Online Forms help you collect data from Customers, Students, or Clients. If you wanted to know about its working algorithm, stay tuned.
In this article, you will learn:
Also, you will learn, how users’ input passes through different stages, once a user submits a Form. The entire process consists of different entities, helping you submit, process, and validate users’ input automatically.
Note: If you are in a hurry, you can click on the Links above to jump to the specific Topics. At the end, you will be able to understand – how do Online Forms and Form Building applications work.
How do Online Forms work ?
How do No Code Forms work ?
Online Forms collect users’ input with interactive and fallible Input Fields. Once a user fills out a Form, the Fields’ values are sent to a Server Side script which collects, checks, and validate users’ data for further processing. After the data has been processed, the Online Forms can take further actions, such as showing a success or error message to the user, sending an email, or redirecting a user to a different location.
Online Forms working Algorithm – Factors Involved
From collecting users’ input to taking decisions after the data has been processed, the entire workflow consists of different factors, including local, remote or server-based entities.
In the following lines, let’s describe the Factors that help you understand how does an Online Form work.
1. Online Form Builder
To get started with Online Forms, you will need to use a drag and drop Online Form Builder. As its name suggests, a Low Code Form Builder helps you create a Form without manual coding. The interface of an Online Form works on the Web, providing necessary options to create a Form without coding expertise.
Online Form Builders, such as FormTitan – provide a No Code Interface to create Online Forms. By No Code Interface, we mean the Form Builder requires no coding knowledge to create a Form.
To summarise, No Code Form Builders deny using manual routines to create Online Forms. Unlike manual routines which involve using Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) to create a Form, Online Form Building applications provide elements blocks, helping you generate a Form by dragging, setting up, and adjust the Form elements on to a Blank Canvas.
Once a user has created a Form with Builder, further actions include sharing the Form or embedding the Form in a web page. For this reason, Online Form Builders provide a source code that shows the Form on your website.
2. Data Collection, Web Browser, and Sending Requests to Server
To show a Form on a website, you will need to embed the source code of Form into your website backend. Once completed correctly, users can see the Form on your website.
After you have designed and embedded an Online Form, your Form is now ready to capture users’ input and send it to Server. The data is sent to a Server Side script that checks and validates the users’ inputs.
Users can input different types of data, such as Text, Numbers, Dates, and Images. However, it depends on the Form design, whether or not a Form can capture a particular type of data.
In simple words, Online Forms work across multiple stages. Once a Form is designed with drag and drop User Interface(s), a web page can display the Form after it has been embedded into source code. After a user fills out and click on the Submit button, the Form sends the collected inputs to the Server.
3. Server Side Scripts
A Server is the final destination that receives users’ input. This happens after a user has filled in the Form Fields and has submitted the Form, by clicking on the Submit button at the end of a Form.
The Server runs multiple scripts and technologies on the Form values, such as PHP. But, a separate script is specially used to check and validate Form values.
Keep in mind, once the Server receives the Form Inputs, backend scripts can also call Database Queries for further processing. In such scenarios, the data is sent or fetched to/from the database using a special kind of language used to communicate with a Database, called Structured Query Language (SQL).
In the same manner, after the processing on the Form values, it is time to update the user who has submitted the Form. Next, the script also sends different messages to users/browsers after the Form values are being processed. The messages help users understand whether or not their Form has been successfully submitted.
4. Local Scripts
Local Scripts are used to capture, validate, and update a web page based on the Form values. In this case, once a user fills in a Form Field, Local scripts such as JavaScript or jQuery is used to detect and validate the entered data.
During validation, the data is handled locally and is not sent to the Server Side Scripts for processing. Next, the Event Handler is responsible to change Form’s data based on the changed data.
For example, you may have experienced using Local Scripts during filling out an Application Form. After you have entered your City, the areas list gets updated automatically.
Conclusion
So, how do online forms work ?
The working algorithm of Online Forms consists of multiple entities, such as Local Scripts, Browser, Online Form Builder, and Server Side Scripts.
In simple words, as Online Forms are made to gather data from users, collection of data, validation, and updating of User-Side web page involves a Web Browser, Local Scripts, and Server Side scripts, such as JavaScript and PHP.
Having that clarified, a Web Browser is responsible to show an Online Form to users, collects user inputs with Form Fields, and sends users’ data to the Server.
If the Form is made to process users’ data locally, Local Scripts such as JavaScript and jQuery are involved in the process. Unlike Local processing of Form data, the Server Side Scripts are responsible to process the data, validate the user values, and send requests to update the User-Side web page.
To get started, you can create a Form with source code programming, such as using HTML to code an Online Form. Once created, embedding the source code of a Form in a web-page helps you display the Form to public. You can also use a No Code Form Building application to create, set, and embed the Form into a web page, without using any coding expertise.