Using the built-in functions in Google, you can easily create forms, which are ADA compliant that you can either embed on a page in your website or link to it via a link or button. Please either view the video above or the directions below to see how.
Tips for creating your form
- For contact forms, we recommend making at least the name and email fields Required.
- For email fields, remember to have it validate the email address. You can do this while editing the form by selecting the Email field and click on the three vertical dots in the lower right-hand corner of the field and choose Data Validation. Several options will appear below the Email field. Change the first one to Text and the second to Email Address. You would do the same thing for URL addresses, but you would select URL instead in the second field.
- For more tips on how to use Google Forms, there are series of articles written by Google that review how to create, edit, customize and share Google forms found at the following URL - https://support.google.com/docs/answer/6281888?hl=en&ref_topic=6063584
How do I create a new Google form?
While logged into your Google account, you can create a form one of two different ways, which are covered below:
- The first way is by creating a new spreadsheet in Google Docs and click on Tools, followed by Create a Form. Linking the spreadsheet to the form, updating it with new responses as they come in.
- The second way is by going to your google account and entering the following URL - https://docs.google.com/forms/. This takes you to where a form can either be created or chosen from the already made forms that you can customize.
How do I link to the form in SchoolStatus Sites?
To link to the form in SchoolStatus Sites, click on SEND while viewing the form and click on the Link icon in the Send via section and copy the URL you'll be given. You can link to the form by either pasting the URL in the appropriate field in the navigation editor, button widget, or any widget that allows you to enter a link. Please remember to change the link's Target to New Window in SchoolStatus, so visitors are not taken from your site when clicking on the link.
How do I embed a Google form in SchoolStatus?
To embed a google form in SchoolStatus Sites, click on SEND while viewing the form and click on the <> icon in the Send via section and copy the code that will be given. Now go to the page you would like to embed the form on in SchoolStatus Sites then do the following:
- Click Edit Page
- Click either + Content or the Settings icon (down-facing arrow), located to the right of Edit where you will need to select either Insert before or Insert after
- Choose the HTML Source Widget.
- After pasting the code snippet that you received from the third party, click the green Create button.
- Your HTML Source widget will show up on the page.
- Make sure to click either the Publish or the Save Draft option just as you would when you're editing pages.
How do I view the responses to my form?
Depending on how you set up the form, you can view the results in different ways. If you created it from a spreadsheet, you can go directly to the spreadsheet and view the results, which will update as new responses come in.
But if you went directly to creating a form, you can review the responses to it by going to the form and doing either of the two ways listed below, both of which can be found in Responses at the top of the form.
- The first way is found on the Responses screen, where you can either view responses by a Summary of the responses or by Individual response.
- The second way is by a spreadsheet created by clicking on the Spreadsheet icon located on the right side of the form. This allows you to view the responses by clicking on Sheets in your google account and finding the spreadsheet. You can also view the spreadsheet by clicking on the Spreadsheet icon after clicking on Responses, taking you directly to the spreadsheet that is updated as new responses come in.
How do I set it, so someone is notified when there are responses to a form?
To receive notifications that there are new responses to a form that includes a link to the spreadsheet for you to review, you will need to do the following;
- Either go to the spreadsheet that the form is linked to and is collecting the responses or to the form itself and click on View responses in sheets.
- Click the File and then select Email Contributors...
- Enter the emails of the people who should be receiving notifications in the Invite people field. If needed, you can click on the Pencil icon to the right of the Invite people field and select if they should be able to do the following; Can edit, Can comment, or Can view.
- After making the necessary changes click Done at the bottom of the window.
How do I set it so someone is emailed the responses to a form, or a person is emailed their response?
To have responses emailed to you or set up an email for the respondent, you must download the Email Notifications add-on for Google forms. This add-on can be found at the following URL - https://workspace.google.com/marketplace/app/email_notifications_for_google_forms/984866591130 After adding it to Google Forms, you will be able to set up email notifications for your Google forms.
The video that is located below reviews how to set up and customize the notifications. Please note that the responses to a form can still be viewed as outlined above in How do I view the responses to my form?
Additional Articles
- HTML Source - An article that reviews the HTML Source widget.
- How to use Google Forms, a series of articles written by Google that review how to create, edit, customize and share Google forms. https://support.google.com/docs/answer/6281888?hl=en&ref_topic=6063584