Form Submission Trigger¶

Overview¶

The Form Submission trigger captures data when visitors submit forms on your website. This creates a seamless connection between your website and your automation workflows, enabling instant follow-ups, lead nurturing, and data processing.

When to use this trigger:

• Capture contact form submissions
• Process lead generation forms
• Handle registration forms
• Manage support ticket submissions
• Collect survey responses
• Process quote requests

Quick Start¶

1. Create a workflow and add a Website Form trigger
2. Build the form — its fields, branding, and the link or embed code to put it on your site — in the classic BaseCloud portal, as the trigger's panel says
3. Put the form on your website
4. Add the tasks to run for each submission, and switch the workflow on
5. Submit the form once yourself and check the run's output

Each submission starts the workflow once, with the submitted fields as its outputs.

Outputs¶

Every other field is whatever the form posted, spread across the top level of the output. A form posting name, email and message produces {{task_<ID>_name}}, {{task_<ID>_email}} and {{task_<ID>_message}}.

Field Types¶

Each field on the form has a Field Type, chosen in the trigger's Form Fields list.

Email Fields¶

Use the Email field type for an email address, instead of a Text field. A Text field accepts anything, so a visitor can send sam@gmail, sam.gmail.com or their phone number by mistake. An Email field only accepts a complete address: a name, an @, and a domain with its ending, like name@example.com.

If the address is not complete, the visitor sees a message on the field and the form is not sent until they fix it. Spaces before and after the address are removed. Your workflow receives the address as {{task_<ID>_form_field_<N>_value}}, the same as a Text field, so nothing else in the workflow changes.

Phone Number Fields¶

Use the Phone Number field type for any phone or cellphone number, instead of a Text field. A Text field accepts anything: words, a number with a digit missing, a number with no country code. A Phone Number field only accepts a real phone number.

What the visitor sees: a country next to the box for their number. The country is already set to where they are, and they can change it. They type the number the way they normally would, such as (415) 555-2671 or 082 123 4567, with or without spaces and brackets. A visitor who types the number with its country code, such as +44 20 7946 0958, has the country set for them.

What the form checks: that the number is a real one for that country, with the right number of digits. If it is not, the visitor sees a message under the field and the form is not sent until they fix it. Cellphone and landline numbers are both accepted.

What your workflow receives:

Because the number already arrives in full, you do not need a Phone Formatter after the form.

Country the field starts on: by default this is the visitor's own country, worked out from their internet address. If nearly all your enquiries come from one country, choose that country under the field's settings and every visitor starts there. They can still pick another.

What BaseCloud Adds to a Submission¶

Besides the form's own fields, a submission carries:

Visitor Journey¶

A form placed on your own website with the JavaScript embed also sends the pages the visitor viewed before submitting, including earlier visits in the last 30 days. If someone visited three days ago, came back today and only then submitted, both visits are there, page by page.

Each entry in journey holds type (page, or form_submitted for an earlier submission on the same website), url, title, time (UTC), visit (1, 2, 3 …) and, on the first page of a visit that came from another website, referrer.

Show the journey in a workflow note¶

Two ways, depending on how much say you want over the layout:

• Quick: place {{task_<ID>_journey_summary}} in the note. One line per page, grouped by visit.
• Your own layout: add a List Formatter, set its List to {{task_<ID>.JSON.journey}}, choose the columns (for example Page → url, Date → time), and place its output in the note. Dates are shown in your account's timezone.

Form Submission
  └─ List Formatter    List: {{task_55001.JSON.journey}}   Columns: Page → url, Date → time
      └─ Workflow Note "Pages viewed before submitting: {{task_72001_output}}"

Real-World Examples¶

Capture an enquiry into the CRM¶

Form Submission
  └─ Match to Client     contact_email from the form
      └─ Workflow Note   log the enquiry

Create the client when nobody matches¶

Form Submission
  └─ Match to Client     contact_email from the form
      └─ If Statement    run is false
          └─ New Client  create the record

Confirm to the person who submitted¶

Form Submission
  └─ Email   send the confirmation to the submitted address

Assign the enquiry fairly¶

Form Submission
  └─ Round Robin   cycle through the sales team
      └─ Email     notify {{task_30001_response}}

Best Practices¶

• Match the person first — Match to Client on the submitted email — so a returning enquirer is not created twice.
• Check required fields with an If before creating anything.
• Use the Phone Number field type for phone numbers, so every number arrives real and in full. See Phone Number Fields.
• Use the Email field type for email addresses, so an incomplete address is caught while the visitor is still on the form. See Email Fields.
• Test with a real submission and read the run's output to see each field's name as it arrives.

Troubleshooting¶

Submissions not starting the workflow¶

1. Check the workflow is switched on
2. Check the form on your site is the one built for this trigger
3. Submit it yourself and look for the run in the workflow's Records

A field is missing from the output¶

The output holds what the form submitted, under the field's name — check the field exists on the form and was filled in.

Frequently Asked Questions¶

Can I have several forms?¶

Yes — give each its own Website Form trigger (and workflow), or one workflow that branches on a field.

Do I still need a Phone Formatter after the form?¶

Not for a Phone Number field. It already gives your workflow the number in full, like +14155552671. You only need a Phone Formatter for a number collected in a Text field.

Can a visitor from another country fill in their number?¶

Yes. The country starts on where the visitor is, and they can choose any country from the list.

Can I prevent spam submissions?¶

Use the Email and Phone Number field types, so a submission needs a complete email address and a real phone number. For anything further, check the submission with an If before acting on it.

Next Steps:

• Inbound Email - Trigger workflows from incoming emails
• Webhook In Trigger - Trigger workflows from external systems
• Match to Client Task - Find/update contact records