Creating Your First Form

This guide will walk you through the complete process of creating a form from scratch, adding questions, customizing the design, and publishing it for the world to see.

Before you start

• You need a SmarterForm account (free signup, no credit card required)
• Have a clear idea of what information you want to collect
• Consider starting with a template if one matches your use case

Step-by-step tutorial

Access your Dashboard

After signing in, you'll land on your Dashboard. This is your home base for managing all your forms.

Click "Create new form"

Look for the "Create new form" button in the top-right corner of your Dashboard. Click it to open the creation modal.

Choose your starting point

You'll see two options:

1. 1

   Blank Form

   Start with a completely empty canvas. Best if you want full control from the ground up.

2. 2

   Template

   Choose from pre-built templates for common use cases like:

   • Contact forms
   • Lead capture
   • Feedback surveys
   • Event registration
   • Product quizzes

Name your form

Give your form a descriptive name. This is internal—your respondents won't see it. Examples:

• "Website Contact Form"
• "Q4 Customer Feedback"
• "Newsletter Signup"

Select a Space (optional)

Spaces help you organize forms by project, client, or team. If you haven't created any Spaces yet, your form will live in your default workspace. You can move it later.

Enter the Form Builder

Click Create to enter the Form Builder. This is where the magic happens.

Add questions to your form

The Builder has a sidebar on the left with multiple tabs. Make sure you're on the Build tab.

Available question types

SmarterForm offers various question types (blocks):

• Short Text: Single-line text input (name, job title, etc.)
• Long Text: Multi-line text area (comments, descriptions)
• Email: Validated email input
• Website: Validated URL input
• Yes/No: Binary choice (checkboxes or buttons)
• Multiple Choice: Select one option from a list
• Rating: Star or number rating scales
• Date: Date picker
• And more...

Adding a block

1. 1

   Find the block you want

   Scroll through the block library in the Build tab.

2. 2

   Drag or click to add

   You can either drag the block onto your canvas or simply click it to add it to the end of your form.

3. 3

   Customize the question

   Click the newly added block to open its settings panel on the right. Here you can:

   • Edit the question text
   • Add a description (helper text below the question)
   • Mark it as required or optional
   • Configure specific settings (e.g., min/max for ratings)

Reorder and delete blocks

• Reorder: Drag blocks up or down to change their position.
• Delete: Click the trash icon on any block to remove it.

Customize your form's design

Switch to the Design tab in the left sidebar to change how your form looks.

Choose a theme

• Default (Free): Clean, professional design included with all plans.
• Conversational (Pro): Typeform-style one-question-at-a-time experience.
• Minimal (Pro): Ultra-clean design with minimal visual elements.
• Soft (Pro): Gentle, rounded design with softer colors.

Set a background

• Free: Choose from default colors and basic backgrounds.
• Pro: Access premium photo presets or upload your own custom background image.

Publish your form

When you're ready to start collecting responses, publish your form:

1. 1

   Click the Share button

   In the top-right corner of the Builder, click Share.

2. 2

   Toggle Published

   Turn on the Published switch. Your form is now live and accessible via its public URL.

3. 3

   Copy and share

   Copy the share link and send it to your audience. You can also generate a QR code or get an embed code.

What's next?

• Share your form: Learn about shareable links, QR codes, and embedding.
• Track performance: Dive into analytics to see views, submissions, and completion rates.
• Upgrade to Pro: Unlock AI Insights, premium themes, and more.