FormWork FormWork

FormWork documentation

Quick Start

Create, test, publish, and share your first FormWork form.

This guide takes you from an empty project to a working published form. You only need an account and access to a project.

What you will build

A one-page contact form with a required name, email address, and message. You will preview it, publish it, copy its public link, and find the resulting entry.

1. Create the form

  1. Open a project and stay on the Forms tab.
  2. Select Create Form.
  3. Enter a Form Name, such as Contact Form.
  4. Select Create Form.

FormWork opens a new draft with one page. The form name is used for both the initial internal name and public title; you can separate them later in Settings.

2. Add three fields

In Fields, use Add Field to create:

TypeLabelSuggested settings
TextFull nameRequired; autocomplete Name
EmailEmail addressRequired; autocomplete Email
TextareaMessageRequired; 5 visible rows

Select a field to edit it. Changes save automatically after a short delay, so there is no field-level Save button.

Field IDs are permanent machine names. Choose a custom ID when creating a field only if an integration needs a predictable name; otherwise let FormWork generate one.

3. Set the public text

Open Settings and review:

  • Internal Title — the name admins see
  • Form Title — the heading respondents see
  • Form Description — brief instructions
  • Submit Button Text — for example Send message
  • Success Message — the confirmation shown after submission

Settings also save automatically.

4. Test the draft

Select Preview. Complete the form as a respondent would and check:

  • Required fields block an incomplete submission.
  • Email validation catches a malformed address.
  • The page and success text are clear.
  • The layout works on a narrow screen.

Draft preview URLs contain preview_version_id and are for testing, not live collection.

5. Publish

Return to the builder and select Publish. FormWork validates the whole version first. If it finds broken references, invalid field configuration, unsafe template cycles, or workflow errors, follow the links in the validation panel and correct them.

After publishing:

  • The published version is live.
  • New respondents use it.
  • Future edits happen in a separate draft.

6. Share the form

Open Share. You can copy either:

  • The Direct Share Link for email, messages, or a standalone page
  • The Website Embed Code for any site that accepts custom HTML
<formwork-form form-id="your-form-id"></formwork-form>
<script src="https://app.useformwork.com/static/client.js" type="module"></script>

The published link and embed always load the latest published version. See Sharing & Preview for draft and archived behaviour.

7. Check the entry

Submit the published form, then:

  1. Return to the project and open the form.
  2. On Entries, select the new row.
  3. Review Answers, Revision History, Workflow Runs, and Files.

A respondent starts as a draft entry and becomes complete after successful submission. FormWork autosaves draft answers and can resume an unfinished entry in the same browser.

Build on it