Did you know you can make a pretty good web site form with Google Docs? I have done so with both my Web Hosting Show ask a question page, and also the Web Hosting Show’s web hosts on Twitter page too.
How can you do the same?
How to Create a Google Docs Form
First step, would be to go to the Google Docs web site. Now click on the button labeled, “Create new” and select Form.
That should take you to the Google Docs form builder, where you can easily create a web site form to use. You can add any number of:
- text boxes (single line and paragraph sized)
- multiple choice
- check boxes
- choose from a list
There are a lot of ways you can customize your form to fit your needs. Now once your form has been created, and you are happy with the results – you will want to embed it onto your web site.
How to Embed a Google Docs Form
Click on the button labeled, “More actions” and then choose Embed.
Once you do this, a window will pop up with the code you need to copy and paste into your own web site to make your form work.
What does the final result look like? You can see it in action here:
When somebody sends you a result, it saves it into a spreadsheet you can check out from the Google Docs interface. A pretty neat way to save yourself on some e-mail and save your hosting account on system resources a hosted script might take.
