Creating a contact or inquiry form

Use Forms to create a contact form, request form, or other inquiry form. You can choose the questions, preview the visitor experience, and collect answers in View submissions.

New forms start with Live switched on. The form-level Save makes a live form available to visitors, so switch Live off before your first save if you want to prepare a draft.

Decide what you need to collect

Keep the form focused on the information you need to answer the inquiry. A simple contact form usually needs:

• Name: a Text question so you know who is contacting you.
• Email: an Email question so you can reply.
• Message: a Long text question for the request.

You can add an optional Phone question or a Dropdown such as “What can we help with?” when it will help your team handle the request. Avoid making information required unless you need it to respond.

Before creating another form, check the existing forms. If you want to change the contact form already used on your site, open that form with Edit form. Creating a new form does not automatically replace it or add a link to your navigation.

Create and save a draft

1. Open Forms and select New form.
2. Under On your site, switch Live off. The editor shows a Draft badge.
3. Replace Untitled Form with a clear Title, such as “Contact our team.” This title is visible to visitors. Add a Description explaining what the form is for and what information to include.
4. Review the initial Message question. A new form starts with this required Long text question; add Name and Email if you need them.
5. Select Save at the top of the form editor. Confirm Changes saved. and check that the form appears as Draft in the overview.

Use Edit form to continue. Save before using Exit if you want to keep your changes. Adding or saving a question updates the open editor; it does not replace the form-level Save.

If the controls are missing or read-only, ask an administrator to check your form editing access. See Checking your feature access.

Add and arrange questions

1. In Questions, select Add question. To change an existing question, open its row or use Edit question.
2. Enter the Question and check Answer type. Cedros may suggest a type from the question's wording, so confirm that it matches the answer you want.
3. Set Required deliberately. New questions start as required; switch it off for information visitors may leave blank.
4. Open Optional details to add Help text or, for text-based answers, a Placeholder. Use help text for instructions that should remain visible while someone types.
5. Select Add question or Save question in the question dialog. Use Move up and Move down to put the questions in a natural order.
6. Select the form-level Save to keep the changes.

Choose the answer type that fits the question:

• Text: a short answer, such as a name or organization.
• Email: an email address. This provides email-format checking; it does not confirm that the person owns the address or can receive a reply.
• Long text: a message or detailed request.
• Phone: a phone number. Tell visitors whether to include a country code; do not rely on this type to verify that a number is valid or reachable.
• Dropdown: one answer from choices you supply. Add at least one named choice, and make the choices easy to distinguish.
• Checkbox: one statement the visitor can check. A required checkbox must be checked to continue. For a question where both “Yes” and “No” are valid answers, use a Dropdown instead.

Give each question a distinct name containing letters or numbers. If Cedros reports a duplicate or invalid question name, change it before saving.

Use Remove question only when you no longer want to ask it. Removing a question stops it appearing on the form; answers already submitted remain in your submissions. After changing questions on an existing form, check any mailing-list field selections and test the updated form again.

Set the submission and confirmation text

Under On your site, open Advanced to change the Submit button label. Choose an action that describes the request, such as “Send inquiry.”

Under After someone submits, open Thank-you screen. Set the Heading and Message to confirm receipt and explain what happens next. For example: “Thanks for your message. Our team will review your inquiry and reply by email.” Add a response time only if your team can meet it.

Use Send another button to label the return action. Under Then, choose whether to return to the form after 5, 10, or 30 seconds, or Stay on the thank-you screen. New forms default to returning after 5 seconds; choose a longer delay or stay on the screen if visitors need more time to read the message.

The thank-you screen is the confirmation shown in the browser. Writing a message here does not configure an email acknowledgment or guarantee that your team receives an email notification. Arrange how your team will review submissions separately.

Review mailing-list and design settings

Add people to a mailing list is off by default. Leave it off when you only want to collect inquiries. Submissions are collected either way; this setting also subscribes the person.

If the form should offer a mailing-list signup, explain that purpose clearly and review the selected Mailing list, the Email question used for the address, and any Consent checkbox. An inquiry and a request for marketing email are different choices. Use an optional consent checkbox when signup should be optional.

The panel also offers Require email confirmation. When enabled, the person needs to confirm through the email link before being added. Test the subscription and confirmation separately if you use them; a saved inquiry alone does not establish that the person joined the list.

In Design, select Preview form. Check Desktop and Mobile, then review both Questions and Confirmation. Colors and fonts follow your site theme. Make sure the title, instructions, choices, and confirmation are readable, especially on a small screen.

The design preview does not send a real submission. Use it to check presentation, then test the saved public form after making it live.

Make the form live and get its link

1. Review the questions, required settings, confirmation text, and any mailing-list behavior. Save any unfinished work with Live off.
2. When the form is ready to accept answers, switch Live on and select the form-level Save. This save makes the form available; there is no separate Publish button for the form.
3. In the Forms overview, confirm the status is Active, then select Open form.
4. Copy the URL from the opened public form. Use that actual address when adding a link or button elsewhere on your site.

Making the form live does not automatically place it in a page or menu. If you add its link to another page, save and publish that page through its own workflow.

To stop accepting answers, edit the form, switch Live off, and Save. Visitors can no longer open or submit it. The form definition and past submissions are kept, but any links you have shared still need attention if they now lead to an unavailable form.

Test the visitor experience and saved answer

1. Open the saved public link in a private browser window. Check it on a phone or narrow screen as well as a desktop.
2. Try continuing with a required answer blank. Check an invalid email format, Dropdown choices, and required checkboxes where applicable. Then enter valid test answers and use Back to check earlier answers before continuing.
3. Submit one clearly labeled test inquiry using an email address you control. This is a real submission, so it can also trigger any configured subscription or notification behavior.
4. Confirm the thank-you text and return behavior. In Forms, use View submissions for that form and check that the test answer was saved with the expected values.
5. Correct any issues, save the form again, and repeat the affected checks. Open the link or button from the page where visitors will actually find it.

Do not treat a preview or a visible submit button as proof that answers are being collected. Check both the visitor's result and the saved submission. If a request times out, look for the test answer in View submissions before submitting another copy.

Resolve common setup problems

The form will not save: read the visible error. Check the title, question names, Dropdown choices, and any mailing-list field selections. A form needs at least one question. If search indexing is enabled, it also needs a description. After a save error, reopen the form and confirm which changes were actually saved.

The public link is unavailable: check that you opened the intended form, switched Live on, and completed the form-level Save. Use Open form to get the current address instead of constructing one yourself.

Visitors cannot get past a question: review Required, the answer type, and the available choices. A required checkbox must be checked; an Email question needs an email address. Make the question optional if a blank answer should be accepted.

You received an inquiry but no mailing-list signup: check whether signup was enabled, whether the visitor selected any required consent option, and whether email confirmation is still pending. Review the selected list and Email question.

The form or submissions list does not load: refresh and read any loading or access error before creating another form. If the problem continues, share the form title, public link, exact error, and time of the attempt with your administrator. Keep submitted personal information private. See Getting help with Cedros.