Creating a Custom Form

Creating a Custom Form

Forms helps collect information from website visitors. The data that is collected is easily retrieved from the Foxbright CMS and can be exported in a spreadsheet format. This makes it ideal for uses such as Registrations, Website feedback, Sign up forms, Work requests, and other Requests for information. When the visitor finishes and submits the form, the system automatically notifies selected staff that there is a new form submission – making it easy to manage the data either through e-mail, viewing the data in the admin panel, or by downloading a spreadsheet.

Once a form is created, it can be placed on any page. A form will not be available to the public until it's been placed on a published page, or the direct link to the form has been shared.

Only users granted permission to the form feature will be able to add a Custom Form. If the Forms option isn't available, contact a Web Administrator to be given permission.

Adding a Form


  1. Click the Forms tab on the left of the admin panel to vie the Forms list.
  2. Click the Add Form button.
  3. The Add New Form Properties will be displayed.

Form Properties

The form properties will initially reveal three tabs. Once the form is saved and re-edited, a Form Fields tab will be revealed to create the form fields. Tabs marked with an ! contain required fields that have not been completed. 


  1. Give the form a Form Name.
  2. The Permalink Path will generate based on the Form Name. It can be changed if the form should have a different URL.
    3. Once a form is saved, the Permalink can be shared as a direct link to the form instead of, or in addition to placing the form on a page
  3. The Form Status will determine if the Form is available to accept submissions.
    4. Forms will not be available to the public until they are shared or placed on a published page, so the Form Status is typically left to Open/Active unless the submission period has ended. Closing a form effectively archives the form and it will be removed from the forms list unless the list is filtered to show closed forms. 
  4. The default Submit Button Label is “Submit." The text on the submit button can be customized with this field.
  5. Use Default Info Fields can save time by automatically adding typical personal information fields to a new form including name, address and phone details. These fields can be edited or deleted if not needed. When set to No, the form will be created with no initial fields.
  6. The (optional) Description will appear above the form once placed on a page. The description can be used to name the form and provide any instructions for completing the form if desired.
  7. Click the Form Completion Settings to reveal additional settings for the form.
    1. Notifications - The Notification Addresses determine who will receive form submission notifications. The Notification Email Subject will add text to the submission notification emails.
    2. Completions - Determines what happens when a visitor submits a form. Show Message will display the message added in the Form Completion Message area. Redirect to Page allows setting a page to navigate the visitor to once they've submitted to the form.
    3. Confirmations - Determines if the submitter would receive a confirmation email. For a submitter to receive a confirmation, an email field would need to be added to the form. Form fields are able to be added after a form is saved the first time.
  8. The Permissions tab allows giving additional staff members permission to edit the form.
  9. Save the form and the blank form, or a form with default fields (if selected), will be created.
  10. Edit the form to begin adding form fields. 

Adding and Editing Form Fields

Once a form has been created, it can be edited and a variety of fields added to it. 

Adding Form Fields

  1. From the admin panel, click the Forms option to navigate to the list of existing forms.
  2. Click on an existing form to edit it. When editing an existing form, the Form Fields tab will be the focus on the screen.
  3. Drag and drop fields from the tool box into the form to add various fields needed in the form.

Available Form Fields

When editing a form, there is tool box on the right of the screen with a variety of fields that can be added to the form by dragging and dropping them into the main form field area. 

  1. Group Heading – Used to create a visual divider in header format
  2. Information – Used to provide information that will assist in filling out the form
  3. Question – Used to place a long question above the response box instead of to the side
  4. Text Box – Used to collect a single line of text
  5. Text Area – Used to collect multiple lines of text
  6. Check Box – Used to place a single check box response
  7. Date – Used to allow the user to select a date from a calendar
  8. Phone Number – Used to collect a properly formatted phone  number
  9. Email Address – used to collect a properly formatted email address
  10. Checkbox List – used to allow the user to select 1 or more options by checking a box. The list options are custom and defined by the form owner.
  11. Radio Button List – used to allow the user to select a single option from a list of options. The list options are custom and defined by the form owner.
  12. Dropdown – used to allow the user to select 1 option from a drop down list.  The list options are custom and defined by the form owner.
  13. State / Country Dropdown – used to select the state/country from a system defined list of states and countries.
  14. Upload Files – allows user to upload 1 or more files
Depending on the field being added, there are different settings that can be applied to the field.
  • Title - This is the title that will be shown with the field
  • Is Required - Check this to make the field required on the form
  • Form Id - auto filled, this is for database purposes.
  • Min Length - The minimum number of characters that the user must enter
  • Max Length - The maximum number of characters that the user can enter
  • Export Title - change this to shorten the column heading in the exported Excel Spreadsheet
  • Internal Use - When selected, the field will not be displayed for the visitor, but is available to a website administrator to edit and add more information when managing the responses
  • Help Text - will appear as a help icon to the side of the field.
  • Selections - Only available for checkbox, radio, or dropdown lists. Multiple selections can be added to these field types.

Managing Form Fields

Once fields have been added to the form, they can be managed again at a later time. If the form has already been placed on a page, changes to a form will be reflected on the page once the form is saved.


  • Edit - The edit button opens the field properties to update the details of the field.
  • Delete - The trash button deletes a field from a form.
  • Reorder - The arrows next to a field allows the field to be dragged and dropped into a different order for the form.

Once satisfied, save the form to have the changes applied to the form. If the form has been placed on a page, the changes will be reflected on the page automatically. To place a form on a page, add a new block to a page and choose the Custom Form block type.


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