Lead generation relies on forms. With so many forms out there, it is important that your forms stand out. You can build, customize, and reorder fields with SharpSpring's drag-and-drop form editor. This article will detail how to create a SharpSpring form.
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Creating and Editing SharpSpring Forms
Forms are the main way that SharpSpring receives information regarding a potential lead. In SharpSpring, form information is posted to a lead's contact record, as well as the lead's individual Life of the Lead timeline. This information can then be used to send an email to the lead, which begins the lead nurturing process.
Creating Forms
To create a SharpSpring form, do the following:
Once created, a modal window will appear that contains the form's embed code. This is the code that you paste into a webpage to place created forms on a page. For more information on embed codes, refer to Form Embed Code Overview. |
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Important: As forms establish tracking, it is considered best practice to include the GDPR Consent field to be in compliance with The European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
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Important: You must have at least one field before you can save a form.
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Editing Forms
To edit an existing form, do the following:
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Duplicating Forms
To duplicate a form, do the following:
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Deactivating Forms
While you cannot delete forms outright, you can deactivate them. To deactivate forms, do the following:
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Once deactivated, the form will be moved to the Inactive Forms menu.
Reactivating Forms
To reactivate a deactivated form, do the following:
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Once reactivated, the form will be moved to the Active Forms menu.
Adding Form Fields: The Fields Tab
The Fields tab contains the options necessary in inserting, modifying, and customizing form fields.
You must have at least one field before you can save a form. To add fields to your SharpSpring form, do the following:
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Important: An email address is required for SharpSpring to be able to gather form data.
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Note: The first time you save a form, an embed code modal window will appear. To continue editing the form, click Close.
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Rearranging Fields
At any time during the form creation process, you can rearrange or otherwise modify the fields inserted into the form. Hovering over a field will display the following three icons:
Icon | Modifier | Description | |
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Reorder | Drag-and-drops fields to reorder their placement in the form. | |
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Delete | Removes the field from the form. | |
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Options | Additional options, including hidden specification, default value, and lead type. |
Fields Best Practices
When adding fields to SharpSpring forms, it is important to keep the following in mind:
- Forms should contain a maximum of four or five fields. Listing more fields is usually too much, as too many fields bloat the form in both style and substance.
- You can choose for some fields to Always Show or only show if a lead has not filled out that field before.
- Check the Autofill Data toggle to have associated fields auto-populate with a visitor's information if they have already filled out that field.
- Click on the Create Custom Fields link to better customize and specialize forms.
- When using referral fields, be aware that the fields do not establish tracking. Referral fields do create a second contact record for that referral. When using referral fields, send an email to that referral stating that they were referred. This encourages the referred visitor to visit your website and/or fill out a form to establish tracking.
- When using the How Did You Hear About Us feature, the option will add a field at the end of the form where your visitor can add themselves to a campaign in SharpSpring. This feature is available just in case one of your current campaigns did not catch them.
- You can integrate SharpSpring forms with both WebEx and GoToWebinar. This allows you to add events or webinars as form fields. This way, when visitors fill out your form, they are also registered in WebEx or GoToWebinar.
Editing Form Metadata: The General Tab
The General tab contains options to edit metadata and other important pieces of form information. To modify a form's metadata, do the following:
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Note: Google's invisible reCAPTCHA tool protects your forms from spam and other types of automated abuse. This happens behind the scenes without requiring a user to click a checkbox. Only the most suspicious traffic will be prompted to solve a captcha.
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Thank You Page Settings
The available Thank You Page settings are as follows:
Setting | Description | |
Thank You Page URL |
Insert the desired URL that you want the form to redirect to upon submission. This page is typically hosted on your website or a landing page and usually says "Thanks for filling out our form." The page redirects the user to your website. By default, SharpSpring will automatically display a generic Thank You page for anyone who fills out the form if the Thank You Page URL field is left blank. |
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Submit Data to My "Thank You" Page |
This setting will generate a postback URL to the Thank you Page designated for the form. This postback URL will allow for a developer with code knowledge to implement code that can utilize the form data from the postback URL accordingly. |
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Show "Thank You" Page within iFrame |
Choose for the Thank You page to open in a new page, or in an iFrame on the same webpage. |
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Use Custom "Thank You" Page |
Click ![]() page. This allows you to still utilize the basic Thank You page while modifying it to your liking if you choose to not insert a Thank You page URL. |
Form Data Settings
The available Form Data settings are as follows:
Setting | Description | |
Lead Status | Give visitors who fill out this form a lead status. | |
Double Opt-In | Clicking this checkbox enables the double opt-in feature. This feature sends a confirmation email to those who fill out this form, allowing them to explicitly opt-in to receiving emails. |
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Postback URL | Enter a Postback URL if you have a third-party service you want SharpSpring to post the form data to. |
Editing CSS: The Styles Tab
The Styles tab contains a list of options pertaining to using CSS stylesheets and buttons with a form. To modify Styles settings, do the following:
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Note: When modifying existing buttons, click
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Note: External CSS URLs are necessary only if you have a stylesheet that is already associated with your site and want the form to have the same look and feel.
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Note: SharpSpring offers Professional Services to assist with custom coding.
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Creating Stylesheets
To create a stylesheet and apply it to the form, do the following:
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Editing Stylesheets
To edit existing stylesheets, do the following:
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Deleting Stylesheets
To delete stylesheets, do the following:
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Be aware that stylesheets cannot be recovered when deleted. Also, stylesheets cannot be deleted if they are associated with any form, even ones you are not currently creating or editing.
Native and Third-Party Forms
In addition to SharpSpring forms, SharpSpring also allows you to create two other types of forms: native or third-party. For information on the processes involved in creating these forms, refer to Connecting Native and Third-Party Forms.