Forms 2.0 - Better forms without code

Forms 2.0 - Better forms without code

[Please add your comments below to help build a strong case]

Since the FORMS 2.0 idea from Glen Lipka has long been lost, it's time to bring it back and get it on the agenda.  It only been raised as an issue for 3 years and more than 2 versions of this community.  Even one of recent ideas from the community for the Amazing Race Idea was for form improvements: Form Widgets!.

Basically Forms need to be come way easier without manipulation through code.  There are a lot of small improvements that could be made to the form functionality that would be a great benefit to clients without access to a web developer skill set.  

At one time or another, I have had marketers request most of the following list of form improvements:

  • support for HTML5 form elements
  • allow pre-population on a field by field basis as a form designer attribute
  • allow text fields to optionally concatenate the new value with the existing data
  • field masking for phone, sin number etc.
  • add real-time (onblur) validation, validation test conditions and  contextual error msgs
    • email regex,
    • min and max for numbers etc. 
    • phone with or without extention
    • domain name for spam exclusion - i.e. mickmouse@example.com a@a.com
    • alpha-only for names/text fields
    • Automatic formating for proper case including whitespace trimming
  • better positioning of the field label and error msg
  • more form layouts in terms of 2-3 columns layouts as well as fields that can span the columns
  • more control over the submit button:
    • its style/image
    • dynamic button text both before and after click text to make the form reusable on more that one landing page within the landing page editor
    • enable/disable submit based upon required fields/validation
  • provide more advanced type of controls:
    • date pickers,
    • sliders (range),
    • dropdowns (combobox) with icons, option groups etc.
    • better support for checkboxes/radio with multi-select 
  • dependant selections or skip logic i.e. country/state and surveys
  • geo-ip support for country/state
  • automatic detection and support for iframes to get parent parameters, adjust the form's target = _top etc.
  • better (dynamic) follow up options - new windows, dynamic redirect based upon other form fields, parameters or cookies
  • Allow fields from SFDC objects other than contact and lead

Forms have been one of the least attended to areas of Marketo; it has literally been years since any significant improvements have been made while the competition has not been standing still waiting.

Below is a small list for just from this version of community:
127 Comments
Anonymous
Not applicable
Yes to all of the above! As a new Marketo user I am extremely surprised that forms aren't much more flexible. Such a key component to lead generation, too. Complicated or not, this should really be fast-tracked.
Anonymous
Not applicable
Would like to add support for mobile in terms of reflowing the flowing the layout for responsive design both in an iframe and large touchable controls
Anonymous
Not applicable
Come on, folks.  Adding things like Gregoire suggested above IS NOT COMPLICATED!  Basic loose area and text capabilities should have been there from the get-go.

•possibility to add a line separator between two fields
•possibility to add a space line between 2 fields
•possibility to group fields in a box
•possibility to add some instruction text at the top, at the bottom or between 2 fields
Edward_Masson
Level 10
Subscribing
Anonymous
Not applicable
Are there any updates on this? Really needs to be solved as not all of the info needed to segment a lead can be obtained with the progressive profiling enablement in forms

Thanks
Anonymous
Not applicable
Ability to have a "master form" or "default fields" that will be included in every form.
Anonymous
Not applicable
Love this thread - let's keep pushing!
Brice_Dunwoodie
Level 4
We're a new customer and so far are liking Marketo and impressed by the thoughtfulness of the platform.

Then we started working with the form designer.

Hello. Welcome to 1999. 

Big +1 here. Marketo forms are the neglected stepchild of the platform and really need to get some priority on the roadmap. It's hard to image how in 2013 a form designer -- one of the most important parts of a MAP -- can be this anemic.  

In addition, designing forms is one of the only parts of the platform where my non-technical people get stuck. The current feature set, or lack thereof, forces us into jQuery and CSS, which effectively means forms become a big bottleneck as we wait to get tech time to solve our layout problems.

Can we get an update from an employee? There are no employee comments here for 11 months.
Anonymous
Not applicable
LoL 🙂
Anonymous
Not applicable

 

I'm also a new user and extremely disappointed in the form designer.  

Building an email subscription center for users to update their preferences by product type, frequency, price, email type is pretty much impossible.  

Following Marketo's suggestion of having one form per landing page I attempt to put all our subscription & product type preferences in one form.  Yuck.  Unable to group, add text or even add space.  One column only?!   You've got to be kidding.  

Second I thought, well I'll just put multiple forms on one landing page to control the layout & formatting issues.  Nope.  Then not only do you have multiple submit buttons, but if you change properties like width in one form, it changes all the others.  

Now I'm stuck either asking my users to go to multiple pages to update their preferences, one big ugly list, or building my own landing page and connecting with Marketo manually which really I feel like we were sold and signed up for a better product than this.