Web Forms 

Web Form Types

  1. PDF forms on the web
  2. Web form (simple)
  3. Web form (workflow / signature requirement)
  4. Web form (complex - file uploads / calculations / special needs)
  5. Web form (application - database needed)

PDF forms on the web

PDF forms are a way to capture user input in a file that is meant to look a certain way.  Usually, PDF forms are used when the document requires a signature and/or is meant to be printed.   These are created using software such as MS Word or similar and can be saved as a PDF file. Then with Acrobat you can add in fillable fields and require signatures. 

Web form (simple)

Simple web forms can be created by the web team to capture specific user input.  This input can be required or not and can ask users for information they may not have thought about sending you by giving them an email address.  Data can also be saved in a CSV file so you can download it all at once or one by one with each email received from the form submission. 

Web form (workflow / signature requirement)

Workflow web forms are a bit more complex and can require signature approvals from administrators before sending it to the next person in the workflow.  This type of form (or forms) can take more time to set up and require special software to run.  They require planning and testing before they can be released as well.  If you want to set up a workflow, please plan ahead. 

Web form (complex - file uploads / calculations / special needs)

Complex web forms can include fields that allow users to upload files which is not really that complex but, depending on how you want to handle the file uploads, this can become complex.  If you need special calculations performed, these can be built into forms as well.  Examples of this are math calculations or if the user chooses something different form fields are presented.

Web form (application - database needed)

Sometimes a web form is not enough.  If you need to save the data input by users so it can be reference later, a database will be required.  There are often software solutions already out there that can handle business processes which is the best way to go in those cases.  However, if there isn’t and you need to customize the process, a web application is what you will need.