Google forms are great for collecting data – whether you’re creating an application form, invitation to an event, or a contact form. But how do you brand it with your (client’s) styles?

Whilst working on a form for one of our clients, we wanted to create an application form which fitted in with our client’s styles, typography and general look of their website.

Google forms are very easy to use – you just create a blank spreadsheet in Google Docs, and then make it into a form by using a simple wizard, which allows you to add various fields (such as text boxes, checkboxes, multiple choice answers etc.) to your form. Whenever someone completes the form, it instantly populates your Google spreadsheet – invaluable for teams, as everyone can see the data – and it’s instant (did I mention that?).

After you’ve completed your new form, you’ve got a couple of options. You can email it directly to recipients (good for invitations to an event); you can publish it as a webpage and send the URL to recipients; or you can embed it on your website (as an iFrame).

Before...

However, if you embed it on your website, you have to use Google’s styles (which, frankly, look terrible). And some CMSs balk at iFrames. What’s a webdesigner to do? Enter SneakySheep.

Just pop the URL to your form into this form generator and it will spit out all the html you need, which you can then copy/paste onto your website.

Another advantage is that when someone submits the form, you don’t get a Google logo and a recommendation to ‘make your own form’ – you get to choose which page the visitor is redirected to (such as a ‘thank you for your application’ page).

...and after.

If you’re having problems with it generating the code (and you’re getting ‘moved temporarily’ errors), make sure you’re using the right URL. In Google Docs, email the form to yourself, and copy the URL from the email.

Of course, Google might change how they submit forms in the future, and this workaround could stop working, but it’s been working nicely for the last few years…

Check out the Focus 24 Application Form »