Introducing the Drag and Drop Form Builder

Forms are a critical component of most websites and applications today. Whether it's a simple contact form, complex multi-page survey, or order checkout process, forms allow you to easily collect and manage user-submitted data. However, building custom online forms can be complex and time-consuming using traditional coding methods. That's where drag and drop form builders come in - they allow anyone to quickly create powerful, customized forms through an intuitive visual interface.

In this post, we'll explore an exciting new drag and drop form builder called FormCraft and how it can benefit developers and businesses alike. We'll look at the key features of this form builder, the types of forms you can create, benefits compared to old-school form builders, integration options, and pricing details. We'll also walk through a step-by-step guide to building forms and look at real-world examples and use cases. Let's dive in!

Core Features of the Drag and Drop Form Builder

The main value proposition of FormCraft is the easy drag and drop interface that allows you to visually design forms in a WYSIWYG editor. Here are some of the core features that enable this:

• Drag and drop interface for easily building forms visually without any coding needed. Simply drag fields from a toolbar onto the canvas to start building your form.
• Library of pre-built form elements like text inputs, checkboxes, dropdowns, radio buttons, and more. You have instant access to all the fields you need.
• Real-time preview when building forms to see changes instantly. As you customize fields and apply styling, your forms are reflected visually.
• Validation rules, conditional logic, calculations, and data connections can be configured without code. Easily add logic to your forms.
• Multiple themes and customization options for styling your forms. Apply colors, fonts, borders, backgrounds, and more with just a few clicks.
• Form submission management and data collection tools are included to capture, analyze, and export the data entered into your forms.

Types of Forms You Can Build

With its drag and drop flexibility and extensive set of built-in tools, FormCraft can help you create any type of form your business needs:

• Contact forms for capturing user inquiries, requests, and messages
• Registration and sign up forms for newsletters, memberships, user accounts, and more
• Order forms for ecommerce checkout, donations, bookings, or other financial transactions
• Surveys and questionnaires to gather structured feedback, opinions, and data from users
• Job application forms to allow candidates to apply for open positions by submitting their details
• Event registration forms for managing RSVPs, tickets, and registrations for upcoming events
• Quizzes and assessments for knowledge testing, grading, and certification programs
• Payment forms to securely collect payments, bank details, signatures, and consent

Benefits Compared to Traditional Form Builders

Compared to traditional form building methods like writing HTML, JavaScript, or using legacy form tools, FormCraft brings some great advantages:

• 10x faster form building with drag and drop compared to coding complex forms by hand. You can create a customized contact form in just minutes versus hours or days of coding.
• More intuitive workflow for non-technical users like marketing or HR teams. No need to submit tickets and wait for IT to build forms.
• Real-time previews enable rapid design iterations versus waiting for code changes to compile and test. Tweak fonts, colors, and styling instantly.
• Large library of ready-made elements speeds development instead of reinventing the wheel by coding fields from scratch.
• Visual builder is less prone to error than writing lots of form code and complex validation logic by hand.
• Changes can be made and deployed quickly without engineering resources or new code releases. Update forms on the fly without delays.

Integrations to Enhance Your Forms

While the built-in tools provide everything you need to create forms, integrations with external apps and services can further enhance your forms:

• Connect to databases like MySQL, Postgres to securely store form submissions
• Integrate with services like MailChimp, HubSpot, Zapier to sync data with your CRM, email, and 100+ other apps
• Embed forms on your website with provided code snippets - no need for new site releases
• Set up webhooks to send data to other apps when forms are submitted, like Slack or data warehouses
• Export and download form data as CSV files for easy offline analysis and reporting
• Authentication options to control who can access, edit, and view your forms

Pricing Options For The Form Builder

This versatile form builder is offered at various pricing levels to meet different needs:

• Free plan available with limited fields, submissions, and basic features
• Pro plan with more fields, themes, conditional logic, and unlimited forms
• Business plan adds white labeling, priority support, role-based access control, and advanced features
• Enterprise pricing available for large organizations with custom requirements
• Discounts for nonprofits and academic institutions are available
• Free trial of Pro and Business plans offered to test features

Step-by-Step Guide to Building Forms

Now that we've covered the key capabilities of FormCraft, let's walk through the hands-on process of creating forms step-by-step. Follow along to start building your own forms!

