Jotform: Add Forms, File Uploads or Email to Your Blog with WYSISYG Ease

 

The image above is a screen shot of the Jotform home page. It's also the application, the demo, and a brilliant example of user-centered design. Jotform is a simple, free, web based WYSIWYG form builder that you can use to create forms for your TypePad blog (or any other site). Jotform has pretty much the same feature set as the form builders from Wondermill which I reviewed earlier, but there are some compelling reasons to check it out. Here they are:

1. It's free in beta and will continue to have a free version. A paid version with more features is in the works.
2. It's so easy to use that it will make you question every other interface you've ever tried.
3. If you do get lost or have trouble, the support forum has answered most possible issues and the response time seems to be very good on new questions.
4. You can try it out without creating an account. If you decide you like it, just click the "next" button and sign up to use the form you've built. It automatically saves the form you created and attaches it to your account. Even if you decide not to start an account, you can still view and copy the source code and use it elsewhere.
5. You can read your messages at Jotform or have them sent to your email. Files uploaded via jotform will be listed in email notifications, but you will have to visit the site to download or view them.
6. You can export data collected by your form as Excel, CVS or some other delimited format.
7. You can create the following items for your form and modify the
   choices, settings and style of each: text, text box, text area,
   password box, dropdown menu choices, checkbox, radio butttons,
   date/time, file upload, submit buttons

What I like best about Jotform is the immediacy of it— You go to the site, get started, finish, and decide whether you want an account without having to surrender any personal data. That's just brilliant! I think that more than anything, the service stands as a great example of how to connect with users. I'm now thinking about how I could make my blogs as efficient, easy to use or navigate as Jotform is. If you have any suggestions along those lines, send me an email using the Jotform form below. You can even send me screenshots or images to illustrate your point.

Here's what Aytekin Tank, the creator of Jotform has to say about why he chose to design the site the way he did. I've pared down what he wrote a bit… you can read the full comment on his blog here.

During last week I thought about this and decided
that JotForm homepage is probably the best thing happened to it. If I
just put a marketing talk and ask people to sign up just to try it out,
I don’t think it would have received this much of attention. Here is
why:

1. JOTFORM.COM IS THE APPLICATION. If you are a web
designer and would like to just design a form, I want you to type
“jotform.com” instead of firing up DreamWeaver or FrontPage.

2.
JOTFORM.COM IS THE DEMO. If you are interested in finding a form
builder/processor, I want you to have a chance to try it before
committing. I don’t want to waste your time with registration.

3.
GOOGLE EFFECT: Google did not put a gazillion links on their homepage
like all other search engines at the time and users loved it. Google’s
homepage keeps the attention at the task.

The contact form below was created at Jotform in just minutes. Feel free to try it out and drop me a line. The only required field is the email address.

 

 
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