Our developers are working double tides to bring you a friendlier, more flexible and professional Reports section. Here’s a sneak peek of how your form and survey statistics will look in a couple of days’ time.
Not only will the form and survey charts and reports look cooler, but you will also be able to manipulate data in new ways. Stay tuned!
123ContactForm takes great interest in providing online forms that are protected at all levels. From the hosting packages we use to the antispam solutions that we offer, everything is aimed at creating a secure experience for our users. Your account, your forms and the collected data are subject to various mechanism that ensure their security, integrity and confidentiality.
Our platform runs on dedicated servers provided by ServInt. All information is stored in data centers that feature multiphase power redundancy, backup power generation systems, industrial-quality cooling, fire suppression. The facilities are under CCTV surveillance and biometric access control and are monitored 24/7. The virtualization layer run by ServInt servers provides high levels of redundancy and daily backups.
Forms can be protected from spam in various ways. You can adjust antispam features in the Settings → Security section. For a start, there’s CAPTCHA protection, which makes it very difficult for robots to abuse your form. Based on your choice, the verification image will appear each time the form is accessed, will change daily or will only show up when the form seems to be abused (smart CAPTCHA), i.e. when multiple form submissions are made from the same IP address. You can also use IP limitation and restrict the submissions coming from the same IP to a certain number per day, e.g. 1.
You can also use country filters. To do this, you simply need to check the option Reject submissions from the following countries and type in the country codes that you want to reject (you’ll find these codes in an attached list). If your form is intended only for specific users, you can even set up password protection and share the keyword with the specific users only.
We are much aware of the fact that forms are used on the web to collect private information (email addresses, passwords, credit card information) from people. We use human review and automated abuse detection to make sure that the web forms created by users of our service are not used in this purpose. For example, forms created on the Free plan and containing certain field labels are banned automatically. Further, our security scripts notify us each time a suspicious form or account is detected; we check user activity and shut down the account, if it is, indeed, malicious. Forms can be reported as abuses using the Report abuse link at form bottom.
If a phishing attempt escapes our security measures, it does so for a short while. After the form is shut down, harmed parties are provided with a document containing the data collected through the form, so that affected persons can be alerted. Qualified authorities that take legal action against online criminal activity are provided with user registration details, logs and IP addresses pertaining to abusive accounts.
Backup copy. A backup copy of your form submissions is stored on our servers. If you delete submissions accidentally, we’ll retrieve them from there. That’s the only reason why the backup copy exists. It is generated by default for every new form. If you don’t want the copy to be created, let us know.
SSL encryption. Platinum accounts benefit from SSL form encryption. SSL encryption is a protocol that secures communication over the Internet. With SSL, all data sent through the form is unreadable for any robot or person that tries to intercept communication. Accepting payments through forms is hence possible only with the Platinum plan.
Confidentiality. According to our Terms of Service, your account data and the information collected through forms are confidential. No information will be used, shared or sold and all collected data is rightfully yours.
123ContactForm needs your feedback. Time has come to find out what you like best about the online form builder we provide and what new features you need most. We partly know the answers to these questions, but – in order to keep up with your expectations – we need to hear your direct and precise opinions.
Take our survey and help us help you! First, tell us how you use 123ContactForm web forms. Second, check the platform features you appreciate most. Third, go over our list of to-do features and prioritize them for us. All of them will be implemented; their order depends on your answers.
Tomorrow’s newsletter is also centered on this survey. It won’t take more than two minutes to fill it out – it’s all radio buttons, checkboxes and Likert scales. Usability is our thing, so you’ll find our feedback survey quite enjoyable – promise. And thank you for your cooperation!
Update December 5th: The entire team thanks you warmly for taking the time to fill out our survey. Our developers are most thrilled – new 3rd party apps and improved charts & reports are on their way!
As you already know, 123ContactForm uses your account dashboard to communicate with you. All the information that you should be aware of or that might interest you is linked to from there. There are three types of messages, each with its own color: blue – for blog post recommendations; yellow – for warnings concerning disabled applications or notifications; red – for critical warnings related to TOS breaching. When there is nothing wrong with your account, you get the latest four blog posts. When something is not in order, warning messages are given priority.
The dashboard enhancement that has been active for a couple of days now is a change in message delivery. When you log into your account, a nice lightbox shows up on your screen, containing the latest and most important 123ContactForm messages. Click on the links provided to fix errors or to read about 123ContactForm here, on our blog. The messages you open (in a separate tab) are marked as read and disappear from the lightbox (unless they are flagged as red, in which case you need to fix the problem as soon as possible). When you’re done, close the lightbox and start managing your forms. After you read all latest news, the lightbox won’t show up at login anymore, until something new comes up.
On your actual 123ContactForm dashboard, the only change is that the message list looks pretty much like your mailbox: unread messages are written in bold, whereas read messages are not.
We believe this is a more efficient way to make sure that your account and forms are up-to-date and that you are aware of all new platform features and capabilities.
We’ve just finished setting up our About page. It has been as fun as taking photos in the park in autumn can be. So we invite you to come and see who’s behind 123ContactForm.
