Create a Form

Web Express has a robust form tool to help you create simple or complex forms. Typical form content is contact forms, requests for appointments, newsletter signups, questionnaires and surveys. You also have several options in form management and managing submissions.

Your site also includes a Contact Us form. This form is specifically intended for visitors to send a brief note containing feedback or a question. Learn more about Contact forms.

All Web Express websites must adhere to state and federal laws and regulations and CU Boulder policies. Only public information may be posted on Web Express websites and must not contain, collect, or store private information (as defined in the University of Colorado System policy glossary), or other confidential information as defined by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), Federal Contract Information (FCI) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) regulations, as applicable. Any private information or other confidential information on Web Express websites must be removed by a site administrator as soon as practically possible upon discovery.

Please review our managing forms best practices article to review steps you can take to keep data secure.

Note: Always test your forms on mobile devices.

Demo: Forms

Add Webform

  1. Using the admin menu: select Structure > Webforms.
  2. You will see a list of all the existing forms on the site.
  3. Click Add Webform.

Create Form

  1. Title: is for the main title of the form.
  2. Status: an open form is ready to use after it is created. A closed form will need to be opened before it can be used.
  3. Click Save.

Add Elements

Select elements for your form such as name and email.

  1. Click Add element to bring up list of elements.
  2. Filter: If you know the type of element that you want to use, use the filter option to quickly bring up a list to choose from.
  3. Use Preview: to see examples and a description of each form element.
  4. Click Add element next to element type to add it to the form.
  5. Types of Elements: A pop-up dialog box will appear offering you a list of elements to select from. Categories of elements include:
    1. Basic elements - text fields, radio buttons, checkboxes, etc
    2. Advanced elements - emails, email confirmation, passwords, ranges, ratings, toggles, URLs, etc.
    3. Composite elements - addresses, contact, location, names
    4. Options elements - checkboxes, radio buttons, buttons, select lists, table selects and sorts
    5. Containers - container, details, fieldset, flexbox layout, item, label
    6. Date/time elements
    7. Entity reference elements
    8. Markup elements
    9. Tables
    10. Other

Configure Elements

  1. Configure the settings on the element page. At the most basic, you would complete:
    1. Title - the text to appear with the user interface element
    2. Description (optional) - clarification text
    3. Default value (optional) - the initial value; a text field might have reminders or instructions, a checkbox might already be select, etc.
  2. General tab:
    1. Element settings
    2. Element description /help and more
    3. Form display
    4. Form validation
  3. Conditions: set up conditional logic
  4. Advanced: Default value or set wrapper type such as a fieldset
  5. Access: set who can create, update and view submissions.

Add Page

Add multiple pages to a form.

Add Layout

Add column layout to a form.

Note: Forms need to be added to your site via a form page or a form block placed on a page. You will need to create the form first, then add it to a page or block.

Best Practices 

  • Use the correct element type for specific type of data. For example, use the email field for email addresses instead of a normal text field.
  • It is generally recommended that you limit the amount of personal information you request in your forms. 
  • Clear webform results where personal information is captured once the information is taken offline. 

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