Extremely user-friendly with engaging templates.
• JotForm - Feature-packed with HIPAA compliance.
• Wufoo - Affordable and intuitive option.
• Google Forms - Free and seamlessly integrated with Google Workspace.
• Formstack - Robust features with Salesforce integration.
• Devtalk - Specifically designed for developer tools and integrations.

Typeform

One of the most user-friendly and visually engaging form builders. Focus on conversational forms with fun templates. Arrange fields via drag-and-drop on both desktop and mobile. Basic conditional logic available in the free plan. Limited native integrations but Zapier expands options. Analytics provide response summaries and completion rates.

Typeform stands out for its intuitive interface and visually engaging form templates that feel more conversational. The drag-and-drop editor is fantastic for quickly constructing forms on both desktop and mobile. It has basic conditional logic features even on the free plan. Native integrations are limited but you can connect additional services through Zapier. The analytics and summaries provide the key metrics around responses and completion rate. Overall Typeform is ideal if you want great usability and eye-catching forms.

JotForm

Very powerful form builder with tons of customization options. HIPAA compliance makes it suitable for medical forms. Robust form analytics and integrations like PayPal. Higher pricing tiers unlock more features and options. Can build multi-page forms with progress bars. Access to form templates and themes.

JotForm is a robust form builder with an abundance of features for developers. It meets HIPAA compliance standards making it suitable for medical uses. You get access to hundreds of form templates and themes for custom styling. JotForm has top-notch native integrations with PayPal, Stripe, Salesforce, MailChimp, and more. Form analytics are very detailed for optimizing forms. Higher pricing tiers unlock additional capabilities like multi-page forms, clones, and conditional logic. JotForm is great for developers who want maximum functionality.

Wufoo

Intuitive drag-and-drop editor at an affordable price. Good selection of themes and customization options. Integrations with services like MailChimp, Salesforce, Zapier. Can embed forms on your website with snippets. Decent analytics with charts and filtering. Mobile-friendly forms.

Wufoo hits a sweet spot between ease of use and features. Its drag-and-drop editor is intuitive and it has mobile responsiveness. You get themes and customization to brand forms. Wufoo connects to many top services like MailChimp, Salesforce, Slack, and more via integrations and Zapier. Forms can be embedded easily through code snippets. The analytics offer good insights with charts and filtering options. Wufoo is a great blend of usability, features, and affordability.

Google Forms

Free and built into Google Workspace accounts. Tight integration with other Google services. Easy to create quizzes, surveys, registrations, etc. Limited customization options compared to paid builders. Can view summary charts from responses. Great for simple forms with no coding.

The appeal of Google Forms is the free cost and tight integration if you already use Google Workspace tools like Drive, Docs, Sheets, etc. It makes creating quizzes, surveys, and registrations easy without any coding. But customization and advanced features are limited compared to paid platforms. You can view charts summarizing responses and some basic metrics. Google Forms is great for simple forms if you want free and fast within the Google ecosystem.

Formstack

Powerful form builder with tons of field options. Native Salesforce integration along with Zapier. Customizable themes and multi-page form support. Higher pricing tier needed for more robust features. Form abandonment reports in analytics. 24/7 customer support.

Formstack is feature-rich with tons of form field choices and robust functionality. It has native Salesforce integration enabling easy connection to databases and CRM data. The Premium plan unlocks features like multi-page forms, advanced logic, and APIs. You can customize themes or use pre-made templates. Analytics include helpful form abandonment reports. Formstack has 24/7 customer support options for issues. The platform scales from simple to advanced forms as your needs grow.

Devtalk

Form building tailored specifically for developers. Library of field types for software data collection. Built-in integrations for developer tools and APIs. Embeddable code snippet for forms. Customizable themes to match developer brand styles. Usage analytics to optimize form conversion.

Devtalk focuses specifically on form building for developer tools and APIs. It has pre-made field types for collecting data like software requirements, feature requests, bug reports, API integrations, etc. This saves developers time. It has native integrations optimized for common developer platforms and tools. Embed code snippets allow easy form integration into documentation sites. Usage analytics help track form conversions and optimization. The builder allows customizing themes to match your developer brand. Devtalk streamlines form building for developer-specific use cases.

Choosing the Best Form Builder for Your Needs

With an abundance of form builder options, focus on choosing the right platform for your specific needs:

• Evaluate available integrations and data connections needed. Prioritize builders with the right native integrations or expansion options like Zapier.
• Assess the level of conditional logic and customization required. More complex forms may require higher-tier plans with advanced features. Simple forms can use free or basic plans.
• Consider form analytics needs for tracking and optimizing forms. Make sure the platform provides the right metrics and dashboards.
• Compare pricing tiers to find plan with ideal features. Check if higher tiers are needed for key functionality.
• Test builders with free trials to evaluate editors and themes. Experience the interfaces and design process before deciding.
• Prioritize an intuitive interface for rapid form building. Drag-and-drop and minimal coding improves creation speed.
• Think through future form needs to select scalable platform. Will you need multi-page forms, APIs, etc. later on?
• Strike balance between ease-of-use and advanced functionality. Assess what is essential now vs. nice-to-have.
• Select form builder aligned with primary use cases and audience. Certain builders cater to developers, marketers, etc.
• Consider startups like Devtalk that tailor specifically to developers. Their focus can provide optimized experiences.

Take time to carefully evaluate your needs and use cases before selecting a form builder. Test out promising options to get hands-on with the interfaces. Weigh the pros and cons of simplicity vs features. Choosing the ideal form builder can yield huge time savings for developers.

Go Forth and Build Smarter Forms

Online form builders empower developers to create forms quickly without coding. Leverage conditional logic to make smart surveys that adapt to responses. Focus on find a builder with the right mix of ease-of-use and functionality. Integrations eliminate manual data transfer between forms and other apps. Continually optimize forms using analytics data on responses and completion rates. Well-designed forms provide great user experiences and capture quality data. The right form builder saves significant development time for any project.

Form builders open up new possibilities for developers to efficiently create dynamic forms without complex coding. Conditional logic unlocks smart surveys and quizzes that respond to user input. Take time to find the form builder that balances simplicity with the features you need—both now and in the future. Robust integrations and analytics enable streamlined data flows and continuous form optimization. Online form builders enable developers to build not just faster, but also smarter. The result is great UX and quality data. With the multitude of excellent form building options available today, developers can kickstart virtually any project.