Getting Started with the Form Editor

When you first launch FormCraft, here's what you'll see:

• The drag and drop canvas where you'll visually design your form
• A toolbar with all the available form fields, themes, and options
• The form preview pane where changes are reflected in real-time

To start a new form:

• Click the "+ New Form" button
• Select a blank form to design from scratch
• Or choose a pre-built template or sample form to customize
• Adjust the page size, fonts, colors through the form settings panel
• Preview how it looks on desktop and mobile with the responsive view

Adding and Editing Form Fields

To add fields to your form:

• Drag and drop fields from the toolbar onto the canvas
• Resize, move, and align fields using gridlines and spacing tools
• Edit labels, placeholders, options by clicking into any field
• Add validation rules like required fields or email format
• Reorder fields by simply dragging and dropping them
• Duplicate fields with the copy tool to quickly replicate them

Styling Your Form with Themes

Themes allow you to quickly style and brand forms:

• Apply a pre-made theme to style your form with one click
• Use the style editor to customize colors, fonts, sizes, etc.
• Add background images or illustrations to create engaging forms
• Control field borders, radius, padding, and more
• See changes in the live preview before publishing forms

Configuring Form Options and Logic

To create advanced forms, use these options:

• Add multi-page forms with page breaks
• Set up confirmation messages after form submission
• Enable partial form saving to resume later
• Create conditional logic to show or hide fields dynamically
• Build calculations between fields like totals or scores

Integrating and Publishing Your Form

Once your form is ready, integrate and deploy it:

• Connect to databases or APIs to capture submission data
• Generate embed code to add the form to your websites
• Password protect forms or leave them public
• Download form data in CSV format for easy analysis
• Share form links to start collecting submissions

Use Cases and Examples of Forms Built

To provide some real-world context, here are examples of forms created for different use cases along with tips for each one:

Contact Forms

Sample contact forms include:

• Sales inquiries form with name, company, email, phone, and message fields
• Support request form to capture issues from customers
• Forms to allow users to schedule calls and demos with sales
• Email notifications to your team when new inquiries are submitted
• Add captcha to prevent spam submissions

Registration and Signup Forms

Sample signup forms include:

• Collect name, email, and any other essential user details
• Optional fields like phone number, address, demographics, etc.
• Consent checkboxes for terms of service, marketing opt-ins, etc.
• Send welcome emails to new users after signup
• Show confirmation messages upon successful signups

Feedback and Survey Forms

Sample survey and feedback forms:

• Multi-page surveys with page breaks for each section
• Mix of text fields, multiple choice, ratings for open and closed-ended questions
• Insert images or videos to gather reactions as part of surveys
• Randomize questions and answers to prevent bias
• Export results for analysis in Excel, Tableau, or analytics platforms

Quizzes and Exams

Sample quizzes and online tests:

• Multi-page quiz forms with navigation and sections
• Timer for auto-submit after time limit is up
• Randomized questions and answers to prevent cheating
• Grade quiz automatically by assigning points to correct answers
• Provide explanations for right and wrong answers

Payments and Orders

Sample order forms include:

• Customer details fields like name, address, email
• Product options to capture orders and quantities
• Integrate payment fields and providers to collect credit cards
• Calculate totals, discounts, taxes dynamically
• Send order receipts and confirmations to customers
• Trigger CRM webhooks when new orders are submitted

Summary and Conclusion

In summary, FormCraft provides an easy way for anyone to create powerful online forms. Key features include:

• Intuitive drag and drop editor requiring no coding
• Library of pre-built fields, themes, and options
• Real-time previews and responsive mobile-friendly forms
• Form logic like conditional fields, calculations, and multi-page forms
• Integration with databases, APIs, webhooks, and other apps
• Security and access control to protect form data

Diverse types of forms can be built including contact forms, surveys, quizzes, payments, and more. Compared to traditional form builders, it enables faster form development without engineering resources. Anyone can leverage FormCraft to quickly create forms for their website or application.

So in conclusion, if you need an easy way to build online forms - for gathering data, orders, payments or any other purpose - FormCraft is definitely worth exploring! Developers on DevHunt could especially benefit by using FormCraft to easily create forms for gathering customer feedback on their tools and projects.