Get started with Optimizely Forms

Optimizely Forms is available as a NuGet package EPiServer.Forms. Installing this main package will also  automatically install dependent packages, see Installing add-ons. Optimizely Forms requires Optimizely Content Management System (CMS 9 )and higher, see Add-ons platform compatibility for details.

See Configuring Optimizely Forms how to configure form options.

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Note

Optimizely Forms is only supported by MVC-based websites and HTML5-compliant browsers.

Optimizely Forms comes with a number of predefined form elements, such as text boxes, multi-line text areas, drop-down lists, radio buttons, check boxes, buttons, CAPTCHAs. It also supports file uploads which can be useful for visitors to provide additional information in the form of files (such as PDFs, Word documents, images, etc.).

The resulting data from the Optimizely Forms engine is stored to allow exporting data in appropriate formats. Optimizely Forms also comes with an API which can be used to hook into external systems for data collection and processing.

Form fields can be set as mandatory or optional, and they can also be defined with tooltips, watermarks, and labels to ensure that site visitors fully understand the interaction. Validation rules can also be associated with form fields to make sure visitors only enter data in the correct formats. You can also add conditional logic to allow different form fields to be displayed, based on the input by the visitor.

The forms can be configured automatically send out emails to any email address and the interface allows for values from the form to be inserted in the sent email.

Optimizely Forms can have individual form fields mapped to a connected CRM or Marketing Automation platform database fields (such as Eloqua) so that profiles, leads, and customer information is kept up-to-date.

All form submissions can be viewed within CMS and then exported as different formats, including XLSX, CSV, JSON, and XML.

Form workflow

Editors create a form by adding any number of form fields to a form container. The form fields can then be rearranged. When the form has been defined, it can be dragged and dropped into a page on the website, and it can be reused.

A possible workflow with forms can be seen like this:

1. A form is created by dragging and dropping predefined form fields into a forms container. The fields are labelled and defined with validation, and mapped to a Marketing Automation system through the UI.
2. The form is dragged onto a page on the site, and presented to a visitor
3. The visitor fills in and submits the form. Data is captured in Optimizely and the mapped MA system.
4. Submitted data is exported and analyzed.
5. New content is created based on personalized information received through the form.

Forms video documentation

• Create an email sign-up form  
• Create a multi-step form  
• Post-process with form metadata  
• Create a form with form field dependencies 

Related blog posts

• Creating forms via the Forms API
• Create custom Episerver Forms container
• Adding a custom Episerver Forms consent element type
• Adding Datasource for hidden field with Profile Store data