Docs and guides for using Basilform

What Basilform does

Basilform acts as the backend for forms on your website.

You create a form (think of it as "project") on Basilform and we provide you with a unique endpoint URL. You then add that URL to your website form's action attribute and your form is ready to accept submissions

All submissions are stored in your Basilform dashboard. You can also configure email notifications, redirects and auto-responses, but more on that later.

Quick start

1. Create an account

   Sign up, verify your email address, and open the Forms dashboard.

   Sign up if you haven't

2. Create a form endpoint

   Click New form, give it a name you will recognize, and Basilform creates a unique endpoint URL.

   Create a form

3. Install the endpoint

   Copy the form URL and put it in your website form's action attribute.

   You will find instructions in your form's homepage. Look for this button:

4. Submit a test entry

   Send one test submission from your website and confirm it appears in the Basilform dashboard.

   You only have a limited submissions in the free plan. Feel free to delete the test submission after you're done testing.

Install your form

The only required change is setting your form's action to the Basilform URL and using method="POST".

<form action="https://basilform.com/_/{your_form_id}" method="POST">
  <label>
    <span>Email</span>
    <input type="email" name="email" />
  </label>

  <label>
    <span>Message</span>
    <textarea name="message"></textarea>
  </label>

  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>

Common form examples

Use these as starting points. Make sure to replace {your_form_id} with your own endpoint ID.

<form method="POST" action="https://basilform.com/_/{your_form_id}">
  <label>
    <span>Email</span>
    <input type="email" name="email" placeholder="Email" />
  </label>
  <label>
    <span>Name</span>
    <input type="name" name="name" placeholder="Your name" />
  </label>
  <label>
    <span>Message</span>
    <textarea name="message"></textarea>
  </label>
</form>

<form method="POST" action="https://basilform.com/_/{your_form_id}">
  <label>
    <span>Email</span>
    <input type="email" name="email" placeholder="[email protected]" />
  </label>

  <button type="submit">Join Waitlist</button>
</form>

<form method="POST" action="https://basilform.com/_/{your_form_id}">
  <label>
    <span>Name</span>
    <input type="text" name="name" placeholder="Your name" />
  </label>

  <label>
    <span>Email</span>
    <input type="email" name="email" placeholder="[email protected]" />
  </label>

  <label>
    <span>Rating</span>
    <select name="rating">
      <option>Excellent</option>
      <option>Good</option>
      <option>Average</option>
      <option>Poor</option>
    </select>
  </label>

  <label>
    <span>Feedback</span>
    <textarea name="feedback"></textarea>
  </label>

  <button type="submit">Send Feedback</button>
</form>

<form method="POST" action="https://basilform.com/_/{your_form_id}" enctype="multipart/form-data">
  <label>
    <span>Full Name</span>
    <input type="text" name="name" placeholder="Your full name" />
  </label>

  <label>
    <span>Email</span>
    <input type="email" name="email" placeholder="[email protected]" />
  </label>

  <label>
    <span>LinkedIn Profile</span>
    <input type="url" name="linkedin" placeholder="https://linkedin.com/in/..." />
  </label>

  <label>
    <span>Resume</span>
    <input type="file" name="resume" accept=".pdf" />
  </label>

  <label>
    <span>Cover Letter</span>
    <input type="file" name="cover_letter" accept=".pdf" />
  </label>

  <button type="submit">Apply</button>
</form>

<form method="POST" action="https://basilform.com/_/{your_form_id}">
  <label>
    <span>How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague? (0-10)</span>
    <input type="number" min="0" max="10" name="nps_score" />
  </label>

  <label>
    <span>What is the primary reason for your score?</span>
    <textarea name="reason"></textarea>
  </label>

  <label>
    <span>What could we improve?</span>
    <textarea name="improvements"></textarea>
  </label>

  <button type="submit">Submit Survey</button>
</form>

Viewing and managing submissions

You can view and manage your form's submissions through the dashboard.

Extend a form with plugins

You can install the following plugins.

Plugins are applied on a per-form basis. If you have multiple forms, you'll need to configure plugins for each one separately.

Email notifications

Receive an email whenever someone submits a form. The Email notifier plugin is available on both Free and Pro plans.

1. Open your form's plugins

   In the dashboard, open the form you want to monitor and select Plugins.

2. Install Email notifier

   Select Email notifier from the available plugins.

3. Choose the recipient inbox

   Enter the email address where you want to receive submissions, then install the plugin.

Notifications are configured per form. You can edit the plugin later to change the recipient address.

Automatic responses

Send a confirmation email to the person who submitted your form. The Auto responder plugin is available on the Pro plan.

1. Add an email field to your form

   Your form needs a field that collects the visitor's email address, such as <input type="email" name="email">.

2. Open your form's plugins

   In the dashboard, open the form and select Plugins, then choose Auto responder.

3. Configure the email

   Enter the email field's name value, then set the sender name, subject, and message body. The submitted fields and uploaded filenames are included in the response.

4. Install and test

   Install the plugin and submit your form once to confirm the response arrives as expected.

The email field name must exactly match your form's HTML name attribute. For example, use email for name="email".

Use the optional excluded fields setting to keep selected submitted values out of the response email.

Custom redirects

Send visitors to a page on your own site after they submit a form. This is useful for thank-you pages, confirmation screens, or a follow-up step in your flow.

1. Open your form's plugins

   In the dashboard, open the form you want to configure and select Plugins.

2. Install Custom redirect

   Select Custom redirect from the available plugins.

3. Enter your destination URL

   Enter the full HTTP or HTTPS URL for the page visitors should see, then install the plugin.

Basilform adds success=true after an accepted submission and success=false when a submission cannot be completed. Use this parameter to tailor the message on your destination page.

Redirects are configured per form. Install the plugin on each form that should use a custom destination.

Send submissions to Zapier

The Zapier plugin sends each accepted Basilform submission to a Zapier webhook as a JSON request. It is available on the Pro plan and is configured separately for each form.

1. Create the trigger in Zapier

   In the Zapier editor, create a new Zap and choose Webhooks by Zapier as the trigger app. Select Catch Hook, continue through the trigger setup, and copy the generated webhook URL.

2. Configure the plugin in Basilform

   Open the form in Basilform, choose Plugins, select Zapier, and paste the webhook URL into the plugin configuration. Install the plugin.

3. Send a test submission

   Submit the form once from your website. Return to the Zapier editor and use Test trigger to retrieve the submission sample.

4. Add and publish the Zap

   Choose the action app and map the submitted fields from the sample, then publish the Zap. The submitted fields are in the data object of the sample. Future accepted submissions will trigger the workflow automatically.

Plans and limits

Troubleshooting

Frequently asked questions