Choice fields are valuable items within a form. With order form catalog entries, they showcase the offer completely and concisely. When addressing matters of preference or opinion, they help form users identify their own likes and thoughts. With factual data requests, like salary or age ranges, they speed up the fill-out process by stating clearly and exhaustively the possible choices.
The beauty of choice fields is sometimes affected by the fact that a logical sequence of options is not compatible with the perception of choices you want to inspire users with. Simply put, let’s say that you’ve got a dropdown list with eleven options: 0, 1, 2.. 10. You want to set number 5 as a default choice, in order either to emphasize it or to be neutral in presenting available choices. But, up to now, you couldn’t make 5 default unless you rearranged choice field options by placing 5 at top of list. The first option was the automatically preselected one.
Well, guess what! Now, you can deal with choice sequences and default values separately. Set up your choice list and then select, without affecting list order, the choice field default value. Our feature update applies to dropdown lists and radio buttons fields.
In dropdown lists, the option selected most frequently (or the identical or different middle choice) is usually the default value. The main advantage in using a dropdown list with default value is the fact that you’re making the task easier for users.
Radio buttons with default values work very well with service plans. Preferred plans are emphasized graphically on web pages; the same principle can be applied to the radio buttons field of your subscription form.
To set a default value for your radio buttons field or dropdown list, click on it in the main view of your Form Editor to open its Edit Panel. Once you’ve typed the options in the Available Choices box, they are loaded in the dropdown list named Default Choice. When you add, change or remove and option, the Default Choice list is updated. Select the default value and view the result in your main view.
When it comes to approaching prospective clients, showcasing what your business can do for them in a concise, yet elloquent and persuasive form is often a delicate aspect that takes up more time and nerves than you want to invest. Quote Roller is an estimating software solution that helps you create and send business proposals online quickly and effectively.
With Quote Roller, a sleek business proposal can be set up and sent in no more than 15 minutes. Negotiation status is tracked by the engine and presented in an easy to comprehend form. In order to keep things as simple and fast as possible, once your company profile, catalog or client information was introduced into the system, it is saved for future use and can be retrieved or edited with a mouse click.
One of the best parts about Quote Roller is its logical and intuitive interface. Try as you might, you won’t find anything redundant or complicated about it. Still, the Quote Roller solution covers all the features needed to build awesome business proposals. Also a major advantage, the service facilitates teamwork – more team members can create, review and send online proposals, while recent updates are listed on the account dashboard.
The catalog. The catalog section is split into services, products and subscriptions. To add a new entry, you simply need to type in its name, price and – if that’s the case – description and it will be saved for good. When you create a proposal, the system invites you to select the catalog items that you want to include and generates a neat pricing table. Catalog entries can be updated at any time.
The clients. With Quote Roller, you can set up and manage effortlessly a very useful client database. New client information will be inserted manually, from CSV/Excel files or through third party applications. Quote Roller integrates beautifully with Freshbooks, Highrise and Capsule, among other third parties. When you send a proposal, you just have to select the targeted clients from your list.
The content. One of the most difficult tasks when writing a proposal is structuring content. Quote Roller’s growing Community Library provides a professional proposal template collection, with sample proposals from fields such as event management, web and graphic design, marketing and many more. Proposals are split into ordered sections in which you will insert text, images, videos or even PDF files describing your company and offer.
The presentation. To customize proposal appearance, you can select a predefined theme or create your own one. Clients will receive a custom email with a link to your online proposal. An interactive proposal version is hosted on your Quote Roller subdomain (generated at sign up), where clients can view, accept or decline it or start a discussion that you’ll manage in the Quote Roller interface. Alternatively, clients can download the PDF version.
The status. With Quote Roller, it is amazingly easy to manage and track proposals. You’ll be notified every time the proposal status changes. All the activity related to your online business proposal is kept in one place, so as for you to have a clear picture of its development. And thanks to Quote Roller’s integration with Context.IO, the online proposal service can connect to your email box and aggregate all messages pertaining to a proposal.
Now that you got to know Quote Roller, here are the five steps required to create a proposal: 1. Choose a template. 2. Select the recipients. 3. Choose the products / services / subscriptions. 4. Edit the proposal template in a WYSIWYG editor. 5. Send your online proposal.
Whenever you want to create, send and track compelling online proposals, Quote Roller is the perfect service to use. On the one hand, this proposal management tool provides a clean framework and professional resources. On the other hand, it makes you much more eager to send business proposals. Because, indeed, it has never been easier to do it.
In social times, we need social tools. As powerful and well targeted as possible, since users fancy what is quick & simple & efficient most. 123ContactForm comes to show you how you can reach and impress people on the two most popular social platforms with one single web form. Here are the steps:
1. Create the form in your 123ContactForm account. Any type of form or survey works, since they can all be linked to Facebook and Twitter simultaneously. Keep in mind that the Form + Facebook + Twitter formula applies best to surveys, order forms, registration forms, i.e. cases in which spreading the word is purposeful.
