How to Create a Simple Drupal Webform?

In this article, we will guide you step by step to create a Drupal webform in a simple way.

Drupal is one of the most robust and flexible platforms for website development. If you are an engineer and are just starting your career, or simply need to learn how to create and manage forms in Drupal, you are in the right place.

Whether it is to collect user data, conduct surveys, or any other interaction need, Drupal forms offer you an efficient and scalable solution.

Why choose Drupal for your webforms?

Before we get into the technical details, it is important to highlight why Drupal is an excellent choice for creating web forms. Drupal is a highly flexible content management system (CMS), ideal for developers who need to customize their websites.

With an active community and extensive documentation, Drupal offers powerful tools to build forms that integrate seamlessly with other parts of the website.

Drupal makes it easy to create forms without having to write too much code, but it also offers enough flexibility for more experienced developers to customize them to their liking. In addition, the platform has specific modules that streamline the creation of forms and facilitate their management.

Steps to create a simple web form in Drupal

1. Install the Webform module (optional, but recommended)

Although Drupal comes with tools to create basic forms, if you are looking for more functionality and flexibility, we recommend installing the Webform module. This module makes it easy to create advanced forms with a friendly graphical interface, which significantly reduces development time.

To install it, follow these steps:

• Go to the Modules section in the Drupal administrator.
• Search for “Webform” and select the option to install it.

If you prefer to do it from the terminal, you can use Composer with the following command:

composer require drupal/webform

Once installed, make sure to enable the module so you can start using it.

2. Create a new form

With Webform enabled, you can easily create custom forms. Go to the site administration section and select Structure > Webforms. There you will see the option to add a new form.

When you create a form, Drupal will provide you with an interface where you can add different types of fields, such as text fields, email fields, checkboxes, radio buttons, and more. Here's how to add the most common elements.

3. Add fields to the form

Fields are the core of any web form. Drupal offers a variety of field types that you can add depending on what you need:

• Text field: Perfect for collecting data such as names, addresses, or any short text.
• Email: Ideal for collecting email addresses.
• Checkboxes: Used for multiple-select options.
• Radio Buttons: To allow users to select only one option from several available.
• Date and Time: If your form needs to collect specific dates or times, this option is useful.

To add a field, just click Add Field and select the type of field you want. Then, customize the settings for each field, such as the name, the label visible to the user, and any input restrictions (e.g., a required field).

4. Form Settings

Once you've added the fields, the next step is to configure how the form should behave. Some important things to consider include:

• Confirmation: What will happen once the user submits the form? You can set up a custom confirmation message, redirect to a specific page, or send a thank you email.
• Email Settings: Define who will receive the form data. You can set up an email for the admin to receive submissions, or even allow the user to receive an automatic confirmation message.
• Spam protection: Drupal includes several options to protect your form from spam, such as using CAPTCHA or reCAPTCHA.

5. Publish the form

Once your form is set up and ready, the next step is to publish it. You can embed the form into an existing content page or create a dedicated page for the form. To do this, simply copy the form shortcode and paste it into the body of a page or block.

If you're using Webform, you can also use custom blocks to display your form anywhere on your website.

6. Test the form

Before you release your form to production, it's crucial to test it to make sure everything works correctly. Check that all fields are visible, validations are applied correctly, the confirmation email is sent, and data is recorded correctly in the backend.

Creating a form in Drupal can be a simple task if you follow these steps. However, Drupal also offers a wide variety of customizations to suit the specific needs of your project. In addition to basic fields, you can integrate forms with other systems, perform data analysis, or automate processes using additional modules.

If you need more functionality or a more complex integration, consider hiring a specialized agency to help you get the most out of Drupal. At our agency, we have experts who can design and develop completely customized forms for your business, optimized for both user experience and performance.

Would you like to improve the interactivity of your website and optimize your Drupal forms? Contact us to learn more about how we can help you create functional forms tailored to your needs. We are here to support you in your development process!

We recommend you on video