Creating A Form In Action Network
What Are Forms?
Action Network Forms are just the same as paper forms. It's an Action page that includes fields that the Activist can complete- for example a survey, or sign-up form. They're useful for capturing information from Members and Activists or to grow the number of non-members on your mailing list.
How To Create A Form In Action Network
1. Click on the ACTIONS menu, hover over Forms and click on the + icon that appears.
2. On the page that appears there will be a few fields that need completing. These are:
- Administrative Title: This is optional, but we recommend giving every Action in Action Network an Administrative Title that will help others recognise what the Action is for. This will only be visible to you and other Action Network administrators.
- Title of your action: This is a mandatory field and is what activists will see when visiting your Form online, so give it a user-friendly title.
- Form Description: This is the large text area with the words "Why is this important?"
- Banner Image: This is optional, but you may wish to include an image relating to your form. Just click on the grey banner labelled ADD BANNER IMAGE and follow the instructions.
3. Beneath this you'll see two options +Add Creator and SPONSORED BY. You should never use the +Add Creator option, and in almost all circumstances you won't need to change the SPONSORED BY field to anything other than the default.
4. On the right of the page you'll see the form itself. There are a couple of things you'll want to change before moving on.
- Click on the green toggle switch marked PROGRESS BAR. It might be useful to show how many people have already taken action on other Action types, but it's unlikely you'll want to show how many people have completed a form.
- Form Heading: This can be a short call to action, for example Sign Up To Hear Updates.
- Submit Button: By default this button will show Add Your Name. This doesn't really make much sense when it comes to a Form and so you can click on it and edit the text to something simple like Sign-Up.
5. Once you're happy with everything on the page you can now move on to designing the Form itself. If it's a simple sign up form you may be happy with the standard fields which are:
- First Name
- Last Name
- Email
- Postal Code
But if you want to edit the form, or add any additional questions then just click on Edit Form.
To find out about the different form fields and how information can be stored check this guide: How To Use Questions In Action Network Forms
6. Once you're satisfied with everything on the page just click on the button marked SAVE AND GO TO NEXT STEP.
The Thank You Page
After creating the form you'll be taken to the thank you page which you can customise based on the action and what you'd like your activists to do next.
1. In the top half of the page there are two text boxes that can be amended. It's a good idea to update both of these so the text related to the Action the activist has just completed. There are two sections:
- The Header: This should be used for a short thank you message, the confirmation that they've completed the Form.
- A Sub-Header: It's great to use this as a call to action. So if you want more people to complete the form you can encourage the use of the social sharing options on the page. If you'd prefer activists didn't share the form you could use this text box to say something else relating to your Action. For example, if it's a volunteer sign up form you could use the space to say "One of our coordinators will be in touch with you soon to talk about how you want to support the party".
2. Further down the page you'll see another text field, which you can expand on the messages in the heading and sub-heading, or funnel activists onto another Action or link. In the example below, you can see I've provided links to an online membership store and donation page, as well as confirming that we'll be in touch with the activist if they've expressed an interest in volunteering.
3. On the right-hand side of the page you'll see the sharing options that the activist will see. You can remove or edit the sharing options using the link displayed.
You may want to remove all sharing options for Actions that are intended for members-only!
4. Once you're happy with everything on this page and are ready for your Form to go-live just click on the button labelled SAVE & PUBLISH.
Next Steps
With every Action you create it's always a good idea to check the Responses tab to configure any email response that respondents receive. Simply click on Responses and edit the auto-response email to make it relevant to your Action. You can also set an alternative thank you page, or a custom redirect when your form is unpublished if you need to.
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