Form blocks are fantastic way to gather information from a visitor to your website. You can ask a variety of questions from them and have it either marked required or not so they can choose to give you the information they want to share.  

Adding a Form block to a website or many Form blocks allows you to interact with a visitor and a possible client or member for your business or organization. They can give you information that will enable you to interact more effectively. A website should be more than just words on a screen, it should allow you to change as needed and have an exchange of ideas and information. I have chosen to work mostly with Squarespace websites so that once I build a website, I can teach my clients how to make their own updates and changes in real time. Squarespace is very user friendly. This enables the website to grow and change as the business grows and develops.

How do you use Form blocks within a website? 

Form blocks can be used in many ways. I’m sure there are so many different ways that people have thought to use Form blocks on their websites, more than the designers of Squarespace or I have thought of. Whatever your business needs I’m sure there is a way to incorporate them into your business or organization. You may have as many Form blocks on your website as you choose. This is a good way to collect information from a visitor and enable all that you need to make the first contact.

The following information may be collected in Form blocks: 

• contact information

• surveys  

• polls 

• applications  

There is no limit to how many Form blocks you may incorporate into your Squarespace website. Make sure that you name each Form block so that you know which form the visitor to your website has filled out. Once you design the Form block you may choose to leave as a form for all to view or create a Lightbox, a button, so that once it is selected the form pops up. If you decide to have many forms this may be an option to keep the website looking clean. Try it out and see what you think.

To add a form block into your Squarespace website: 

Edit any page. Select the (+) at an insert point and select Form in the menu.  

There are three sections in terms of customizing the form to your unique business or organization needs.  

1. Content - set up the form 

1. Design - customize the layout 

1. Storage - decide where information is stored 

Let’s go through all three. There is so much information you may add to your Form block and it is a great way to engage with potential clients or members.

Content 

• Form Name: Set up a unique name for each form. If you have more than one form this may be important to you.

• Button Text: This is the button the visitor selects to send information to you. It may be customized to read what you would like to see. The default is Submit but you can use another word, words, phrase, or a whole sentence. Make sure you try to envision your clients thoughts as they are clicking the button. Make sure the name you give it would be something they would appreciate and, most importantly, understand.

• Edit Form Field: This is the area where you will add, move, change, or delete form fields. In many fields you may add additional information and placeholder information to give an example of how you would like to see the information. In each field there is a toggle to require that information. If selected, on the form the visitor will see an asterisks next to the information that you require. You may add a field by selecting Add Field and decide how many fields and what kind of information you would like to ask from the visitor. There are so many selections from a simple text area to selection dropdown and radio buttons. You can even add a line to separate areas in the form so that there are sections. Once you have all the information try moving around the questions to make sure they are in an order that makes sense to you and the visitor filling out the form. Have fun with this and always remember, everything can be changed. You could use this form for a month and realize you want to request different information or request information in a different way.  

• Post-Submit: This is the after-submission email sent to the visitor thanking them or giving them further information. You may even redirect them to a website (probably your website.) 

Design 

• Button Alignment - This allows you to choose where you would like the button to appear below your form. You can have it centered or to the right or left.  

• Lightbox - You can choose to have the form pop up in a Lightbox. When the visitor clicks on the button the form will appear. You can toggle on or off to see how this would look on your website. This way the form will not show up on a page in your website but you have to press the button to see it.

Storage 

• Where to direct the information from the form? This is the area where you can choose where the visitors information will go once they submit the form. You may direct all forms to be sent to an email. If you want to collect the forms in a sort of database connect to MailChimp, Zapier, or Google Drive. You may want to check pricing on these third party vendors, if you don’t already have access, as these are not Squarespace owned areas.  

• Google reCAPTCHA: This is an added safeguard where the visitor must complete a task before the form is submitted. They must check a box or identify a picture or letters to prove they are not robots. I was happily surprised to see this feature in Squarespace as an added safeguard and already part of your website hosting with Squarespace.  

I love that information from Form blocks can be sent to an email. If you don’t have one of the third party storage areas or you don’t think you will receive too many entries you can just have submissions sent to an email address.

Of course, Squarespace always writes great articles, and they have one for Form blocks. Read through their article and watch a video on Form blocks. This is a terrific addition to any website. 

May Web Design, LLC refreshes and creates affordable websites that enable clients to take ownership and update themselves on a Squarespace platform. I enjoy helping clients increase customer engagement with a website and improve their overall web presence. The most important part of my business is that when I have completed and reviewed the website with a client, I teach the client how to update their website so that they can keep it fresh and new. A website offers a 24/7 welcome to prospective members, showing them what your business or organization has accomplished and what you plan to do. If built correctly it should welcome people to the site and show them around in a comfortable way.   

If you are interested in discussing the needs of a website for your business or nonprofit organization, contact May Web Design, LLC. Starting out with a basic brochure website may be all that your business or organization needs. Your website should grow with you and change as needed. 

I work with my clients so that I may design the website they envision and, most importantly, teach them how to update their website to keep the information fresh and new. While you are busy building your small business or nonprofit, I can create a website to grow with your dreams. I have a list of services on my website as well as a portfolio of my websites and testimonial from past clients. You may even set up a free 30 minute initial consultation call to discuss your website project.  

Good luck! Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know if you tried adding Form blocks.