Online Form Builder: How to Create Web Forms Without Coding [Ultimate Video Guide]

Have you ever tried building an online form from scratch?

Teams often require tools where they input data to automate the processing and monitoring of valuable information. While managers and business professionals have a clear vision of what the web form should look like, they often lack the technical skills to code and deploy applications. As a result, the project lands on the plate of an understaffed IT department, where it stays further down the pipeline.

Now, imagine if you built the web form yourself and IT focused on more technical and business-critical projects. Well, imagine no more.

Watch our ultimate video guide now to learn how you can create online forms for your business without coding.

What is a Web Form?

Web forms, or online forms, allow users to enter information that is then sent to a database for processing.

If you’ve experienced entering your name and credit card details to purchase something online, then you’ve already used a type of web form: the order form. An online survey is another great example.

Essentially, if the form takes in information and sends that information to a database over the internet, it’s a web form.

What is an Online Form Builder? 

Online form builders enable business managers and IT professionals to create web forms with minimal or no coding.

They offer a faster and more affordable alternative to traditional software development.

The Caspio Application Platform, for example, enables users to build feature-rich forms using simple setup wizards and a point-and-click interface.

Benefits of Using an Online Form Builder

When creating your web forms, you either code from scratch or use online form builders. Here’s why the latter is the better option:

• Get the exact web form you want, tailored to your unique requirements

While IT departments certainly have the technical skills to build your web forms, they are not directly plugged into the day-to-day operations of various teams across the company. They need to meet with you, discuss your requirements and learn your workflows. They need to be an expert in your business before they can start the project. Isn’t it better for you to build it on your own using an online form builder that is compliant with IT’s requirements?

• Meet market and organizational needs faster

A study by global services firm PwC found that 28 percent of Agile methodology projects are more successful than traditional ones. Agile focuses on the creation of a minimum viable product (MVP), which can then be improved with every iteration.

Using an online form creator enables IT and business professionals to create an MVP fast—allowing teams to improve processes and businesses to outpace their competitors with new products or better services.

• Eliminate ongoing maintenance of coded forms

Traditional development requires code upkeep to ensure the software remains secure and compatible with advancements (browser versions, system updates, etc.) By using an online form creator like Caspio, you’ll no longer have to worry about updating your code. The burden of maintenance is transferred to the platform provider, not the users or IT.

• Free up IT resources for critical projects

Some projects are so critical to the whole organization that they need the full attention of IT. By using a web form builder instead of relying on IT to code an app for you, you’ll lessen the workload worries of the IT team and allow them to focus on projects that require their technical expertise.

Online Form Builder Features You’ll Love

An online form creator should not be a mere digital version of your paper forms.

It needs to incorporate computer logic and automation to help you better manage your current workflows. Here are a few notable features of a powerful web form builder:

• Auto-complete – Assist end-users with suggestions whenever the strings being typed match an entry. Caspio, for example, allows the comparison type to be set to “Begins with” or “Contains” the value input.
  
  
• Calculated Values – With this feature enabled, your web forms dynamically generate a value when users interact with certain fields used in a formula. This is a valuable feature that provides end-users with added insights in the front end, and business developers some automated processing of results in the back end.
  
  
• Conditional Logic – To achieve dynamic forms, apply conditional rules that fine-tune fields based on user entries. In one of Caspio’s wizards, a business developer can set various conditions to hide, show, require or disable specific fields based on the value or selection of other fields in the same form.
  
  
• Text Areas – A typical web form builder has text fields where users type in their name, address and other short pieces of information. However, be sure to check whether you’ll have the option to accept longer inputs, such as detailed incident reports or product feedback. Caspio’s text areas, which can be customized to display remaining characters allowed, accept 64,000 characters.
  
  
• Other key features and functionalities – An excellent web form builder has other customization features such as radio buttons, dropdowns, checkboxes, list boxes, and hidden and display only fields. As for added functionalities, be on the lookout for hints, passwords and email notifications.

Types of Web Forms You Can Build Without Coding

By using an online form builder like Caspio, you can create web forms for various areas and workflows of your organization, both internally and externally. Here are some popular forms you can start building today:

• Surveys – Start making data-driven decisions with insight coming straight from your best source: your customers.
  
  
• Order Form – Expand your business to e-commerce. Take orders online with a custom order form.
  
  
• Job Application – Ever tried to apply for a job through a company website? That’s a great example of an online form.
  
  
• Online Event Registration – Instead of answering the phone and then encoding the data on your laptop, why not allow your event attendees to book a seat online?
  
  
• Patient Registration – For healthcare companies, you can also set up a patient registration form. Caspio is HIPAA-compliant and keeps patients’ sensitive information secure.
  
  
• Contact Us – Get more leads and inquiries online by deploying a contact form on your company website.

Here are other web forms you can build using Caspio’s online form builder with database:

• Event Feedback
• Member Registration
• Time-Off Request
• Service Request
• Referral Form
• Transfer Authorization
• Project Consultation
• Purchase Order
• Training Course Signup
• Course Evaluation Form
• Class Registration
• Patient Satisfaction Survey
• Employee Performance Review
• FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
• Affiliate Signup
• Reseller Signup

Watch the Caspio Web Form Builder Ultimate Video Guide

Watch our Ultimate Video Guide: How to Build Web Forms Without Coding to learn how you can start creating feature-rich online forms today without writing a single line of code.

This comprehensive, step-by-step video series walks you through using Caspio to create survey forms, which are among the most basic or the most complex web forms you can build. It also has dedicated videos for multi-step and relational forms, so you can make your forms “talk” to each other.

You’ll also learn how to build payment forms, so you can accept payments online.

Finally, for developers with experience in HTML, there’s a video that shows how you can create a custom form that uses HTML and CSS.

Build a Web Form Today Without Coding!

For business professionals, Caspio represents the power to build web based databases and applications that meet their specific workflow needs. It also means getting the specific web forms they need while complying with the IT department’s strict security and scalability requirements.

Ranked a “Leader” in Low-Code Platforms by Forrester, Caspio provides you with all the tools you’ll need to build, customize and deploy your web form applications.

Caspio’s low-code application platform features an intuitive point-and-click interface along with a handful of easy-to-use wizards that guide you through your development process.

Watch our ultimate video guide today and get started building your online forms through Caspio.

Or, you can also sign up for our easy database creator, which lets you build custom business apps for free and with no trial period to worry about.