How to Create a Professional Online Order Form with Formify

Last Updated: 2025-05-16

Creating an effective online order form is crucial for any business selling products or services. With Formify, your powerful online form builder and order form generator, you can create online forms that streamline sales and improve data collection in minutes. This guide will walk you through using our form creator step by step.

Getting Started with Your Order Form Creator

  1. Log in to your Formify account.
  2. Click "Create New Form" to use our intuitive drag and drop form builder.
  3. Select an "Order Form" template (if available) or start from scratch to build highly customizable online forms tailored to your brand.

Essential Elements for Your Online Order Form

1. Customer Information

  • Add a "Text Input" for the customer's full name.
  • Include an "Email" field for order confirmations and communication (Formify provides secure online forms for data handling).
  • Add a "Phone" field for delivery coordination or urgent queries.
  • Use "Text Long Input" for any special instructions from the customer.

2. Product/Service Selection

  • Use "Dropdown," "Radio" buttons, or "Checkbox" elements to list your products or services. Clearly include names, brief descriptions, and prices using "Text Display" elements alongside.
  • Add "Number Input" for quantity selection for each item.
  • Include "Checkbox" options for add-ons, extras, or variations (e.g., size, color).
  • Order Totals & Calculations: Formify is designed to collect your order details efficiently. For calculating sub-totals, taxes, shipping, and the grand total, you would typically do this after the form submission (e.g., when creating an invoice) or by integrating Formify with a dedicated e-commerce or invoicing platform via Zapier or Webhooks (available on the Pro plan and above). Your form should clearly state: "This form collects your order details. A final invoice including all items, taxes, and shipping (if applicable) will be calculated and sent to you separately for confirmation and payment."

3. Delivery Information (for physical products)

  • Add "Text Input" fields for the full shipping address (Street, City, State, Zip Code, Country). Ensure your web forms are easy to fill.
  • Use "Dropdown" for delivery method selection (e.g., Standard Shipping, Express Shipping). Associated costs would be part of the post-submission invoicing process.
  • Include a "Date" picker for preferred delivery date (optional, provide caveats about guaranteed availability).

4. Payment Information & Next Steps

  • Formify is used to securely collect order details and customer information. Actual payment processing is handled externally.
  • Clearly state this on the form. E.g., "Thank you for your order! This form securely collects your order details. We will contact you shortly via email with a final invoice and instructions for payment (e.g., bank transfer, secure payment link from our payment processor)."
  • You can mention payment methods you accept (e.g., "We accept bank transfers and credit card payments via a secure link that will be provided.").
  • For businesses wanting to automate parts of the payment process (like triggering an invoice or payment request in another system), Formify Pro plan users can leverage Zapier or Webhooks to connect with payment gateways (e.g., Stripe, PayPal) or invoicing software.

5. File Attachments

  • Enable form builder with file uploads if customers need to provide custom specifications (e.g., a logo for a custom t-shirt order, design mockups). This feature is available on the Starter plan (up to 25MB per file), with higher limits on Pro (100MB) and Business (250MB) plans.
  • Clearly state allowed file types and maximum file size limits on your form.

Best Practices for Your Order Forms

  1. Form Organization: Group related fields logically. Use clear section headers ("Header Display" element). Add helpful instructions or descriptions ("Text Display" element) to guide users.
  2. Validation Settings: Make essential fields (like name, email, product selection) required. Add email format validation. Configure phone number formatting if needed. This improves data collection accuracy.
  3. Custom Success Page (Available on Starter plan and above): After submission, redirect users to a custom thank-you page. Include an order confirmation message (e.g., "Your order request has been received!"), and clear next steps (e.g., "We will process it within 24 hours and send an email with your final invoice and payment instructions.").
  4. Integration Options:
    • Connect to Google Sheets form builder style for easy order tracking, or use Notion or Telegram integrations (available on Starter plan and above).
    • Set up Slack notifications for your team for new orders (available on Pro plan and above).
    • Use Webhooks or Zapier (available on Pro plan and above) for form builder with workflow automation, connecting to inventory management, accounting systems, CRMs, or to trigger processes in external payment/invoicing systems. This is key for form automation software benefits.

Advanced Features for Powerful Order Forms

  1. Form Builder with Conditional Logic (Available on Pro plan and above)
    • Show/hide delivery address fields based on whether a physical product is selected.
    • Display relevant add-on options only when a specific main product is chosen.
    • Show different instructions or payment information based on selections.
  2. File Handling Features: If file uploads are supported (Starter plan and above), ensure customers know the allowed file types and size limits.
  3. Automated Email Responses: Beyond the success page, configure basic automated email confirmations (Starter plan and above). For more customized or conditional email responses (e.g., different emails based on products ordered), leverage Zapier or Webhook integrations (Pro plan and above).

Tips for Success with Your Online Order Forms

  1. Keep It Simple & Clear: Only ask for information essential to processing the order. Use clear, concise labels and a logical flow. A good form creator experience is key.
  2. Mobile Optimization: Crucial for e-commerce. Ensure your order form is a mobile-responsive form creator product. Test on various devices and screen sizes. Ensure all inputs are touch-friendly.
  3. Professional Branding: Remove Formify branding if your plan allows (Pro plan and above). Use your company colors, logo, and fonts to maintain a consistent brand experience.
  4. Efficient Order Management: Utilize Formify's submission management area. Export orders if needed (e.g., to CSV/Excel - available on Free plan and above). Set up form builder with workflow automation using integrations (Starter or Pro plan, depending on the tool) to tag or categorize orders in external systems.

Example Use Cases for Your Order Form Generator

  1. E-commerce Product Sales: Selling physical goods, digital downloads, custom-made merchandise where payment is finalized after order review.
  2. Service Bookings & Orders: For consultation requests, booking service packages, or providing custom quotes where an order is formally placed and invoiced later.
  3. Food & Beverage Orders: For restaurant takeout, catering service requests, custom meal plan subscriptions with subsequent invoicing.

Security and Privacy for Online Transactions

  • Formify ensures all digital forms benefit from SSL encryption for data in transit.
  • If your workflow involves payment processing via an integrated service (e.g., Stripe, PayPal through Zapier), that integrated service handles PCI DSS compliance. Formify itself should not be used to collect or store raw credit card details directly in standard text fields.
  • Adhere to GDPR compliant forms practices when handling customer data, especially for users in Europe. Formify is designed with these data privacy principles in mind.
  • Ensure secure storage for any files uploaded by customers, according to your plan's features and your own data handling policies.

Need Help with Your E-commerce Form Builder Needs?

Our support team is here to assist you with:

  • Customizing templates for your unique order form generator requirements.
  • Clarifying how Formify collects information needed for payment processing and integrates with external payment/invoicing systems (primarily via Pro plan features like Zapier/Webhooks).
  • Setting up advanced features like conditional logic for dynamic order experiences (Pro plan).

Start creating your professional online order form today with Formify's intuitive online form builder and enhance your sales process!