Forms: Submit Button element
The Submit button is the moment of commitment. It's the smallest element in the Form and — far and away — the one with the biggest leverage. A well-designed, well-worded Submit button can lift conversion significantly; a bland or hidden one can quietly tank it.
This article covers everything the Submit button does, plus the copy and design patterns that make it actually work.
In this article
Submit button
The Submit button is essential to any Forms activity. When visitors click Submit, they send their responses to your Form, which are then added to their Profiles — enriching your Audience data.
You can only use one Submit button per Form.
Once you have added one, the element will be greyed out in the left side panel
Without a Submit button, there's literally no way for visitors to complete the Form — and yet it's also the element that's easiest to rush through during build.
Quick start
Place a Submit button element into the Canvas.
Edit text directly in the Canvas — this is the visible button label.
Add a Button name (internal) under Submit Button Option on the right if you prefer. This will name the Row or Column in the Structure panel.
That's it for functionality. Everything else is styling and copy.
Style, alignment and margins
Set the Border, Radius and Padding by manually entering the measurement in pixels, or click on the icons, hold, and drag left/right to reduce and increase the size.
Colour
Select colour for Border and Button with the colour picker, hex code or RGB. To make it transparent, click the X icon next to the colour code.
Width
Under Width, choose Fit to match the button size to the text, or Full to fill the entire Row or Column.
To increase space before and after the text inside the button (but not full width), use the spacer key on your keyboard.
Margins, alignment
Margins (padding) — maximum 100 pixels.
Alignment — align the element to the left, centre or right.
💡 Tip. The design options work interactively. Hold an icon for a pixel value and drag left/right to change the number of pixels live in the Canvas.
Want to read more about what the visitor encounters after submitting a Form? Head over to the Form Action article.
Use cases — the button copy that works
Button label is the single cheapest conversion lift available. Generic labels ("Submit", "OK", "Send") work — but purpose-led labels that restate the value work better. Match the label to what the visitor is actually getting.
Lead nurturing — restate the promise
Newsletter sign-up → "Send me the newsletter" beats "Subscribe"
Gated download → "Download the guide" beats "Submit"
Webinar registration → "Save my spot" beats "Register"
Gated demo request → "Request my demo" beats "Send"
Retention — friendly and frictionless
Preference centre → "Save my preferences" or "Update" beats "Submit"
Update your details → "Update my details" beats "Save"
Unsubscribe confirmation → "Confirm unsubscribe" is clearer than "OK"
Brand building — campaign-specific
Event sign-up → "Count me in", "I'll be there", or "Reserve my seat"
Launch campaign → "Notify me at launch" or "Get early access"
Competition entry → "Enter the competition"
Loyalty — exclusive framing
VIP list → "Join the VIP list" or "Get exclusive access"
Loyalty programme enrolment → "Enrol in [Programme name]"
Feedback Form → "Share my feedback"
Common mistakes & how to troubleshoot
Visitors can't submit the Form
Apsis One blocks publishing a Form without a Submit button, so a live Form will always have one. If visitors can't submit, the cause is somewhere else. Common possibilities:
A required field is blocking submission without a clear error. Check Validation settings in Forms: Settings — missed-field and wrong-format error messages only appear if the field is set to Required. A confused required field can silently prevent submission.
The Terms and Conditions element isn't ticked. It's always required. Visitors must tick it to submit.
The Consent element has Required field toggled on and no option is selected.
A Form – Submit Event isn't firing for technical reasons — check a test submission on a known Profile. If the Event appears but the Profile doesn't update, see the Profile-related entries in Forms & Pages: Troubleshooting.
The button is there but hard to see or tap. See the Button is hard to find or tap on mobile entry below.
If none of these explain it, try submitting the Form yourself with a test email to isolate whether the problem is visitor-side (a specific browser/device) or Form-side.
I want two buttons — one for Submit and one for Cancel
Only one Submit button is allowed per Form in the Forms & Pages tool. A second Submit button can't coexist with the first.
If you need a "cancel", "back" or "skip" option alongside Submit, there are a few options depending on what behaviour you actually need:
Linked text or a Menu entry. Use a Text or Menu design element and link the text to the URL you want visitors to go to if they choose not to submit — for example, back to your homepage or to an alternative Page.
An Icon menu. For a more visual "button-like" feel, use the Icon menu element with a single entry linked to the cancel destination. It gives a clickable shape without needing a literal button.
HTML element (for advanced use). The HTML design element lets you embed custom styled buttons or links that look and behave exactly how you want — including full styling to match your Submit button visually. This is the option if none of the built-in elements give you the look you need.
Note: registration Forms in the Event Tool do support multiple buttons natively. If you're building something like a multi-step event registration where Next / Back / Submit all need to coexist as buttons, the Event Tool is the right place to build it — not the Forms & Pages tool.
Button is hard to find or tap on mobile
Cause. Width is set to Fit on a narrow button, and the button label is short. On a small screen, visitors lose it.
Fix. Either switch Width to Full so the button spans the column, or add padding so the tap target is at least 44×44px. Always preview on mobile before publishing.
Button blends into the background
Cause. Button colour is close to the Form body colour, or the border is transparent.
Fix. Give the button a distinct colour — typically a brand primary colour — and enough contrast to stand out against the Form background. Test it by squinting at the preview; if you can't instantly see the button, visitors won't either.
Button text is too long and wraps awkwardly
Fix. Keep labels to 2–4 words. Longer labels either wrap to two lines (usually fine on desktop, cramped on mobile) or get truncated. Shorter is almost always better.
For a wider set of Form issues, see Forms & Pages: Troubleshooting.
💡 Tips & tricks
Write the button like an ad headline. First-person, value-led, short. "Get my free guide" works better than "Submit".
Use brand colour with intent. A single high-contrast brand colour on the Submit button creates clear visual hierarchy — visitors know exactly where to click.
Make the tap target generous. 44×44px is the accessibility standard minimum. Padding helps here without making the label feel cramped.
Preview on mobile. The button is the single most common place Forms break on small screens. Always check before publishing.
Don't write "Submit". It's the default, the laziest option, and the weakest performer. Almost any alternative is an improvement.
Remember the post-submit moment. The Submit button hands off to the Action step — what happens next matters as much as the click itself. See Form: Action.
Next steps
Form: Action — what happens after Submit
Forms: Overview and Share — publishing and distribution
Forms & Pages: Troubleshooting — common issues and how to fix them