2. Enable Twitter integration for your form. This can be set up easily in your Settings → Applications section. The integration links your 123ContactForm account to your Twitter account and means that a message – fully customizable in the 123ContactForm interface – will be tweeted each time somebody fills out your form.
3. Publish the form using the 123ContactForm application for Facebook. Go to your Facebook account, access the application and create the form/page association in the application interface. If another form is already published on your Facebook page, don’t worry – you can publish up to five forms on the same Facebook page.
And here’s the outcome. The form will show up nicely in a separate tab on your Facebook page. Each time it gets filled out, a message will be automatically sent from your Twitter account, saying, for instance, User has just registered on Form Name.
Facebook pages are the easiest to create for promoting a product, service, event or idea. And the quickest to find. Facebook forms have good exposure and usually gather many submissions. With the 123ContactForm app, posting a form on your Facebook page requires nothing more than a couple of clicks.
Twitter stresses the essential. Short and focused messages announcing that somebody filled out the form are simple and effective means for raising form popularity. Tweets will generate new form users at an accelerated pace and you’ll receive more and more enthusiastic form submissions.
And all of this is triggered by one web form. The 123ContactForm + Facebook + Twitter formula helps you kill not one, not two, but three birds with one stone (no offence to the Twitter birdie): use a top class form, get Facebook exposure and send instant tweets that generate even more popularity! After you’ve set up the form, just lay back and enjoy the results.
We’ve got a fresh out of the box feature! You can now use images as options in your radio buttons list. They come in handy for various purposes: to request users’ opinion on graphic identity elements, to showcase your product list, to build vivid survey fields on any topic.
To take the first situation as our case scenario, let’s imagine that a company named 123ContactForm is in search for a new logo. They have come up with four logo suggestions, but can’t decide which one to pick out. So the company launches a survey in the community built around their service, to request users’ take on the subject and make a choice.
Radio buttons with images are set up in the same way a regular radio buttons list is: Go to your Form Editor and drag a radio buttons field to your main view. Then, provide the available choices. Instead of typing in textual options, paste the images URLs – as usual, on separate rows. The images will show up in your main view and you can set them to be displayed on one, two or three columns, or side by side.
Radio buttons fields with images as options add visual impact to your forms and surveys. They help establish a friendlier relationship with users and express in a better way the message you want to convey. Log in or sign up for a 123ContactForm account and get familiar with our new feature.
Celebrating special days during the year is quite a foolproof way to escape routine, to get some fresh energy for days to come and, of course, to find new sources of inspiration. For us, it’s a nice opportunity to show you how flexible and how much fun forms and surveys can be. Here’s 123ContactForm dressed in a Halloween costume!
What’s a Jack-o’-lantern? A glowing pumpkin. Or the easiest question in a Halloween knowledge quiz! Set up a 10 question test – ask about Halloween origin and traditions, Bogeyman’s habits, horror movies or haunted places. To make it easier for participants, use choice fields (radio buttons, dropdown lists and checkboxes). Receive filled out quizzes in your inbox and give prizes to the winners: a handful of candy or scary werewolf costumes – participants will be thrilled either way, as long as you bring the holiday feeling to your website.
Costume party! Wanna come? Party management is a lot easier with an online event registration form. Whether you’re throwing a Halloween party for friends and family or you’re organizing a Halloween company event, an online registration form compiles the guest list with little effort from your part. Registration forms are also effective means to promote the event. Give a brief presentation of what, where and when is going to happen. Adapt your registration form to the occasion by creating a black and orange form theme and adding suggestive images. Don’t forget to ask guests what their favorite type of punch is, what costume they will be wearing and how many fairies, elves and goblins will be joining them.
Buy a pumpkin, get one for free! Halloween is one of the most successful commercial holidays. With everybody shopping around for crazy outfits, decorations, pumpkins and tootsie pops, online order forms work like a charm. Yes, it’s nice to spend a couple of hours downtown in the shopping crowd. But then again, it’s a lot more comfortable to buy pumpkins online and have them delivered to your doorstep. You can sharpen your chop chop tools in the meantime. An online order form is therefore very likely to come as a relief for customers and to generate substantial profit for the vendor. Build an online order form – with or without payment integration – and sell those flying brooms taking up space in your attic.
Trick or treat? Start with the catchphrase and give it new meaning. Use it in a one-question mobile survey. Send a curse as a confirmation message to the users who select trick and a joke to those who select treat. Or redirect to two different pages, according to the answer. You can do this with custom autoresponders. Such a survey can be used in various ways – as a hyperlocal survey at point of sale, in a Facebook page tab or anywhere on your website or blog – with the same purpose: creating buzz.
What is your favorite monster? Create an online survey – serious or playful – to collect information on how the Halloween is perceived and celebrated. Use Likert scales to evaluate the degree of importance, relevance, agreement or probability associated by respondents with different holiday aspects. This can result in an interesting statistics. The community built around your website or blog will enjoy both filling out the survey and finding out the results.
Welcome Halloween with a 123ContactForm treat – choose an idea above, develop it and mesmerize your website visitors. Have fun at the party and stay away from black magic!
