A contact form on your website is a great way to capture leads and build relationships with your audience. In addition to collecting email addresses, a contact form can also help you gather other data about visitors, such as their name and location.
There are a few different ways to create a contact form, including using a third-party resource like Paperform or coding directly with HTML and PHP. While these options can be a bit more time-consuming and require more technical skill, they can save you a lot of hassle down the road.
Creating Contact Form in PDF
One of the easiest and fastest ways to create a contact form is by using a PDF. This is an interactive document that allows you to include text, images, buttons, and entry fields. When you’re done, you can export the file as HTML and add it to your website. This can be especially useful if you need to route button clicks to emails or URL addresses, or if you want to protect your form from bots with a reCaptcha.
Using CSS to Customize the Look of Your Form
CSS is a powerful design language that lets you create complex online forms with ease. However, it can be difficult to use for a beginner or business owner who doesn’t have much time to devote to learning it.
Adding Placeholder Text to Your Registration Fields
If you have a few specific questions that require a response from a user, it can be helpful to add placeholder text to your form. By inserting placeholder text, you can make the form easier to navigate and ensure that respondents have a clear idea of what they need to do next.
Having placeholder text is particularly important for contact forms that contain personal information, such as names and address. Having a placeholder text box can help users avoid making mistakes or accidentally providing their actual email address, which can be dangerous for businesses.
It can also help to keep visitors on the page longer by explaining what they need to do next. When they hover over a field, tooltips can display the text to explain what’s required and why.
Another useful feature for contact forms is the ability to send an automated email after the form has been submitted. This can help you build relationships with visitors and boost customer loyalty.
Creating an HTML Form That Sends an Email After Submission
In order to create an HTML form that sends an email after submission, you need to create two files: one with the HTML markup and the other with the PHP code. The PHP code will work with the HTML to manage the process and ensure that submissions end up in the correct place.
The simplest way to create an HTML form that sends an e-mail is by using the mailto: attribute on your form’s action element. While this is an option, it isn’t the most secure or reliable way to send a message to a visitor’s e-mail address.