Every Form in Apsis One is built through the same six-step process: Name, Type, Template, Design, Action, Overview. The left-side menu walks you through them in order, but once you've completed the steps you can jump back to adjust anything using the same menu.

This article covers the first steps — naming, choosing a template, designing the Form, and collecting consent. Settings, Action and Overview & Share each have their own articles because they deserve the space.

A Form isn't just a set of fields — it's a small contract with the visitor. They give you their data; you give them something in return (a newsletter, a download, an event spot, a discount). The clearer that contract is in your head before you open the editor, the better the Form will be.

Three questions worth answering on paper:

To create a Form, follow the six steps of the menu on the left side in the Forms tool.

On the Forms & Pages start page, click the Create button in the top right corner.

This name is internal only — visitors will never see it. Use it to make the Form easy for you and your team to find later.
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Choose the Section you want to work with. You cannot change Section after proceeding with the Next button, so get this right the first time.

This step only appears if you have permissions for more than one Section.

Remember: Subscriptions are Section-specific. A Form built in one Section cannot subscribe Profiles to Subscriptions in another Section. If your organisation runs brands or markets through separate Sections, make sure you're building the Form where the relevant Subscriptions live.

For standard Forms, this is the option you want.

The Template determines the initial structure of your Form. It helps maintain consistency across your website and saves valuable time in the editor.

You can choose between Pre-defined templates, Your templates, and Themed templates.

The blank template includes four empty rows, with one column each. Pre-defined templates give you a head-start with different structures:

Save any Form you build as a template and reuse it. This is one of the most underused features in Apsis One — once your brand standards are locked in (colours, fonts, button styles, spacing), turn the result into a template and every future Form starts from that base. Less drift, more consistency.

Special, seasonal templates that refresh over time. Check back every now and then for fresh options that match the current season or campaign moment — useful when you want something festive without building from scratch.

This is the Form editor. It's structured the same way as the Email editor — so if you're comfortable building emails, you already know how to build Forms.

Build the Form with elements from the design panel. The Structure panel on the left reflects the Rows and Columns of the Form.

There are two types of elements to work with:

Use Collect elements to collect data from your Profiles. The value the Profile types into the field becomes the Profile's Attribute value. Each field needs to be mapped to an Attribute (or set as "Form response only" if you don't want to store it on the Profile).

This mapping is the single most important technical step in Form design. A field that isn't mapped to an Attribute collects data that goes nowhere — you'll see it in the Form submission Event, but you can't use it for segmentation or personalisation. Make the choice consciously.

See Form Editor: Collect Elements for the full list: Input Field, Checkbox, Radio, Dropdown, Consent, Terms and Conditions, and Submit Button.

Design elements are the same as in the Email tool — Heading, Paragraph, Image, Button, Divider, Spacer, HTML, and so on. Use them to make the Form look like part of your brand rather than a generic embed.

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Use the Heading element for headlines and the Paragraph element for body copy.

See Email Editor: Design Elements for full details on each Design element.

See Email - Best Practice | Apsis Knowledge base for more information about accessibility compliance.

Whenever you're asking for consent for email or SMS communications, three Collect elements are essential:

This is where visitors type their email address or mobile number. Add as many Input Fields as you need to build a complete Profile — first name, last name, country, or anything else that helps you personalise communications later.
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Each Input Field should be mapped to the relevant Attribute. Email addresses map to the Email Attribute, mobile numbers to the Mobile Attribute — both of which are essential for the Profile to be recognised as "Known".

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Request consent for email or SMS communications with the Consent element. This element is particularly useful when you want to give visitors different choices about their consent:

Use the Consent element to turn a single "sign up" moment into a meaningful preference collection. A visitor who explicitly chooses "product updates, monthly, email only" is far less likely to unsubscribe later than one who was auto-opted into everything.

While the Consent element lets Profiles choose between Subscriptions, the Terms and Conditions element subscribes them to designated Subscriptions. It's the right choice when you want a single checkbox confirming the visitor agrees with the purpose of your communications and data collection — for example, a newsletter sign-up where there's only one Subscription involved.

Note on double opt-in. If you want to send subscribers a confirmation email before activating their subscription, double opt-in is enabled inside the Consent or Terms & Conditions element — not as a separate Form-level setting. See the dedicated Double opt-in article for the full walkthrough.

Don't forget the Submit button — without it, visitors have nothing to click!

The Submit button label is worth thinking about. Generic options like "Submit" convert fine. Purpose-led labels like "Send me the newsletter", "Download the guide", or "Count me in" almost always convert better because they restate the value.

Gated content download. A guide, whitepaper, or template sits behind a Form with two fields (email + name) and a Terms and Conditions checkbox. On submit, redirect to the download Page (built in the Pages tool) and trigger a Marketing Automation flow that nurtures the lead over the following weeks.
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Registration. Use the Registration template. Collect the essentials (email, name, company) plus one qualifying field (role, company size, interest area) that feeds segmentation. Follow up with reminder emails via Marketing Automation.

Progressive profiling. Don't try to collect everything at once. A short initial Form captures email + name. A later Form — triggered after a few engagements — asks about interests. Profiles keep moving forward without ever feeling interrogated.

Update my data. One Form where Profiles manage for instance topic interests. Link it from every email footer. Distribute it inside a Marketing Automation flow. This single Form, done well, is one of the highest-impact retention tools in Apsis One.

Update your details. A lightweight Form with the key Attributes pre-mapped (name, company, role, country). Trigger it via Marketing Automation.

Campaign landing + sign-up. Build a branded Page that tells the campaign story and embed a Form on it (or slide it up from a CTA). Consistent brand surfaces across email → Page → Form increase trust and conversion.

Loyalty sign-up. A dedicated Form for a loyalty programme or VIP list. Use Hidden Values (see Forms: Settings) to tag these Profiles automatically so you can segment them later as your most engaged audience.

Survey or NPS follow-up. Use the Survey element inside a Form, or link from an email to a Page with a Form. The results enrich Profiles and inform retention work.

Once you've designed your Form, set up what happens when someone submits it: