Are you building a website and looking for an easy way for visitors to contact you? A web form is an essential component of any website, and in this tutorial, we’ll show you how to create an email form with JavaScript.
A web form provides numerous benefits such as an easy way for visitors to contact you, building trust with visitors, collecting feedback, and handling customer inquiries.
A web form consists of two parts: the HTML front-end and a back-end form processor. The HTML front-end handles the presentation, while the back-end handles the form submissions, such as saving form submissions, sending emails, etc. However, sending email from JavaScript on the client-side is not secure. Therefore, the correct method is to use a server-side form processor.
To create an email form with JavaScript, you need to follow the below steps:
Step 1: Create the HTML Form
You can hand-code your HTML form from scratch or use a tool like ReusableForms.com or Rakenta.app to create visually appealing forms without writing code. Rakenta.app even supports CSS frameworks like Bootstrap and TaiWindCSS.
Step 2: Connect to a Back-end Form Processing Service
After creating the HTML code for the form, you need a server-side form processing service that will collect the form submission data and send you email notifications.
There are two options for connecting to a back-end form processing service:
- Self-hosted PHP script
- Use a service like Ratufa.io
Option 1: Self-hosted PHP Script
One solution is to self-host a custom PHP script that will handle the server-side form processing. This solution requires setting up a web server with PHP support, emailer, and a database if required. A sample PHP email form is available here.
Option 2: Use a Service like Ratufa.io
The easier solution is to use a service like Ratufa.io. With Ratufa.io, you don’t need any PHP script or worry about configuring PHP email or SMTP. All you need to do is copy just one line of code to your HTML page, and you get full backend support for your form instantly.
Here are the steps to use Ratufa.io:
- Go to Ratufa.io and click the “connect my form” button to get a line of code.
- Add the code to your form page and test it by submitting the form.
- Your form submission data will now be checked at Ratufa.io, and you can set up email notifications or auto-responses.
Ratufa.io is compatible with any HTML form, whether you use form builder tools, templates, or hand-coded HTML. Plus, you have the freedom to build your HTML form page the way you want, with no limitations. Ratufa.io also supports Stripe for payment processing, making it possible to turn a plain online form into an order form.
In conclusion, creating an email form with JavaScript is an essential component for any website. By following these steps, you can create a web form that collects the necessary information and sends it to your email for easy access.